Goodricke managing director Krupakaran David who took over last month, in an interview with The Financial Express said that the quality criteria should be the cynosure at all levels of functioning within the company.

``As part of this exercise, we would be redesigning the Castleton pack shortly. With this tea branded as the purest of Darjeeling varieties, the company will look into improved packaging in the form of customised usage packs. This essentially mean packs would differ accordingly, maybe catering to regular customers or corporate clientele or in the form of gift packs etc,'' said David.

The brand would be available in whole leaf and fanningsgrades. Thurbo, one of the company's `once popular' brands will also wear a new look. ``Thurbo, was literally languishing all these years and now we have decided to revive it once again. Marketing would kickstart at the metros primarily,'' said David.

The move would help the company cash in on its best teas as well as coping with the general slump for the Darjeeling grades. Out of a total production of about 19 million kg, Goodricke packs about seven to eight million kg through value-addition.

``An aggressive marketing strategy is needed for the promotion of Darjeeling orthodox in world markets. The promotion would be a step towards the effort of the industry to leverage on the teas' worldwide fame and to head off makers of inferior quality brands who have pirated the name,'' he added.GGL, while working on its twin-initiatives to achieve greater production and meet export targets has conceived quality to be the prime mover above everything. ``It is a guiding force and a thought process which is absolutelyessential for a large tea company as ours,'' he said.

According to David, a quality parameter should offset the high cost involved in producing a kilogram of tea. Quality is now a group concept and the company is aligning its growth strategies at all levels from the tea estate to the corporate boardroom to conform to the TQM culture.

``We have to get the field labour thinking on the operational aspects very seriously. The right raw materials in terms of quality clones is essential for medium and long-term growth. For the short-term, plucking the right kind of leaf texture is beneficial,'' David contends.

The company is soon to begin on-the-job training programmes at all levels to ensure an all-round improvement in performance in conformance with TQM standards.

The quality check will not be complete without addressing other issues such as worker productivity, said David. ``For this, we will soon provide various incentives in cash and kind to the families of the workers who are able to meet the healthparameters and ensure increased returns per hectare,'' he added.