GHACEM says it does not put underweight cement on the market

Accra, March 8, GNA - GHACEM Limited has debunked claims by the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) that it had put underweight cement on the market.

Briefing Journalists in Accra, Bjarne Schmidt, Managing Director of the Company, said considering the nature of equipment used at the GHACEM Plant, it is virtually impossible for the company or anyone to put out underweight bags on the market.

He, however, noted that, the company was unable or found it difficult to control or monitor what happened outside the walls of GHACEM. Mr Schmidt stressed that the company, owned by HEIDELBERG Cement Group of Sweden, had a reputation to protect and would not under any circumstance put underweight product on the market.

GHACEM recently increased its prices by 31.2 per cent.

Mr Schmidt said similar procedures were followed at both of the Company's plants in Tema and Takoradi, saying that GHACEM ensures at all times that it delivered cement bags with weights within the permissible range of 49.5 kg and 50.5 kg to its customers.

He explained that every shift undertook control weighing at regular intervals of all the packers and the corresponding spouts, "as a result, all are recorded on a standard sheet for analysis and if any variance is observed, the packing machine is immediately adjusted, either mechanically or electronically."

He said if the average load on a truck is not within the approved range of 49.5 kg - 50.5kg, the computer system would not be able to generate a waybill, "and without the waybill, no truck is allowed to leave the premises."

Other officials of GHACEM at the interaction with the Journalists said it was strange that the GSB came out with that statement since it was in the middle of discussions to find solutions to the situation. They noted that the GSB paid visits to the weighbridges and scales at regular intervals for calibration and verification with the last visit in February 2004.

The Company said, even though it was not directly responsible for the actions of any retailer, it would like to support the GSB in their effort to track down any perpetrator wishing to tarnish the image of GHACEM.