Tetra Pak Arabia’s Jeddah factory has won the Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) excellence award in 2008, from the world renowned Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM).

Tetra Pak also received six more awards for manufacturing and consistency excellence for international plants in Italy, UK, Ukraine, India, Serbia and China.

The TPM award recognises plants which fulfil the demanding requirements for continuous improvement which entails reduced rates of machinery breakdowns, accidents and defects through employee engagement.

Tetra Pak Arabia offers complete solutions for processing, packaging and distributing liquid foodstuffs.

The ISO 14001 certified Jeddah factory, which employs over 232 staff with 44 per cent of the work force being Saudi locals, produces packaging material for all major dairy and beverage customers in Saudi Arabia and GCC countries as well as exporting to 24 other countries in the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

“The plant has been ranked as one of the top 10 factories in the Tetra Pak Group, based on the number of packs produced annually,” said Amar Zahid, managing director, Tetra Pak Arabia.

The JIPM award demonstrates recognition of adhering to best-in-class practices and commitment to continuous improvement as a world class manufacturer in terms of controlling and improving the quality, environmental impacts and costs of production.

Tetra Pak holds a global record number of JIPM awards with 25 plants receiving a total of 44 JIPM awards - some winning several times, he added.-TradeArabia News Service