Another milestone for Ohorongo
Ohorongo Cement (Pty) Ltd, the only cement manufacturer in Namibia, has just obtained its certification of having met the international standards of ISO 14001:2009 and ISO 9001:2008, an environmental management and quality standard.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established the Environmental Management System to encourage companies to evaluate all areas of business where its activities have an environmental impact. The ISO 9001 – Quality Management System provides guidance and tools for companies and organizations who want to ensure that their products and services consistently meet customers’ requirements, and to ensure that quality is consistently improved.
Since its inception, Ohorongo Cement has always maintained high quality standards and procedures, hence receiving its ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification in October 2013. The company will continue to maintain the same high standards, but recognize that there is always room for improvement.
Ohorongo Cement is the most technologically advanced plant of its kind in Africa. It was designed with the highest levels of output with the least impact on the environment. By using the best technology available, it allows for a 30 % reduction in electrical power consumption compared to traditional cement plants. The system also allows a saving of up to 220 m3 of water per day. The cement plant is also equipped with the most advanced filtering systems in the world, keeping air pollution to an absolute minimum.
The Energy for Future Project (EFF) was also initiated to find and source alternative fuels. EFF produces woodchips from intruder bush which is then sold to their sister company, Ohorongo Cement. This allows for up to 80 % coal to be replaced with wood chips for burning clinker in the kiln.
In order to continually improve, regular internal and external audits are done to identify opportunities for improving the company systems and processes and to fulfill legal, social, environmental and customer requirements, and to confirm that all Ohorongo processes are accordance with the adopted International Standards.
