Gafsons Industries (Gafoors), established over 15 years ago, is one of Guyana’s largest and leading manufacturers of building materials, ranging from concrete hollow blocks, zinc sheets, water tanks and more. Its sister company Plastic Products Limited also manufactures PVC Pipes.
As Guyana hosts the International Building Expo 2022 at the National Stadium, under the theme: “A new frontier for building a one Guyana”, it is opportune for the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) to recognise Gafsons Industries as a local manufacturer working to have more of its products certified under the GNBS Product Certification Programme to demonstrate quality.
Currently, the products manufactured by Gafoors, which are certified are PVC Pipes and four-inch concrete hollow blocks. They were first certified in 2002 and 2019, respectively. Since then, Gafoors continued to maintain the conditions of certification for these products, which include meeting production and testing requirements based on the National Standards.
In fact, just recently (July 18, 2022) the company’s 4-inch blocks were recertified by the Bureau for another year. The company was awarded a plaque from the GNBS for ensuring its blocks continuously meet the requirements of the Guyana Standard Specification for Load Bearing Masonry Concrete Units (GYS 215:2018).
Speaking at the handover ceremony at the Company’s Land of Canaan location, Factory Manager of Gafsons Industries Limited Bharath Rampersad said with the current and anticipated demand for building materials, the company is gearing up to increase capacity to meet the demands of the building and construction sector.
Providing a list of products, the company is considering having certified shortly, Mr. Rampersad added that certification of products manufactured is important and his company intends to add more products to those already certified by the GNBS. He believes that certification is integral to demonstrate that Gafsons Industries produces quality products.
Concrete hollow blocks and PVC pipes are building materials used in the construction of residential and commercial buildings. Hollow blocks are used to erect interior and exterior walls and fences while PVC Pipes (pressure and non-pressure) are used in plumbing and drainage. The availability of these certified products on the market provides homeowners and contractors with confidence and quality options when choosing building materials.
As the local economy grows, more entrepreneurs and companies in the manufacturing sectors are looking to produce value added and other products for consumers. Like Gafoors, they too can access certification from the GNBS to demonstrate that their products are meeting standard requirements for quality.
The benefits of certification include third party assurance of the quality, permission to use the National Standards Mark as a marketing tool, a competitive edge on the local and overseas markets and the ultimate increase in revenue, increased consumer confidence, and consistency in the manufacturing process through the monitoring and implementation of quality control procedures.
