SME sector still untapped:

Local industrialists need State support

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

The small and medium sector is the live-wire of the economy in the country. But it has not been fully utilized still. The potential of SME sector industrialists who can be of benefit to many people in the agricultural and plantation sectors is still untapped.

In the past the country was self sufficient in many agricultural products such as paddy, tea, rubber and coconut without any advanced technology that is available now.

But it has failed to maintain that position with so much of new technologies as it has not been able to give solutions to the basic problems of such industrialists.

Semuthu Agro, Managing Director Kingsely Perera is the only manufacturer of Rotary Slashers, the first of its kind ever manufactured to operate from the rear of the Power Tiller is an innovative entrepreneur who has the capacity and the ability to develop a number of agricultural machinery and equipment at his workshop in Negombo if basic facilities can be made available by the Government.

He was interviewed by Daily News Business.

Perera was the seventh child in a family of eight children in Negombo and had his education at Maris Stella College Negombo. Straight after leaving school in 1975, he joined a private sector company importing Kubota tractors as an apprentice where he was able to improve lot of technical skills in that field.

In the meantime he followed a welding course at Bosco College to further enhance his skills. After gaining experience in the private sector for five years he realized that he can do much more to the country by starting a business of his own.

Semuthu Agro emerged as a result of Perera leaving the company and starting his own business in a small way.

"I started with an investment of Rs 30,000 in my own land in Negombo and the first thing I did was purchasing a fourwheel tractor. I hired it to contractors to transport stone and sand. Then expanded it to earth moving machinery."

There was one thing that worked in my mind continuously from the time I worked as an apprentice that was to improve a Rotary Slasher which will be very useful to clear land in coconut estates or any other land or ground clearing including cutting weeds, chopping bushes and slashing shrubs. This rotary slasher can be attached to a two wheel or a four wheel tractor and operate as a clearing equipment. This equipment saves a lot of money spent on labour, time and energy as it can clear about seven to eight acres of land during eight hours of work.

In 2007, Perera's rotary slasher won an award for the best locally assembled product at the INCO exhibition organized by Incorporated Engineers Association.

Then he developed the gear box of high quality better than the imported ones. An imported gear box costs more than Rs 200,000 where we can supply it for half that amount and we give a good after sales service where they do not get for imported items.

We have the capacity to increase production even to export provided the Government can find a market for us, he said.

"I have given employment to 25 people at the workshop now but if I increase production I can give more employment to people and earn foreign exchange for the country," he said.

These equipment has high demand in agriculture based Western countries.

At present the Agriculture Department purchases from us. But that is not enough. Our farmers cannot afford to lease an imported product because banks are reluctant to give loans to them, but the locally manufactured products are affordable to them.

The Government must impose high taxes for imported items and encourage local industrialists, he said.

"If taxes imposed on spare parts can be reduced we can locally manufacture many other equipment that benefit our farmers."

But at present despite unaffordable taxes we have to pay bribes at every counter at various places to get things done. How much am I getting for doing this is the first question raised at many counters instead of how can I help you to develop the industry, he said.

"I have built a good relationship with China, Vietnam and India and managed to buy their spare parts at cheaper prices but the taxes at the Customs make all that negligible," he said.

Perera has requested the SME sector to support his industry by finding local and foreign markets to his products and is awaiting a positive response.

Among other products manufactured at Semuthu includes a maize cutter, a machine that can prepare the land to plant seeds. These are very useful to maize growers in the country.

With the resources available today, Perera can manufacture ten machines in two weeks and distribute through his 35 dealer them islandwide.

His future plans are to take the industry forward and expand the business to North and East locally and enter the export market.

"We had good sales this year in Mannar because they have started agriculture projects," he said.

His only son Malintha and wife Latha who are directors of the company along with the staff are working hard to achieve these goals.