FORGING AHEAD - Tradewinds Plantation Berhad

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PERFORMANCE REVIEW
BuSINESS REvIEW
By CHIEF EXECuTIvE OFFICER
The R&D Centre has collaborated with
other research units such as MPOB and
Universiti Putra Malaysia (“UPM”) to
improve agronomic management.
Specific projects include a collaborative
effort with MPOB to determine suitable
protocols for the establishment of
leguminous cover crops in peat soils
and a joint-research project with UPM
to look into phosphate requirements for
peat planting. The Centre is also
researching into methods of controlling
the increasing threat of bunch moths
through chemical, agronomical and
biological means. Among the new
projects the Centre is exploring is the
Oil Palm Tissue Culture Programme as
part of the Group’s long-term yield
enhancement strategy.
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
As the business environment becomes
ever more competitive, the quality of
our products and services can make the
difference in penetrating new markets.
To this end, the Group has extended its
ISO certification programme for two
more mills during the year. Having
completed a rigorous process of
awareness training, documentation and
two audits by SIRIM QAS Int., the Sg.
Kachur Palm Oil Mill and the Ulu Sebol
Palm Oil Mill earned their certification
to ISO 9001:2008 on 16 July and 6
September 2010 respectively.
TRADEWINDS PLANTATION BERHAD
Annual Report 2010
Complementing the ISO certification
programme, the Group’s in-house
TQEM-SBU began implementing quality
audits during the year under review.
The main objective of these audits is to
ensure that basic policy guidelines are
adhered to in the Group’s operating
units. Any non-conformity or areas for
improvement can be identified through
these audits and redressed.
WALKING THE GREEN PATH
In a world increasingly concerned
about environmental preservation,
almost every major corporation attempts
to walk the green path these days. Even
before going green became a buzzw
o r d , t h e G r o u p h a s t a k e n
environmental stewardship in its stride
as an integral part of ensuring
sustainability in its operations. For
years, the Group has walked the extra
miles to adhere by the principles of
sustainable agriculture practices that
embrace an array of areas including
integrated pest management, nutrient
balancing, FFB evacuation, waste
recycling, and fragile soils management
among others. While technology plays
an important role in meeting the
sustainability objective, we have left no
stone un-turned. We have also resorted
to environmentally-friendly solutions
such as the use of buffaloes in FFB
evacuation or by encouraging owls to
breed on our plantations as a means of
rodent control.
Positive steps have also been taken to
complement national efforts in tackling
major issues like green house gas
emissions and water pollution. Our
recent initiatives include the installation
of a Continuous Emission Monitoring
System at all our mills during the year
under review. This move conforms with
the requirement of the Environmental
Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 1978,
which requires the monitoring of boiler
smoke emissions.