URC Vietnam achieves prestigious industry accreditations

Do Chi Thanh, director of the northern area, SGS, handing over the certificationn of ISO 45001:2018 to the representative of URC Vietnam

URC Vietnam, a leading food and beverage company from the Philippines, with popular brands like C2 and Rong Do, has achieved a number of prestigious international certifications for the company’s facilities, including ISO/IEC 17025 by the Bureau of Accreditation (BoA) for the Central Laboratory and ISO 45001:2018 for Binh Duong Beverage & Food Plant 1, 2, and Hanoi Beverage Plant.

VILAS Accreditation –ISO/IEC 17025

A customer-centric company, URC Vietnam has been constantly improving and innovating to best serve consumers. URC Vietnam has invested a total of $1.6 million in a Central Laboratory which opened in October 2017. This specialised facility is equipped with the latest and most advanced technologies for food safety testing and is manned by highly qualified analysts.

The Central Laboratory has undergone thorough assessment processes and has been officially accredited by BoA, Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation (APLAC), and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

The ISO/IEC 17025 achieved by URC Vietnam is an international standard that recognises the capabilities and competence of laboratories which play an essential role in production, product research and development, and customer protection.

This accreditation by prestigious organisations confirms the competence of URC Vietnam’s laboratory in technical and management aspects, ensuring the correctness and reliability of testing, and facilitating the recognition of testing results.

Specifically, as the government recognises only laboratory test results from a government-accredited laboratory, this accreditation by BoA is a privilege for URC Vietnam. With this accreditation, URC Vietnam can be confident in its laboratory results in ensuring the quality and food safety recognised by Vietnamese regulatory agencies.

Production line inside the factory of URC Vietnam

ISO 45001:2018 Certification

Alongside commitment to quality, URC Vietnam has put great emphasis on creating a safe and healthy workplace for employees as the company has obtained ISO 45001:2018 certification for its plants in Hanoi and in VSIP1, Binh Duong.

Officially released on March 12, 2018, the International Standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management, ISO 45001:2018 provides an effective guidance to organisations to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks, and create better, safer working conditions all over the world. Designed to be applicable to all organisations regardless of size and industry, the new international standard helps prevent work-related injury and ill health, as well as proactively improve occupational health and safety performance at organisations.

A Filipino company operating in Vietnam for over 15 years, URC Vietnam has a robust management and organisation structure with more than 1,600 employees in various functions manned by competent and well-trained people.

Over the past years, all URC factories in Vietnam are certified for the Quality Management System ISO 9001:2015 and Environment Management System ISO 14001:2015. The newly granted ISO 45001:2018 certification for Occupational Health and Safety Management once again underlined URC Vietnam’s commitment to employee’s well-being as they are the key factor to the company’s development.

Laurent Levan, president and CEO of URC Vietnam, said: “The achievement of these international accreditations is of great importance to URC Vietnam. The accreditation by BoA for the Central Laboratory demonstrates our tireless efforts to boost innovation to enhance product safety and quality for local consumers as well as to export to international markets. Meanwhile, ISO 45001:2018 certification reflects the company’s comprehensive human resources policy, which aims to ensure a professional working environment and focus on the safety and health of every employee.”

The central laboratory of URC Vietnam

URC Vietnam is a subsidiary of URC Philippines and started operations in Vietnam in 2003. URC is the biggest subsidiary of JG Summit Holdings – one of the largest and most diversified Filipino conglomerates with business interests in air transportation, banking, real estate, as well as one of Nikkei Asia Review’s Top 300 Asian companies.

The company has built five factories in Binh Duong, Quang Ngai, Hanoi, and is now one of the leading food and beverage companies with well-known brands.