PT IAPMO Group Indonesia, The IAPMO Group’s product testing laboratory and certification operation in Indonesia, on May 16 held a ceremony to inaugurate its plastic pipe and polymer resin laboratory, demonstrating its capabilities to government officials and industry association leaders seeking a partner in the conformity assessment and certification of petrochemical products.

“The Readiness of Industry and Conformity Assessment Infrastructure in the Fields of Plastic Plumbing Products and Plastic Materials to Support Sustainability Development Goals (SDG)” event aligns PT IAPMO Group Indonesia with Presidential Regulation No. 12 Year 2021 concerning procurement of government goods or services which prioritize domestic products, products that have SNI and environmentally friendly product certificates.

The event was attended by Drs. Kukuh S. Achmad, M.Sc., chairman of Indonesia’s National Standardization Agency (BSN) and representatives from the United States Embassy, Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry (MoI), Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR), Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), Ministry of Trade (Mot) and other industry leaders and associations related to plumbing and polymer plastics.

PT IAPMO Group Indonesia is a conformity assessment body (CAB) with certification, inspection, and testing services accredited by the National Accreditation Committee (KAN) for various accreditation schemes, such as management systems for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 37001; product certification for SNI and ecolabel; inspection; personnel certification; and product testing, especially for testing of plumbing products and building materials in accordance with various test methods such as SNI, ISO, ASTM, ASME, etc. As a competent CAB, PT IAPMO Group Indonesia addresses the infrastructure development challenge by developing a testing laboratory for plastic pipes (PVC and PE) and plastic resins (PVC, PE, PP).

"By being accredited by KAN, it means that the laboratory is part of an international community, which is accredited by accreditation bodies signing MRA from more than 100 countries in the world, one of which is Indonesia through KAN," Kukuh said.

PT IAPMO Group Indonesia’s testing facility includes testing for the geometric, mechanical, physical, and chemical characteristics of PVC pipes and fittings for drinking and wastewater, PE pipes and fittings for drinking water, and PE pipes for gas installations. Additional testing provided for plastic resin raw materials includes physical, mechanical, and chemical tests for PVC, PE, and PP resins. Further laboratory testing capabilities are available related to environmental sustainability, such as heavy metal content (Pb, Cd, Hg, Cr6+), total migration, specific migration, and content of recycled materials, especially for recycled PET resin, which is widely used in bottled water/beverage packaging.

The petrochemical industry is one of the sectors with high priority for development based on the Making Indonesia 4.0 roadmap. This industry is one of the upstream sectors that provides raw materials for almost all downstream sectors, such as plastics, pipes, automotive textile, paint, cosmetics, and the pharmaceutical industries; therefore, sustainability development of the petrochemical industry is very important for the economy.

Indonesia has the potential to become the center for the growth of petrochemical industry. Further, the Indonesian petrochemical industry can be competitive at the ASEAN and Asian levels.

Rapid infrastructure development, especially for the new capital city, Ibukota Nusantara (IKN), encourages economic growth. Among these infrastructure development objectives is the government's Medium-Term National Development Plan setting an annual goal of 10 million drinking water and natural gas connections for households. Conformity assessment infrastructure is critical in assessing compliance with requirements to ensure that products used are safe, environmentally friendly and do not have an adverse impact on health.

“IAPMO is pleased to support the Republic of Indonesia’s infrastructure development goal of 10 million drinking water and natural gas connections for households through the establishment of our plastic pipe and polymer resin lab in our Indonesia facility,” said Tom Palkon, IAPMO Group chief technical services officer, who attended the ceremony. “IAPMO understands the importance of our role to ensure that products used are safe, environmentally friendly and do not have an adverse impact on health.”

Comments from other attendees:

“We really appreciate IAPMO's achievements in providing pipe and polymer resin testing facilities so that all pipe manufacturers that are members of APIN can use it and support the achievement of the 6th SDG goal, namely Clean Water and Sanitation. Congratulations to IAPMO Group Indonesia!” — Muhajir, chairman of the National Plumbing Association (APIN)

“The Indonesian Association of Aromatic, Olefin and Plastic (INAPLAS) expressed joy and gratitude for the addition of a conformity assessment body (CAB), namely IAPMO. The need for CAB is necessary for the process of certifying plastic raw materials and their finished products such as water pipes, gas pipes, electronic/automotive components, and others. Plastic materials are needed for food and medicine packaging as well as drinking water piping systems. This is done in order to nourish the community while achieving two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, namely Good Health and Well Being and Clean Water and Sanitation. Congratulations to IAPMO.” — Suhat Miyarso MSc, chairman of INAPLAS

“Heavy metals are one of the indicators for assessing environmentally friendly products in pipe and polymer products. The presence of PT IAPMO Group Indonesia’s test laboratory can facilitate the Indonesian Green Label certification process for pipes and polymers. This was positively welcomed by the Green Product Council Indonesia (GPCI) because it can make it easier for companies to guarantee that their products are safe and environmentally friendly. — Yoyok Hermanto, COO of GPCI

For more information about these services, please visit www.iapmoindonesia.org.