Latvia“s Valmieras Stikla Skiedra (Valmiera Fiberglass) will receive a quality management system certificate of Germany“s Management Certification Center in Frankfurt am Main, according to the Riga …
Latvia“s Valmieras Stikla Skiedra (Valmiera Fiberglass) will receive a quality management system certificate of Germany“s Management Certification Center in Frankfurt am Main, according to the Riga Stock Exchange. Valmiera Fiberglass said the work on developing and introducing the quality management system LVS EN ISO 9001:1994 lasted for 2.5 years. Valmiera Fiberglass finance director Imants Saulits said the certificate may be officially received by March 2000. Saulits emphasized that it is not a quality certificate for the company“s output, but rather for the company“s management system.. He said the certificate will be a good support to the company in the competition struggle on the world“s market as the company“s clients and potential clients would know they are buying goods from a company whose management knows well and performs well its resopnsibilities which on turn increases the client confidence in the company. The chief gain from acquisition of the certificate is that, during the two and a half years, the top and medium level managers employed by the company have understood how they should work and what the management quality system means, Saulits added. The company“s work will be checked out on a regular basis, he said, and a representative from the Management Certification Center will arrive at the company in January of each year, which should be an incentive for the company“s managers of various levels to maintain the achieved level. Saulits said that, during the 2.5 years, various training courses were held and an advisor from Germany arrived at the company for several occasions to give lectures. The management of Valmieras Fiberglass was also cooperating with the Latvian Certification Center, he added. Valmiera Fiberglass exports its output to Germany, United States, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, England, Japan and other countries. The controlling stake in the company belongs to the German firm Glasseiden GmbH Oshatz. Valmiera Fiberglass“ profit target in 1999 was 600,000 lats (US$ 1.02 million) and the turnover target 13.4 million lats. Valmiera Fiberglass“ shares are quoted on the second list of the Riga Stock Exchange. The Latvian Central Depository of Securities lists 11.49 million shares in the company.