Luen Thai Garment meet ISO quality standards

Luen Thai, one of the world’s leading multinational garment manufacturers, said today that its garment manufacturing operations in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and on Saipan have been certified in compliance with international quality management standards established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in
Geneva, Switzerland. The certifications were issued separately during the first quarter of 1999 by SGS (Societe Generale de Surveilance), the world’s leading third party certification review organization.

Certificates were issued to Luen Thai International Group, Ltd. the corporate headquarters in Hong Kong; Luen Thai Garment- Saipan, which operates three factories in Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands and Philippine Luen Thai Holdings Corporation and its six manufacturing affiliates. The Saipan factories are the first among that island’s garment industry to receive certification.

SGS, which like ISO is based in Geneva, assessed the operations according to the specifications of ISO 9002, which spells out the international consensus on good management practices necessary to ensure that a facility can consistently meet customers’ quality requirements. SGS auditors make regular visits to ensure continued compliance with the ISO rules.

“This triple certification reflects Luen Thai’s commitment to delivering quality to our customers,” said Managing Director Henry Tan. “We are proud that our management system and process meet international quality standards and enable us to do the job right.”

“But certification is a beginning, not an end by itself,” Mr. Tan said, “We work to make our arrangements even better all the time.”

The ISO standards reflect the input of standard-setting bodies in some 130 countries. Established in 1947 to support the expansion of international trade by establishing quality standards that transcend national; orders, ISO covers all technical fields except electrical and electronic engineering. ISO is the indirect successor to the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations, which focused on mechanical engineering but ceased activities during World War II.

ISO 9002 is part of a broader ISO 9000 series first published in 1987 and updated in 1994. The ISO system is reviewed regularly and ISO 9000 is slated for revision again in the year 2000.

Luen Thai is one of the world’s leading manufacturers. The company, which was established in 1965, has facilities in six countries and employs more than 10,000 staff worldwide. Luen Thai has built up a reputation for quality in every aspect of business, reflected in the world-class range of designers and brands who are its customers and in the ISO 9000 accreditation of its facilities in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Saipan.