Companies need to strive for improvement in order to become more competitive if they wanted to face up to today's challenges brought about by the rising price of oil, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

He was delivering what he termed as "a national message" during a visit to Mdina Glass, within the Ta' Qali crafts village, which he visited as part of Worker's Day celebrations on Thursday.

He was accompanied by the Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue, Chris Said and a representative of the Nationalist Party's Workers' Solidarity section, George Sammut.

On arrival, he was greeted by Mdina Glass managing director Joe Said who showed him round the shop floor and walked him through the areas where lampworking, glass blowing and glass fusion take place.

Dr Gonzi said he was glad to accept the invitation to visit Mdina Glass which, this year, is celebrating 40 years since its establishment.

He explained how the company had established itself within the crafts' sector and was even exporting glass. The success of this family-run company was based on its commitment to quality and standards as well as to dedication, innovation, creativity and investing in employees.

Mdina Glass, he said, painted a picture of the success and challenges faced by companies that needed to shoulder the burden of the increasing price of oil by making themselves more competitive and striving to be better than the competition. The company proved that Maltese talent can overcome these challenges.

Mr Said underlined the important role that his dedicated staff played in the company's success and noted that, throughout these 40 years, Mdina Glass had grown to a staff complement of 45. The company now exported some 30 per cent of its product to places like Greece, Spain, England and France, among others.