Business news

MINSK, 13 April (BelTA) – Ten companies have been given Belarus Government Quality Excellence Award 2016, Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said at the awards ceremony on 13 April, BelTA has learned.

“It has been decided to name ten companies as winners of the 2016 award. Besides, the award has been given to 16 organizations that received it in previous years. One company will get a diploma. Another three will be honored with special prizes,” Andrei Kobyakov noted.

The prime minister said that since 1999 when the award was instituted, a total of 213 Belarusian companies have been named its winners. Some of them received the award several times. For instance, Dobrush Porcelain Factory is now a five-time winner of the quality excellence award, same as the companies Gomelproyekt and Pinsk Meat Packing Plant. The list of four-time winners features Mogotex, Vitex and Polotsk Steklovolokno.

Andrei Kobyakov pointed out that the year 2016 summed up the results of a five-year program of the country’s social and economic development and marked the beginning of a new five-year term. In this light, the companies were tasked with evaluating their achievements and drawing up development strategies for the next five years. “The winners whom we celebrate today have successfully fulfilled these tasks. The list includes Mogotex, Beryozastroimaterialy, Molodechno Dairy Plant, and Novogrudok Gas Equipment Plant,” the prime minister noted. He added that despite the difficulties they faced in 2015, the companies managed to boost their performance through rational use of resources and improvement of the production management system.

Andrei Kobyakov said that to improve the competitiveness and increase the country’s export of goods and services, the government adopted a set of measures for 2016-2020 to facilitate the implementation of advanced methods and cutting-edge international quality management systems in the Belarusian economy. “Our winners, Dobrush Porcelain Factory and Belgips, are already working on this. As a result, they export some 80% of their output. Mogotex, Avgust-Bel, Luninets Dairy Plant, and Minsk Poultry Farm No.1 have doubled their exports,” the prime minister stressed.

For full-scale participation in international trade, the products of Beryozastroimaterialy and Gomel-based plant Kommunalnik have undergone tests for compliance with the international standards of the European Union. To step up their supplies to the EU market, the award winners Babushkina Krynka, Slonim Meat Processing Plant, and Lyakhovichi Dairy Plant got their food quality management systems certified against the FSSC standards. Apart from that, Babushkina Krynka and Molodechno Dairy Plant got certificates for exports to China.

“To gain a stronger foothold on foreign markets, it is necessary to offer high-quality, advanced, competitive products. With this goal in mind, the award winners upgrade their production facilities and master cutting-edge technologies. As a result, they have high-quality products that are in demand in the markets of the world,” Andrei Kobyakov emphasized. Increasing the quality of goods also allows for substituting imports with on par domestic products. By setting up its own enterprises, Belarus reduces its dependence on imports. “Borisov Pharmaceutical Plant, Novogrudok Gas Equipment Plant, and the company Konus are making targeted effort to manufacture import-substituting products,” the prime minister said.

He pointed out that the year 2017 is declared the Year of Science in Belarus. “The Belarusian head of state signed the relevant decree to highlight the role of science in achieving the social and economic development objectives and promoting the international image of Belarus as a country with considerable intellectual and human capital,” Andrei Kobyakov said.

The innovative development of the country relies on domestically designed solutions created at research centers and educational institutions. “As they respond to the needs of the time, the award winners Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Grodno State Medical University, and Alexander Pushkin Brest State University actively encourage their students to conduct research. This helps train modern specialists able to design innovative products and advanced technologies,” the prime minister noted.

Andrei Kobyakov emphasized that the development of enterprises is impossible without new solutions and technologies. “Unique solutions pave the way for unique ideas.