|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Tuesday, 10 August 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Business | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Hidellana Tea Factory wins Bronze award Hidellana Tea Factory, Ratnapura secured a Bronze Award in the Industrial Sector (Medium Category) at the recently concluded Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI) Achievers of Industrial Excellence Awards ceremony 2004 in Colombo. "The first business venture we embarked on at Hidellana was R.T.S. Heavy Equipment (Earth Moving Construction Machinery) in 1990", said Lalith Liyanage, proprietor of Hidellena Tea Factory. As a first step towards diversifying its business interests, the company launched 'Bopath Falls', an A-Grade, 250-seater capacity restaurant approved by the Tourist Board at Kuruwita in 1994. This top class restaurant which catered to locals and foreign guests provided employment to 20 persons. "The following year - in 1995, we started RTS Metal Crusher, a rock crushing entity at Kuruwita, which employed 30 workers," Liyanage said. "It was in 1996 that I took over the tea factory at Hidellana, which was started by my father, E. L. W. Fernando in 1992", he said. The 10-acre Hidellana Tea Estate, which specialises in low grown tea, employs 400 workers. The capacity of the tea estate in 1996 was 30,000 kilogrammes of made tea per month. The capacity has now been enhanced significantly to 140,000 kilogrammes of made tea per month, the proprietor noted. He said that 97% of low grown tea is purchased from smallholders. "In 2000, we started a tea factory at the Seethawaka Industrial park, Avissawella (1 km from the town). We started with 110 workers, which has now expanded to 350 the made tea output per months at this factory is 7500 kg and the purchasing is 100% from smallholders", Liyanage said. The Hidellana Tea Factory had secured several awards for tea and its associated business over the years. The coveted 'Best Entrepreneur of the Year' and a Silver were won in 1995 followed by a Bronze in 1996 and a Silver in 1997. "In 1999, we bagged a Gold Award (Provincial Level) from the Federation of Chamber of Commerce." "We were also presented an award for 'Speciality Tea of the Year' by the World Tea Convention in Sri Lanka in 2003, at a ceremony organised by the Ceylon Tea Traders' Association. There were only five or six awards given for tea grades", the proprietor said. Hidellana Tea Factory was the only award winner for the entire Ratnapura district from among 12 contestants. No other contestant from the whole district was able to win even a small award, he said. In a unique achievement, Liyanage designed and manufactured a Firewood Splitting Machine and an energy-saving Tea Leaf Withering Fan for the tea industry. The fan was redesigned by reducing the weight to save energy. "Both these products are now being sold in the open market," Liyanage said. RTS Engineering was launched in 2004, but products were being manufactured and sold since 2000, he said. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
