International pressure forces improvement in quality standards

INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE forcing Far Eastern manufacturers, particularly from China, to up their standards to satisfy health and quality requirements appears to be working. “Many producers over there realised they had picked up a bad name. What we are seeing now is a big push to improve the quality of goods because this is what the international market is demanding,” says Eric Houniet of Excellence Forwarding. There has been an increase in medical equipment coming into South Africa from China, says Houniet, with increased volumes of raw materials for the local plastics industry. “Exports are newer than imports, but we have been getting requests for raw goods, everything from timber to sand as well as iron and aluminium ores.” The company is founded on a “service first, then rates” philosophy, says Houniet, but service problems in the local market are a frustration. To combat this, the Excellence pipeline is filled with plans for expansion into distribution and warehousing and the opening of a Port Elizabeth office in the near future.