NEWS

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad | Business MIrror | July 21, 2021

DTI chief Ramon Lopez
(Credit: Business Mirror)

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) seeks to establish more standard testing laboratories for construction materials this year after launching a facility for steel and ceramic tiles on Wednesday.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, during the inauguration of DTI-Bureau of Philippine Standards’ (BPS) steel and ceramic tiles testing laboratory, said that ensuring high-quality products would encourage more investments in manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.

Other construction products that the DTI aims to be covered by a testing facility include cement, hollow blocks and flat glass. Such initiative, Lopez said, will support the government’s infrastructure program and promote economic developments in the countryside.

In establishing the laboratory located in Dasmariñas, Cavite, the DTI worked with the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute and Ceramic Manufacturers Association Inc. Lopez said the collaboration showed the importance of the public and private sectors joining hands to ensure standard compliance and consumer safety.

“With greater testing capabilities, we should be able to minimize substandard products in the market,” the DTI chief said. “This should likewise encourage more investments in more competitive and smart manufacturing operations using modern technologies that will guarantee high-quality products at all times.”

Lopez noted that the steel and ceramic tiles testing facilities will support the country’s recovery efforts. “For one, as our industries rev up once more to boost our economic recovery, these facilities will strengthen our steel and ceramic tiles industries and ensure that only quality and standard compliant construction steel products and ceramic tiles are made available in the local market,” he explained.

The DTI chief also said that the testing facilities can help the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are competitive by ensuring product quality.

Conducting product testing based on relevant Philippine National Standards can assist MSMEs in developing products whose quality is at par with global standards, he added.

“To conclude, what matters most in the end is to make our industries, including the MSMEs, much stronger and more competitive, one that can lead to a stronger brand equity for the Philippines, greater consumer and business confidence, that can attract more investments, jobs, and more production capacities,” Lopez said.

Earlier this year, the DTI issued supplemental guidelines for the certification of ceramic tiles and regulation of galvanized steel coils and sheets.

The memorandum circular for ceramic tiles covers the documentary and process requirements for the issuance of import commodity clearance certificate. These include submission of independent test reports issued by an accredited testing laboratory.

As for the steel, the memorandum circular clarified the standard applies to steel coils and sheets intended for roofing and general applications, setting the minimum requirement for total coated thickness.

Source: Business Mirror