Introducing Total Quality Management to Manganese Processing

GEO/99/009
Total budget: USD 500,000
UNDP sector: Manufacturing Industries
Starting date: November 1999
Duration: 10 months

Background

Manganese is Georgia’s main mineral resource. During the Soviet era the manganese sub-sector played a significant role in Georgia’s economy, not only by its own output, but also by stimulating the development of infrastructure and other industrial sectors. With the break-up of the Soviet Union and opening up of the economy to competition, the FSU’s manganese products and their derivatives could not compete against imported better performance and environmentally friendlier products. The collapse of the FSU market—the main destination of the Georgian manganese products—has put this vital sector of Georgian economy into a critical position.

The Soviet-time system of management, especially with regard to quality and environmental issues, inhibits modernisation of the industry to meet world market requirements. Therefore, alternative markets cannot be captured without fundamental readjustment. As a result, the Georgian economy suffers from unutilised capacities, high unemployment, and social tension in the once-prosperous regions of Rustavi, Zestafoni and Chiatura where the manganese activities have been concentrated.

Objective

The project purpose is to support the recovery of Georgia’s manganese sub-sector by introducing modern quality management approach and procedures in the electrochemical processing of manganese, thus making the production meet international quality requirements and environmental standards.

Activities

1. A pilot plant will be erected and run in Georgia Engineering’s existing EMD plant in Rustavi, equipped with modern quality control apparatus, to design optimum process conditions for environmentally friendly production of high-quality EMD and other related manganese products (EMD = electrolytic manganese dioxide).

2. The core staff of Georgia Engineering will be trained in managerial, technical and marketing skills, particularly with regard to quality assurance and environmental issues.

3. An environmental strategy will be formulated to ensure that the environmental burden of the subsequent full-scale production will be minimised and in line with international standards. In addition the strategy will address cleaning of a huge manganese slag dump which was accumulated during Soviet-time production, and now forms a source of significant contamination of environment.

1. The pilot plant output is foreseen to convince the world market of the high product quality. Purchase commitments from consumers of EMD are expected to be received, which would help raise funds for rehabilitation of the plant to full-scale production (UNDP intervention is limited to the pilot plant stage, laying a sound basis for further development of Georgia Engineering Ltd. on its own).

2. The project would contribute to employment creation, environmental conservation and recovery of the economy of Georgia in general, the latter by generating Government revenue and improving the balance of payments situation through increased exports.