ISO 9001 Quality Cerfiticate

Press Release

SEA LOAD CONTROL COMPANIES
HAS BEEN AWARDED AN ISO 9001 QUALITY MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY LLOYDS REGISTER

The Largest Classification Society of the World, Lloyds Register, certifies that the Management System of the above organisation has again been audited and found to be in accordance with the requirements of the management system detailed below

Standard ISO 9001:2008

SCOPE OF SUPPLY

Marine Surveys / Inspections of Vessels and Cargoes and
Inspection, Sampling and Weighing of Agri-Commodities and their by-products.

Sea Load Control Ltd has developed their Quality Management system based on the ISO 9001 and ISO 17020 standards . Substantial investments have been made for the project in all sectors of the company. It began with company personnel attending a quality systems structure and auditing preparation course, organised by the Turku Polytechnic, and they also attended a quality management course organised in Porvoo, Finland. The company has also participated in a joint project of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the European Union Social Foundation (ESF) and the Finnish Employers' Management Institute (FEMDI) for the development of small and medium sized enterprises, with emphasis on the development of the quality control system for the part of the Sea Load Control Companies. The President of The Sea Load Control Group of Companies, Captain Esa A. Anttio, has also passed the Examination for ISO-9001 Quality Manager. The actual auditing and certification was carried out by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance.

The company has, in effect, already adopted ISO standards into it's inspection operations for years. The quality management system standardizes customer service and inspection operations in the different ports and offices where the company operates. Sea Load Control Ltd has already been appointed as the accredited Finnish representative of many worldwide inspection groups.

Captain Esa Anttio has been managing director of the Sea Load Control company since 1988. He has been awarded the Finnish Central Chamber of Commerce, Authorized Goods Inspector title, in the scope of vessels, handling of cargo, damage during transport and inspection of grain products.

Sea Load Control Companies inspect vessels and cargoes in Finland and Worldwide. The group's main business activity is the inspection of vessels, goods and cargo, and different control duties. The group was established in 1988. The inspection company's network now includes representation in all the important ports of the world. It is an internationally recognized inspection group and a member of all the largest national and international inspection organizations; it is also a member of the worldwide Grain and Feed Trade Association, (GAFTA), as an accredited inspection company. GAFTA is a worldwide organisation whose model contracts are used in 80% of the world's 200 million ton annual grain trade. The Sea Load Control Companies' Finnish circle of customers has traditionally included some of the largest Finnish companies, eg. Raisio Group PLC, Hankkija-Agriculture, Kesko Ltd, Kvaerner Masa-Yards, Nokia Cables etc. As a delegated inspection business by foreign purchasers, the company has carried out transfer and acceptance inspections at all important Finnish factories.

The ISO 9001 Quality control system guarantees that the whole chain, from order to final inspection, takes place systematically and as agreed. Each of the company's posts has identical instructions, to guarantee the quality of operations. "ISO 9001 - quality control system certification is official proof, from an outside organisation, that the competency of the companies' quality control system, is valid throughout the world." says Captain Anttio. Certification of the quality control system was begun primarily with regard to the transfer and acceptance inspections of exports and imports. "Because the quality control system has now been officially audited and accepted, and it is regularly supervised by an outsider, the customer does not necessarily need to supervise operations in different ports and posts, nor demand other proof of our operational methods" continues Capt. Anttio.

The ISO 9001 quality control system is based on the demands set on materials suppliers by the U.S. Army. Later, purchasers of, high tech equipment (eg. nuclear power plants and aeroplanes) have come to expect proof of the high quality of their operations. The quality of the final product alone is not sufficient; the quality of the company's whole operations, including environmental issues, is under scrutiny. An entrepreneur who has received a quality certificate, is a trustworthy business associate to the customer buying the service. The Sea Load Control Companies quality control policy means, that the described and marketed service is equivalent to the customers' expectations of the content and quality of the service. Providing a quality certificate requires that the supplier's entire staff is committed to uphold and develop both the quality of their service and operations. International researchers of business economies have proved, that those companies who pay attention to quality are the most successful in improving their competition.

The ISO 9001 quality control system has been in use in heavy industry around the world for many years. Of all the ISO 9001 quality certificates in Finland, only a few of these have been issued to companies that practice commercial inspection as their main field of operation. The main principal, with the help of the ISO 9001 quality control system, is that the product or service produced, is always of the same quality. In addition to this, the order or assignment is traceable from receipt to the final transferred delivery. Certification of the company's quality control system increases trust in the company's quality control system. The quality control system means, that the operational methods of the company are devised in such a way, that the desired level of quality will be attained. The desired level of quality means, a standard of quality which meets the clients' requirements. These requirements may be expressed by the customer, or they may be considered self evident. The certification of the quality control system, drawn up by experts from outside organizations, ensures that the company is able to uphold production or services in a uniform and traceable manner and according to contract.

It is also possible to use ISO 9001 Certification for company marketing. Sea Load Control Companies have, by way of their earlier accreditations, the right to independently formulate internationally recognized inspection certificates for the international trade inspections they executed. However Capt. Anttio emphasises the importance of the creation and certification of the quality control system that was developed, as being the most important step in the company's history; it is a huge task for the entire inspection staff of the group, but it is now, upon completion, a valuable proof and acknowledgement of the companies' operations in the field of international trade inspections, which have continued for the past 20 years.

The certification of the quality control system also means in practice, that in the future, Finnish companies will have the possibility to attain for their products, deliveries and shipments, an inspection certificate, issued by a ISO-9001 certified Finnish Inspection Company, quickly, promptly and without intermediaries. Speeding up the service naturally means important cost savings, (e.g. in letter of credit transactions) in which a commercial goods inspection certificate is one of the required shipping documents, and a condition for the payment of the commercial invoice.

In addition to the above mentioned inspection services Sea Load Control Companies gives consultation assistance to enterprises that want to initiate procedures for drawing up and certifying of their own quality control systems.
For more information about Sea Load Control and the ISO 9001 certification methods, please contact the managing director Capt. Esa Anttio