The National Quality Award of the Republic of Cuba

The National Quality Award of the Republic of Cuba, instituted since 1999, is the highest recognition in the country to entities that are distinguished in obtaining relevant results in the application of total quality management and economic efficiency , based on compliance with a set of previously established requirements. This high responsibility was assigned to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA), which together with the National Standardization Office (ONN), prepared the proposal of the bases and requirements for said award, as well as the organization of the evaluation process and proposal of winners, together with the national organizations that finally approved it. The establishment of the National Quality Award of the Republic of Cuba, pursues the following objectives: • Encourage and recognize entities that are distinguished by the success achieved in their business and quality management, turning them into benchmark entities among the best. • Promote the use of Cuban experience in the use of the total quality management approach and practices, as a way to promote continuous improvement of quality, efficiency, sustainability and competitiveness. • Encourage the use of the criteria established for the award, as a guide to advance towards excellence and development of a national culture for quality. • Promote the stability and business maturity necessary to achieve a permanent level of trust in its management. In addition, it allows the winning entities of such a high award to aspire to the international recognition of the Ibero-American Quality Award, an even higher link and only accessible to entities of excellence. Since this important national recognition was established, only 33 entities have achieved it, of them 5 (15% of the total winners), belong to the production sector, in front of which it is much more difficult to obtain this award, motivated by the depth and impact of the requirements being assessed. Based on the above, we can understand the magnitude of what was achieved by UEB No.3 Sancti Spíritus Production Plant, belonging to the Sociedad Mercantil Alimentos y Bebidas La Estancia SA, at a time, perhaps one of the most complex and difficult that it has had the country's economy in recent years. The award achieved is a recognition of the will of its managers, specialists, technicians and workers in general, who, grouped together in their base organizations, decided to show their results, their competence, the quality of what they produce, and with this they have won not only a recognition of a national group of experts, highly qualified and recognized to issue said evaluation, but they have managed to put the image of a workplace in a much higher rung than the rest of the entities of the territory and also national. Due to the importance of recognition, we want to extend it to Tetra Pak SA, supplier of packaging material and technology for production, an organization that contributes with the quality of the supply to achieve a product of high standard in the National Market and with which it works to achieve its insertion in the foreign market.