31 Mar 18:42

Seminar TUV Rheinland/LGA Furniture Laboratory - September 2007

"EU/USA Exporting Markets: requirements and solutions for products and management competence"

During our many visits to Asia we have established a long-term relationship with our reliable partners. Their enthusiasm for their product and service is not only expressed in hospitality, but mainly in their visual involvement of the production process or business.
Their inquisitiveness and their need to ‘learn from the West’ has created for us the opportunity that our MD Richard Brinkman has participated as a guest speaker at the seminar "EU/USA Exporting Markets: requirements and solutions for products and management competence" on 10th of September 2007 in Quy Nhon, Vietnam. This seminar was visited by more than 200 gardenfurniture manufacturers and was organised by TUV Rheinland - LGA Furniture Laboratory. You can find the presentation and a summary of the lecture underneath.

Lecture 10 September 2007 – TUV/LGA Vietnam

Slide 1
My name is Richard Brinkman.
I am managing director of my company Jarimex.
Next to this I am Quality Manager at the company Jardin-Allibert Netherlands.

Slide 2
In volume this is the biggest resin gardenfurniture company in the world and belongs to the Keter group in Israel. The group has factories throughout Europe, Israel and the US.
My experience in the gardenfurniture business is almost 30 years.

Slide 3
Through my experience I am familiar with all the biggest customers in Europe, but also with the most important testing institutes in the world.

Slide 4
In the US, companies work with ASTM standards, which are equivalent to European standards. In those 30 years I have experienced that product quality according to European standards as well as ASTM standards has become more and more important.

Slide 5
But also environmental quality has grown.
Think about ISO 14001 and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)

SLIDE 6
In Europe for most customers all products must have the GS-sign, which you obtain if the product is tested according to the European standard.
Next to the GS-sign, also the fit-for-use certification and the chemical test is requested by the biggest customers.
A very important issue nowadays is the environment. Manufactures in Europe have to pay money for every kilogram of packaging that they use.
The importers also have to pay for every kilogram of packaging they bring into Europe.
But also the consumers pay for every kilogram of packaging that they through away.
It is therefore very important that you know exactly what kind of packaging material you use and what kind of material your product is made of.
This environmental subject has become more important in my work for the last 5 years.
The US market is following the European market on this subject. (Kyoto Protocol)

SLIDE 7
Because the changed environmental standards, I have studied and developed different kind of packaging and at the same time improved the packaging.
I made the packaging not only better but also cheaper. Meaning less waste.

SLIDE 8
Because of the success of using different and better packaging materials and also better product materials, I give lectures on this subject for all kinds of organisations.
For example the Royal Dutch Engineering Society and NVC which is the Dutch Packaging Centre.
Both organisations operate on the international market.

Thank you.

Click here to go to the presentation slides.

Jarimex