Quality crackdown aims to eliminate sub-standard products

Mainland China--In a bid to eliminate sub-standard products, mainland China has launched a "quality campaign" that includes strict new production quotas and the closing down of firms that are using outdated production equipment.

The National Building Material Bureau (NBMB) was first to make a move by issuing a new set of guidelines for ceramics and sanitaryware. Bureau officials plan to increase the production of high-grade ceramic tiles to 30 percent of the total, and sanitaryware to 20 percent.

The central government, meanwhile, has added its own weight to the effort by imposing strict quotas on ceramic tile production. The aim is to encourage firms to concentrate on production of high grade products.

Three million pieces of sanitaryware produced using outdated means of production will also be eliminated. Obsolete equipment including circular, multi-hole, and coal-burning kilns will be phased out and manufacturers whose annual output is less than 7 million square meters of ceramic tiles, or less than 200,000 thousand pieces of mid-class or low-class sanitaryware, will be closed down.

The NBMB will offer incentives to manufacturers who consistently produce high-quality products, invest in new machinery and advanced production techniques, and use support industries that add value to products.