Flowers speak more eloquently:
An entrepreneur through flower power
Ramani Kangaraarachchi
A flower speaks a thousand words on any occasion - may it be a happy
or sorrowful moment in people’s lives. It also can reach people of any
age, class or place without any barrier. At times flower power is
stronger than fire power. The youthful Managing Director of Green
Manufacturers (Pvt) Ltd, Nandana Maliyadewa also became a strong
entrepreneur through flower power.
Artificial flowers which looks very natural turned out at his factory
in Ja ela embellish the shops in almost every city in Sri Lanka.
He was interviewed by Daily News Business.
“I entered the University of Kelaniya after my Advanced Level
examination at St. Sebastian’s College, Kandana but could not complete
the degree as a result of the closure of the university for a long
period due to JVP problems in the country.
As I had encountered many hardships at the time I joined a BOI
company as a management trainee giving up the idea of completing the
degree, he said
Opportunity
“The company I joined manufactured artificial flowers for the
international market. There I learnt everything about artificial flower
making and gradually became a manager within a few years.
However, the company closed down abruptly after some time and the
investors left the country. Then I was jobless and found it very
difficult to find another job. Fortunately, I got an opportunity to work
in Japan for a short while where I earned some money and returned to the
country.
As I knew every technique of artificial flower making I decided to
start a small business in this field,” he said.
Maliyadeva bought some raw materials locally and manufactured flowers
at home.
But later he found that imported artificial flowers in the market
were cheaper than his products.
He could not even cover the cost of production by selling them. In
1994 he went to China and brought some raw material to manufacture
artificial flowers investing around Rs. 200,000.
“My wife and I took our products to various exhibitions and sales
centres and our cost of production was much less and we could face the
challenge of maintaining competitive prices.
Large factory
We built a good network of clients in this manner”, he said.
Maliyadeva had a clear idea about the local market needs and he
concentrated on better quality as well.”
I handled money carefully and developed the business. Now we import a
container load of raw material every two months”, he said.
The company has a large factory in Ja ela on one acre of land where
30 people work and he has subcontracted to about 1,000 people through
his distribution centres in Minuwangoda, Dunagaha, Marandagahamula,
Bandigoda, Ja-ela and Dagonna.
Each sub contractor can earn a minimum of Rs. 2,500 every month from
home. There are more than 200 varieties of flowers in the range which
can be used for any occasion. They include Christmas decorations and
bridal bouquets as well.
“The quality of my products is better than those imported because I
have developed them to suit our country and people through my long
standing experience.
This is a very sophisticated product where many tiny parts of flowers
have to be assembled manually. Only our company does this in the
country,” he said. Asked about his future plans, he said that he can set
up another factory elsewhere to manufacture artificial flowers and give
employment to about 400 young people in our country.
Soft toys
If the Government could control the import of artificial flowers it
would save a lot of foreign exchange as well. I pay the same taxes as
the importers of finished artificial flowers which is not fair. I can
invest on another factory if the Government can give me a helping hand
by providing a tax exemption on the imports of raw material. I can
increase production and export them to neighbouring countries and earn
foreign exchange too, he said.
Maliyadeva has launched a new product of soft toys which has a big
demand already and he wants to concentrate more on it in the future.
With the support of his wife and the service of his dedicated and
hard working staff, he maintains a high standard of quality. Careful
management of money is the secret behind his success, he said. |