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.