ADVERTORIAL

Ajantha Mendis teams up with Cargills Supremo

Ajantha Mendis Sri Lanka’s star cricketer who brought a new excitement to the game of cricket with his amazing performances on the field is promising to add the same excitement to the Cargills Supremo processed meat range.

The Cargills Supremo processed meats includes a collection of Sausages and Meat Balls that brings together everything that Cargills (Ceylon) PLC as a company stands for in terms of providing quality, nutrition to Sri Lanka through an innovation driven strategy.

“In picking Ajantha as its brand ambassador Cargills Supremo selected an outstanding individual who shares the same dedication to consistency, perfection and innovation which have enabled him to bring success and glory to his nation,” explained Head of Marketing- Manufacturing Brands, Cargills (Ceylon) PLC Hemali Ellawala.

Clearly indicative of its dedication to quality is the fact that the Cargills SUPREMO product range is the only collection of processed meat products manufactured in Sri Lanka which is fully compliant with ISO standards.

General Manager of the Cargills Quality Foods production plant Deva Weerasooriya where the Cargills Supremo range is manufactured said, “We are the only processed meat plant in the island to have all three ISO certifications.

Cargills Supremo is geared with ISO 9001: 2000 for Quality Management, ISO 14001: 2004 for Environment Management and ISO 22000:2005 for Food Safety. The entire team is proud to uphold the stringent systems and processes that are in place which ensures that only the finest product reaches our customer.”

Explaining the importance of the certifications Weerasooriya explained that ISO 9001: 2000 spells out the total quality management system from the sourcing of raw material up to the point of product dispatch. “We have looked into the entire quality management system in detail. All our processes have been scrutinised, benchmarks have been determined and the best practice has been defined,” he said.

The ISO 22000:2005 is a certification that ensures that a safe product is consistently delivered to the consumer. The certification requires the company to identify any potential hazard either physical, chemical or biological that can affect the product.

“We have a stringent raw material purchase system which includes supplier audits and continuous evaluation to make sure we buy the best,” Weerasooriya noted. He also added that the Cargills Supremo plant is one of the few production facilities in the country that has food safety and food hygiene systems built into its infrastructure.

In line with the overall Cargills policy of becoming a ‘Green Business’ the ISO 14001: 2004 certification awarded to the Cargills Supremo plant ensures that all natural resources in and around the unit are managed efficiently and effectively.

“Our aim is to provide consumers a product that they can trust in. The processes we follow at Cargills Supremo ensures that each time you dig into the delicious range you are also enjoying a product made under the strictest hygienic conditions upholding international standards of food safety and quality,” noted Hemali Ellawala. She added, “Our brand promises to deliver nothing but the best in terms of quality and that’s something we really share with our brand ambassador Ajantha Mendis.”

CIC Agri Business commences Agri education tours

With a view of enhancing the knowledge of Agriculture among Sri Lankans. CIC Agri Businesses has initiated weekend farm tours with an overnight stay at their Agri Holiday Resort at Hingurakgoda. The first tour which was made up of twenty agriculture enthusiasts concluded successfully last weekend.

The two day farm tour which commenced from Colombo, took the group to the Company’s two farms situated at Pelweheara - Dambulla and Hingurakgoda.

During the two days participants were taken around the farm to have a first hand look at some of the agriculture operations that included the cultivation of seed paddy, fruits, vegetables and livestock operations like poultry, piggery, buffalo and goat rearing for profits.

In addition presentations were also made to the tour group outlining the progress made by CIC Agri Business and enlightening them on some of the latest techniques that are practiced in the farms.

CIC Agri Businesses which manages the two farms market their produce in leading supermarkets in the island and through their own Fresheez/Juiceez outlets. Currently eggs, curd, yoghurt and Golden Crop rice are available in these outlets.

The enthusiasm shown by the participants and the queries received by the Company has prompted CIC Agri Businesses to organise similar farm tours more frequently. Accordingly the next farm tour will be in mid January.

Lankan born US investor planning to bring several businesses

Sarath Malalasekera

CEO Kosalaya International, Washington DC Kosla G. Tantula one of the Sri Lankan supporters who raised funds to President elect Barack Obama in Virginia now in Sri Lanka, on a short visit told the Daily News that he is planing to bring several business ventures to Sri Lanka, in order to strengthen the Sri Lankan economy.

Kosala, domiciled in Washington DC owning one of the leading Accounting firms in the USA was a staunch supporter of President elect Barack Obama who won Virginia for the Democrats after 44 years. Senior Senator Jim Webb was a senior supporter during the election campaign for Obama in Virginia, Kosala said.

A decorated Vietnam veteran Senior Senator Jim Webb sits on the Committees of Foreign Relations, Armed Services and Veteran’s Affairs.

Dialog Blackberry helps Brandix employees

Brandix has improved company productivity to unprecedented application from Dialog Telekom. Brandix, Sri Lanka’s largest Blackberry user with 150 users stated that with the introduction of Blackberry, its employees’ leisure time has also increased tremendously contributing to an improvement in their work-life balance.

“Blackberry has resulted in productivity gains amongst other benefits at Brandix. Even though our revenue increased 30%, the leisure time of our employees has also increased considerably due to the Blackberry deployment” said Director, Brandix Lanka Limited, Aslam Omar. “Most of all Blackberry helps to speed processing time which plays a pivotal role in our business dealings” he further added.

The Blackberry is currently being used at the C-level and senior management team at Brandix. Dialog Blackberry’s unique ability to automatically switch to the right roaming partner when they land in a foreign country ensuring smooth email operation, is one of the key benefits that senior managers at Brandix have highlighted.

“We always endeavor to initiate and provide effective business tools and solutions to our customers, helping and empowering them to dynamically keep pace with the business world” said, Chief Operating Officer, Dialog Telekom Supun Weerasinghe. “We are confident that the mission critical applications that Brandix plans to deploy on the Blackberry will further improve their productivity and responsiveness as one of the country’s leading apparel solutions providers” he continued.

Blackberry, the mobile enterprise email application of the future enhances mobility and responsiveness of employees yielding productivity and efficiency gains.

Blackberry “push mail” is the main feature of Blackberry enabling mobile users to check email on their Blackberry handset irrespective of where they are. Complete with built in encryption for security, in addition to downloading and responding to emails the Blackberry allows downloading and viewing of email attachments as well.

Blackberry has become essential business tool to enterprises as it helps to keep pace with the ever changing and dynamic business world by facilitating quick responses to emails.