South’s printing power

Shaffiat Ali was too busy running his printing company, Saudia Enterprises Limited (SEL), in Barrackpore in south Trinidad, to take on mundane things like business awards. But his flexographic and elastic printing were of such a high quality that it caught the attention of global judges at a competition in London recently. SEL walked away with the coveted International Quality Crown Award (IQC) at the award ceremony at the Thistle Tower Hotel, London.

The award, in the platinum category, was presented by the president of Business Initiatives Directions (BID), Jos? E Prieto. Companies from 61 countries were represented. The IQC award selection criterion is based on principles of the Total Quality Management (TQM), currently utilised by global companies. In  business jargon, it is commonly referred to as QC100. The 100 points of quality cover areas starting with customer satisfaction as well as communication, leadership, bench marking, human resources, information analysis, decision-making, continuous training, definition of systems and processes and business results. The company which started off as a simple printing business, servicing companies in south Trinidad, is now a heavy weight with markets throughout the Caribbean.

Ali has since been featured in the March edition of 4 AM Magazine, a quarterly business magazine based in London and which features business managers from around the globe. Ali said that he was too busy trying to run his company to notice any kind of  business awards, much less one taking place on the other side of the world. “When I received the call, I was in a state of shock. I could not believe that the company was selected for an international award. “Especially from London. It really took me by surprise,” he said in a recent interview. He noted that through the years he has invested a lot of money, especially cutting edge machinery in SEL, to bring it up to global standards. This, he said, was needed to maintain a high level of production and efficiency. “Everyday there are new developments in machinery and if we want to achieve the best results, then it calls for more and more investments,” he said.

Quality service is always demanded by global companies, he said, and SEL was there to provide just that. Asked about the competition out there, Ali said he was still able to maintain the edge. SEL is now a reputable firm and its work recognised internationally, he said. But it has diversified over the years. SEL is now  capable of  producing high quality printing on elastic products, as well as clothing and sporting wear. On the award, Ali said that he was told that he was selected based on recommendations made by the banks and airlines offices of the Caribbean.