Cement makers scramble to obtain quality certification
KATHMANDU, MAR 09 -
The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) has been inundated with applications for the Nepal Standards (NS) mark from more than two dozen cement manufacturers. The rush was prompted by the bureau’s mid-April deadline to cement factories to obtain NS certification or face closure.
The bureau has recently launched a crackdown against cement companies selling their products without the NS logo or using it illegally. In mid-February, it had sealed four cement factories including Ambe, Butwal, Reliance and Shree for using the NS logo illegally and producing substandard materials.
NBSM director general Ram Adhar Sah said that 26 out of the 28 cement factories producing cement without obtaining the NS logo have applied for it. He added that the bureau had issued a circular ordering cement factories to obtain certification after finding out that most of them had been using the NS logo on their products without authorisation. The bureau issued a warning that their production units could be sealed after verbal and written messages remained disregarded.
According to the Cement Manufacturers’ Association of Nepal (CMAN), there are 44 cement factories in the country producing around 150 brands. However, the bureau said that only 16 companies had received the NS logo so far, and that the rest had been using it illegally or not at all.
“And even among those who have acquired the logo, only Udayapur and Hetauda Cement have been using it legally,” added Sah.
CMAN officials said that cement makers had been stamping the NS logo indiscriminately on their various brands while they have acquired certification for one brand only. “These companies will now have to obtain the logo for all of their brands,” said an official, “If not, their production will be shut down.”
Meanwhile, officials said that most of the cement plants applying for the NS logo would probably fail as they have not fulfilled the required criteria. “In the first phase, the bureau examines the raw materials, equipment and technology used by the factory, human resource management and quality control,” said Sah. “The bureau will then decide whether to issue the NS mark or not after checking the quality of the cement samples obtained from the factory and the market.”
CMAN president Atma Ram Murarka said that the bureau’s move followed its request to the government. He also blamed both the government and the industrialists for the anomalies in the cement production sector. “Cement manufacturers have been regularly applying for the NS logo, but the bureau only prolongs the application process and holds back certification,” he said. The government came up with strict provisions after the industrialists presented their demands, he added. Cement producers should acquire certification to promote healthy market competition and quality enhancement.
Though imported cement has secured a larger share of the Nepali market, local cement producers conduct transactions worth Rs 30 billion annually, according to CMAN.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
