ARC benchmarks industry standards with third quality award

MANILA, Philippines - ARC Refreshments Corporation (ARC), the licensed bottler of RC Cola in the Philippines, has again proven its excellence in the production and distribution of great-tasting yet affordable soft drink products.

For the third consecutive year, the beverage company has received a quality award from Royal Crown Cola International (RCCI), its associate business partner based in the US, for meeting the stringent international quality standards of all RC Cola merchandise produced, bottled and distributed in the Philippines.

“The award validates that we are consistently delivering products that are at par with the international beverage industry’s very high standards for quality and taste,” beams Gerry Garcia, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ARC, after receiving the award from Francis Lamprea, managing director of RCCI, at the ARC office in Quezon City.

This momentum in quality excellence has been gained from meticulous assessment of materials and equipment for quality assurance, which is part of its corporate culture.

“ARC really invests in testing its equipment and choosing the right raw materials for our products. Most importantly, we hire the right people to run the company’s quality control systems,” Garcia explains.

Moshy Cohen, senior vice president for Business Development and Marketing of RCCI, also commended their local partner’s milestone that set its benchmark for quality as one of the best among RCCI associate business partners in the world. “It’s been a pleasure to see how (ARC) employees have leveled up the standard with their consistent work ethic that upholds a culture of commitment to quality,” Cohen enthused.

Garcia also acknowledged its employees’ contribution to make the feat possible, saying, “We provided the support and the tools but at the end of the day, it’s really our people who earned this award.” Moreover, the quality excellence demonstrated by ARC has prompted the RCCI technical team to partner with the local company in testing cost-efficiency strategies that, if found successful, will be implemented for more environmentally and socially responsible operations.

“We’re bringing ideas and some of those ideas are pioneered in Philippine sites,” Lamprea said.

Each year, RCCI’s technical team audits and grades each of about 100 RC Cola plants worldwide as part of a program that’s meant to maintain and improve the quality of RC Cola soft drinks and other beverage products. Plants that meet all evaluation parameters are recognized through a quality award. The parameters include assessing over a hundred different aspects about the plant and sending samples of the bottler’s product to RCCI’s laboratory in Columbus, Georgia, USA, for testing.

Aside from RC Cola, ARC also bottles and distributes other soft-drink brands like California Fruity Orange, Juice Lemon and Arcy’s Rootbeer.