Primal Glass Ceylon gets global food safety certification

Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc was accredited with ISO 22000:2005 certifications by BVQS India recently at a ceremony held at the company’s factory at Poruwadanda Horana.

The presentation was done by Deshabandu T.K. Ossan-Manager of BVQS - Sri Lanka branch.  Vice President –Operations, Pritam Bharti, General Manager –Operations Udaya Hettige, Deputy General Manager - Production B. L. Reddy, Quality Assurance Manager Nihal Katuwawala and other operating team represented the company.

ISO 22000:2005 is a new International Standard designed to ensure safe food supply chains worldwide and it fulfills requirements for any organisation in the food chain which provides a framework of internationally harmonised requirements for the global approach that is needed.

Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc (formally Ceylon Glass Company Plc) is a company with a rich history of over 50 years. It was initiated by a group of Ceylonese entrepreneurs after the country gained political independence. Horizons opened for this local company with its opportunity of coming under the Umbrella of Piramal Group in 1999 (a large conglomerate in India). Piramal Glass has its wings spread over the length and breadth of the international shores with 11 manufacturing plants in India, Sri Lanka, USA and several marketing offices worldwide. This strategic alliance paved the way for the company to have a global presence and recognition.

The opportunities further unfolded with the investment of over Rs. 4 billion in a new state of the art Glass Plant at Wagawatte, Horana in 2007. This investment brought in flexibilities in the manufacturing capabilities and whilst more than doubling. The infrastructure and overall competence endowed the company with unique flexibility to offer glass containers in different shapes and colours for multiple industries such as food, liquor, pharmaceutical, agro chemical and soft drinks. Piramal Glass also boasts of being the only company with this certification, and the company now stands in compliance with the requirement of food industry which is about food safety management system.

There is an increase in the customer demand for safety of food. This has led food processing companies to develop food safety management systems, which are based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). In 2001, ISO has undertaken the development of an auditable standard, which further defines HACCP’s role in a food safety management system. This standard is not intended to define the minimal regulatory requirement; however it is intended to define the requirements for companies that desire to exceed the regulatory requirements for food safety.  The company has already received certification for complying with ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System. This new accreditation would be an added certification to the outside world on the systems and processors followed by the company when producing their packing material.

Piramal is a classic example of a local manufacturer who has ensured that the total Local glass requirement is met by its own in house production in an era in which most of the country’s commodities are traded from overseas.  

Piramal Glass Ceylon has a simple yet steadfast objective of fully serving the domestic market whilst increasing the business in the specialised liquor and beverage segment in the international markets thus realising its vision of being “The most preferred Speciality Glass Packaging solutions provider in Asia by meeting customer expectation through innovative designs and manufacturing”