ADVERTORIAL

Ceylinco Life policy holders in Singapore

Ceylinco Life has rewarded 50 policy holders with their families with a remarkable, four-day Singapore tour in the first phase of the company's fourth 'Family Savari' program.

Ceylinco Life ‘Family Savari’ winners in Singapore

The chosen policy holders were entertained with exciting tours to some of the favourite attractions of Singapore including Sentosa Island, the Merlion statue, China Town, Little India, Red Temple and the National Orchid Gardens. At Sentosa the tour group enjoyed an evening of song and drama at the beach and experienced Cable Car and Sky Train rides. A visit to the spectacular 'Underwater World' and 'Images of Singapore' Museum, was part of itinerary.

The policy holders were also treated to the popular new attraction, the 'Crane Show' and the 'Song of the Sea' laser show and an exciting shopping experience at Mustafa shopping mall and China Town.

Star Class accommodation was provided at the Copthorne King's Hotel and dining arrangements were made at a range of diverse reputed restaurants to enable the tour group to enjoy varying delicacies and cuisines, Ceylinco Life said.

Physically challenged persons who were aided by assistants and policy holders from towns and villages in the North and the East were among the policy holders chosen for this edition of the Family Savari.

In the second phase of this year's program, Ceylinco Life will take 2,000 people from 500 policy holder families to a day out at the Leisure World theme park. The third phase will provide an opportunity for 600 people from 150 families to participate in two Colombo coast cruises on the 'Jetliner' in April.

The annual Ceylinco Life Family Savari event is intended to generate greater awareness of and interest in life insurance in market segments as yet unprotected through insurance, reward existing policy holders for keeping their policies active and provide an incentive to others to revive and maintain their policies.

Brandix associate in literary journey

In ten years, Brandix Associate Renuka Bandaragoda has progressed from being a Machine Operator at Brandix to Communications Coordinator, Editor of the highest privately-circulated newspaper in the country and author of three books, exemplifying the tenet that given the conducive environment, human potential is limitless.

Renuka Bandaragoda

The 40-year-old mother of a two-year-old son, who joined Brandix Intimate Apparel in Welisara in 2000, recently launched her third book Geyak Ethule Thawath Geyak, a collection of children's poetry, at a ceremony at her own workplace, in the presence of the company's senior management, relatives and special invitees.

She is also the author of two other books, Nothith Asha, and Nethumini, both of the novels written while she was employed at Brandix. The cover of the new book and the graphics too were designed by another Brandix associate, Neil Kumara Dehipitiyage, who is employed as a Mechanic. He is also the cartoonist of Viyaman, the Brandix Group's internal newspaper, as well as a writer.

Two other associates of the group are in the process of writing books that are to be published by Brandix through Viyaman Publications.

Brandix Intimate Apparel CEO Shrihan Perera said, "Brandix takes great effort to identify the multiple talents in employees and wherever possible to provide opportunities to develop them. Ms. Bandaragoda is an example of this practice."

He said that Brandix appreciates the confidence and courage that enabled her to progress from a Machine Operator to a key member of the Group's Human Resources Development team. Tokens of appreciation from the Brandix Group Chief Executive Officer Ashroff Omar and from her employer, Brandix Intimate Apparel were also awarded to Bandaragoda at the ceremony.

Sampath Quiz - 2011

Captain of the winning team receiving the Sampath Bank Challenge Trophy from Sampath Bank Deputy Managing Director Aravinda Perera

Sampath Bank Inter Branch and Department Quiz Competition was held recently with a participation of more than 125 teams representing the branches and departments.

The Trade services - A team won the Sampath Bank Challenge Trophy while Wennappuwa and Ratmalana teams were adjudged as the second and third places respectively in the overall category.

Furthermore, the Wennappuwa branch was awarded the best outstation branch and Tangalle branch became the best difficult branch in this competition.

The Sampath Quiz Competition is an annual event organized by the Sampath Bank Sports club.

Avirate sponsors Colombo Fashion Week

Avirate was launched in June 2010 during the IIFA Film festival and was the proud sponsor of the IIFA Fashion Show. Avirate, Sri Lanka's pioneer high-street fashion label, launched its flagship store in Sri Lanka on December 7, 2010. The launch of their on-trend store with its international range of fashion wear will ideally coincide with the upcoming seasons, and is bound to offer every woman a stylish and sophisticated experience she wouldn't want to miss.

Derived from the Sanskrit word 'Avirati', which means sensuality, the new Avirate collection designed by Timex is aptly poised to do justice to this name and the essence of the brand. Avirate is also an exotic expression from an island that's said to be one of the most romantic destinations in the world.

As one of Sri Lanka's preferred labels, Avirate has boldly paved the way for a new era in fashion and was a proud sponsor of Colombo Fashion Week 2011. Matching international standards in design and quality, Avirate appeals to every woman's sense of style and sensuality with a range of every day and evening wear, lingerie, shoes and accessories.

Avirate is Sri Lanka's latest and only destination store that's home to a complete range of on-trend fashion. Avirate is also the first and only store in Sri Lanka to treat each and every woman to the personal attention of an entourage of Customer Service Representatives who are trained and skilled to offer expert style advice and assistance. This gives each client the freedom to express herself through a wide and versatile range of fashion wear, while offering her the comfort of expert style advice should she require it. Because at Avirate, it's not about selling; it's about accentuating the inherent sensuality of a woman.

Avirate is a venture by Timex, one of the top five apparel manufacturers of our country. Partnering with some of the biggest names in fashion, such as Espirit, Wallis, M&Co, Jones New York, Diesel, and Marks & Spencer.

Free cricket apps in Nokia Ovi Store

Nokia's new cricket apps, available on the Ovi Store, are set to spice up the World Cup experience of cricket enthusiasts in Sri Lanka.

The free applications include ones to keep track of scores during matches and also to take the game off the playing field and into the phone.

Ovi Store, launched worldwide in May 2009, offers downloadable mobile games, applications, videos, images, and ringing tones for Nokia devices. On April 21, 2010, one of Ovi Store's mobile content developers broke records with a combined 25 million downloads of their applications, downloaded from 210 different countries, a number higher than the number of UN member countries, highlighting Ovi Store's geographic reach.

Cricket League of Champions

Cricket League of Champions is the latest edition of cricket, where twelve clubs from seven nations clash for the top spot in a Twenty20 cricket tournament and one team will claim the championship.

Cricket Free Hit

The Cricket Free Hit is a unique and addictive cricket game for all cricket enthusiasts. The application will test the user's cricket skills and game play knowledge with precise power and perfectly timed hits being a necessity for success in the game.

ESPNCricinfo Mobicast

ESPNCricinfo Mobicast delivers live scores, ball-by-ball commentary, one-click access to schedules, breaking news and photos of every single international cricket game-all of this in a Nokia device, free of cost. It also features Podcasts from Cricket experts such as Ian Chappell, Tony Greig and Geoffrey Boycott. This service is offered by ESPNCricinfo, the world's leading cricket portal, in association with Plusmo.

Mobile phone intervention for mushroom cultivation:

Ruhuna University partners Mobitel

The Ruhuna University offers an agricultural extension program that hopes to reach out to all mushroom farmers across the country. The program's vision is to not only educate mushroom cultivators, but also to increase and ensure targeted families receive sustainable means of livelihood, enabling community economic development in a bid to transform the lives of many Sri Lankans.

Since the inception of the agricultural program for mushroom farmers in 2008, the initiative has gained widespread publicity for its extension of activities that include demonstrations, training programs and field visits. Apart from the university's academic proficiency, venturing into development on a national level was initiated by the effort of a research team providing technical insight to the study. The new platform introduced for agricultural extension will prop up the dissemination of knowledge through mobile phones.

Mobitel partnered the Ruhuna University on this occasion to launch an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System for mushroom farmers (L3F).

Mobitel will provide the platform for the Agricultural Extension Program in the form of an IVR with knowledge content provided by the Ruhuna University Agriculture Faculty Agricultural Economics Department.

The IVR will host a 1- 2 minute voice recording on mushroom cultivation from Monday to Friday. Registered farmers and any Mobitel customer is entitled to listen to the message and a session of multiple choice questions related to the study. The Agricultural Extension Program will span over a period of 6 months and farmers will be educated on various methods of cultivating quality mushrooms, and presenting harvest in the market through value addition.

Program Coordinator Professor Mahinda Wijeratne said, "We are extremely happy to partner Mobitel on our Agriculture Extension Program.

We hope to extend our knowledge and reach on mushroom cultivation for all those who are keen on new and improved ways of harvesting through mobile intervention as mushroom production is labour and management intensive. Specialty mushrooms are not a 'get rich quick' enterprise. On the contrary, it takes a considerable amount of knowledge, research, planning, and capital investment to set up a production system."

Initially, the program was limited to the Kamburupitiya Mushroom Growers Society and with the intervention of mobile phones, expansion throughout the district remains key.

The farmers were notified through Vidatha centres, storing a database of those who cultivate mushrooms. The first 100 farmers to enroll for the program will be able to engage in the Agricultural Extension Program free and at the end of the six month course all farmers will receive recognition from the Ruhuna University. "Once again we are delighted to extend our reach for the greater development of society.

The program will open farmers to knowledge input on mushroom production. Research and extension presently remains low in Sri Lanka, and this is one example of breaking traditional boundaries to transit from traditional to contemporary methods of learning," said Life Long Learning for Farmers' Project Country Coordinator Professor Uma Comaraswami organized by the Commonwealth of Learning who attended the occasion as chief guest.

SDBL signs ATM agreement with ComBank

SANASA Development Bank (SDBL) and Commercial Bank signed an agreement to share their banks’ ATMs for their customers.

This agreement was signed at the Commercial Bank Head Office by the SANASA Development Bank General Manager and CEO Nimal Mamaduwa and Commercial Bank Operations Deputy General Manager Sanath Bandaranayake, SDBI IT Consultant Dr R B Ekanayake, Deputy General Managers Sunimal Fernando and K G Leelananda, Assistant General Manager E A A S Ediriwickrama, IT Senior Manager Indika Ranasinghe and Legal Manager I K L Sasi Mahendran represented SANASA Development Bank. Commercial Bank was represented by Card Centre Head Lakshamn Perera and Card Centre Chief Manager Thusitha Suraweera.

Commercial Bank has an ATM network of over 400. The new partnership will give an opportunity for all savings account holders of SANASA Development Bank to utilize the Commercial Bank ATM network for cash withdrawals.

SANASA Development Bank will also install a few ATMs throughout the country. With this arrangement SDBL customers will have the added benefit of accessing the ATM network islandwide.

'Beyond the obvious':

Triad, Fortunaglobal host 'digital evening'

The marketing fraternity is optimizing the usage of conventional media in their communications campaigns. However, the new media like the digital platform are being included into an integrated communications mix only as a means of extending an idea to yet another medium. The length and breadth of the digital medium is immense and with every passing moment it evolves into a newer opportunity to engage with a captive target audience.

Having understood the importance of being "Digital savvy", Triad together with Fortunaglobal, a leading IT solutions provider in the country hosted an evening where a special invitee - India's foremost digital company Ignitee Socio Search Architect Gautamm Mehra addressed the audience, sharing the Indian Digital experience and the impact of the medium awaiting discovery in Sri Lanka. Many exciting and creative digital innovations in the field of brand building were presented and their insights shared, as a bid to inspire the local brands to explore the many wonders of digital communication.

Introducing Sri Lanka's first and only local multinational communications company triadhot.com Triad COO Sarva Ameresekera, expanded on the benefits of establishing a fully fledged agency on a virtual platform by transcending the conventional operating models of multinational corporations which set up offshore brick-and-mortar offices. This virtual agency triadhot.com is complete in its service offering where, just as one would walk into a fully fledged servicing agency, one can access the gamut of communication services at the press of a button. "We are able to provide cutting edge solutions to a client because we can assemble a tailor-made team, bringing in specialists in any field from anywhere in the world for a specific business or communication need. Our online interface is a very user friendly portal that allows one to project manage and perform tasks efficiently and transparently with built-in communication and updating features", said Ameresekera.

The local company responsible for the engineering and backend management of Triadhot.com and its virtual platform, Fortunaglobal Managing Director Suren Kohombange shared his learnings and the ease of operation designed into the technologically advanced programming of the site. His team of young professionals who have the experience and drive to think out of the box take pride in innovating Sri Lanka's first virtual agency platform and look forward to extending similar services to other fast growing industries.

FITIS Annual ICT Industry Cricket Championship:

Caddy Shack emerges champions

The FITIS Annual Cricket Championship was held on February 13 at the Colombo Gymkhana Club (CCC) cricket grounds for the Intel Challenge Trophy for the seventh consecutive year.

Eighty four companies in the ICT field battled for the championship and Caddy Shack Computers emerged the winner. The E-Sys Technologies Lanka Private Limited B Team was the runners-up.

A large number of IT industry cricket enthusiasts and other sports fans participated in the keenly contested cricket tournament conducted amidst a carnival atmosphere. FITIS Hardware Chapter President Wasantha Weerakoon, FITIS Hardware Chapter Vice President Udaya Silva, Organizing Committee Chairman Sajith Nawaz, FITIS CEO Damith Hettihewa and sponsor representatives participated in the awards ceremony.

Indika de Zoysa Country Business Manager Sri Lanka Intel Em Ltd presented the Intel Challenge Trophy to the winners Caddy Shack Computers and the Man of the Series trophy was presented by UCSC Director Prof Gihan Wickramanayake. Intel was the main sponsor of the event while Acer, Cannon, Metropolitan, eSys and Redington were the other sponsors. Siyatha and Real FM were the media sponsors.

Global Hospitals Group partners with FORTE International:

Effective diagnostic tests made available

Global Hospitals Group, India's leading healthcare institution with 9 hospitals across the country has appointed Forte International as their business partner to effectively reach out to the patients across Sri Lanka and to ensure they receive world class healthcare services.

Due to their strong presence in the businesses of pharmaceutical, health care, marketing services and other International businesses, Global Hospitals have chosen FORTE International Pvt Ltd as their strategic partner to Sri Lanka and Maldives with the aim of easing the burden of those who wish to travel to India for world class medical treatments.

Global Hospitals is one of the first hospitals in India to have PET-CT Scan equipment. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computerized Tomography which are powerful equipment used for diagnostic tests that have made a great impact in the field of diagnosis and treatment of diseases. These state of the art machines can detect and categorize cancers often before they are evident through other tests and also help in acute monitoring of effects of therapy. PET-CT also gives Specialists important early information about heart disease and many neurological diseases like Alzheimer's.

The 64 Slice PET/CT scanning devices at Global Hospitals, integrates PET and CT technologies into a single device, making it possible to obtain both anatomical and biological data during a single exam. This integrated approach permits accurate tumor detection and localization for a variety of cancers, including Breast, Esophageal, Cervical, Melanoma, Lymphoma, Lung, Colorectal, Head and Neck, Ovarian.

"Global Hospitals has India's largest multi-organ transplant centre and the country's best team of consultants in a host of specialities", said Chairman/CEO of Forte International M F A Riyas. "These facilities will be available to all patients in Sri Lanka through Forte International. We will facilitate, guide and assist patients in Sri Lanka to obtain this world class medical service at absolutely no cost" he said. "All that patients need to do is pay the hospital fees".

The patients need to comply with a very simple process, wherein, all they need to do is forward their medical reports to Forte International for a free opinion at ZERO cost from a specialized team of Doctors at Global Hospitals. They will provide a reply to the queries within 48 hours. Global Hospitals Group also has a dedicated International Patient Services Centre, which provides support to patients and family members who are far away from home.

Forte International would attend to all the travel arrangements such as facilitating the relevant personnel in arranging visas, organizing transportation in India, arrange for transfers between the Airport and the Hospital by Coach/Car/Ambulance, placement in either hotels or long stay in apartments, organize for a stay for one attendant with the patient in the Hospital, provide Interpreter services, ensure the prescribed follow-up/rehabilitation care, provide single window of contact - 'Mentors' to be assigned to take care of all needs of patients and attendants, ensure assistance in registration with FRRO (Foreign Resident Registration Office), facilitate accommodation for the companion, if required.

Forte International also arranges appointments with specialists and provides provision of cost estimates. The duration of treatment is also arranged in advance without inconvenience to anyone.

Global Hospitals along with Forte International brings down specialists in knowledge sharing with the association of Sri Lankan doctors in the form of Continuous Medical Educational programs.

AE Apeksha scholarships makes foreign education possible:

Bridging education gap intended

Sri Lanka: Aspirations Education (AE) an international career guidance and student placement service center in Sri Lanka has ventured in to an industry first sustainability model providing access to education for the deprived through the contribution of the able individuals who travel overseas pursuing their education. Since its inception in 2007, the aim of the scholarship program was to assist students of low-income groups, who were deprived of the basic necessities in life, to follow a continuous school career.

For three consecutive years Aspirations Foundation has been sustaining 115 deserving students from 15 Districts in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, Ampara, Badulla, Monaragala, Matara, Galle, Kalutara, Colombo, Gampaha, Kegalle, Ratnapura, Kandy, and Matale, through the scholarship program. The selection of candidates for the Apeksha program was carried out by the senior officials of Aspirations Education under the direction of heads of schools and tutorial staff; and subsequently, an in-depth survey was conducted to select students who needed financial assistance the most.

Civil authorities of the respective areas assisted the course by assessing the actual living standards of the selected families.

Speaking about the initiative and its principle Aspirations Education, General Manager Deepamala Abeysekera said, "Aspirations Education was born out of a firm commitment to be a fountain of inspiration to the Sri Lankan community to help them realize their aspirations.

Our core business model is providing career guidance and counselling services absolutely free of charge to students who wish to pursue their education overseas.

True to our commitment we strongly believe, it is our social duty to work towards helping one's aspiration to be realized, and in this cycle, students who gain our services to reach global also become a vital partner developing the aspirations of their brethren in Sri Lanka".

Elaborating further Chairman, Aspirations Education Ajith Abeysekera explained how by receiving their professional services free of charge, students who can afford studies abroad, will effortlessly and routinely be helping their sisters and brothers who are not as fortunate as them, through the innovative and social entrepreneurial process Aspirations have set in motion.

Aspirations Education initiated the program in complement to the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education. Students receiving professional services free of charge, will naturally and routinely help the less fortunate as per the "Apeksha Scholarships" scheme bridging the education divide, making a difference in all our lives. The concept of a knowledge divide is used to describe the gap in living conditions between those who can find, manage and process information or knowledge, and those who are impaired in this process. As specialized knowledge becomes an ever-increasing component in society and the spreading of this knowledge becomes ever faster with modern technology, the people who cannot take part in this development will be increasingly isolated and marginalized.

Promoting Sustainability in business Aspirations Education is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact and is the only educational organization in Sri Lanka to be a part of the global network.

UN Global Compact is a leadership initiative of United Nations pioneered by Former Secretary General Kofi Annan where organizations from around the world have rallied under the UN banner to promote sustainable business practices that will add value to the society at large.

Delmege wins again at Architects 2011

'Finishing touch' theme touches hearts:

Delmege Interiors bagged the award once again for the most innovative trade stall at the Architects 2011 Trade Exhibition that was held at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Convention Centre. The stall which was innovatively designed, had on display a wide range of products including power tools and home appliances from Black and Decker and Dewalt, these agencies having been held by Delmege since 1994.

Delmege has consistently been winning awards at the annual Architects Exhibition, since 1991 for Excellence in trade stall presentation for many years.

Designed around the theme 'the finishing touch', the stall utilized a multitude of materials from carpets to laminated and bamboo flooring, vinyl flooring, office chairs, window coverings, hot water pipes and fittings, water heaters and cladding.

A special item on display was a 50 year old Black & Decker drill, which despite being half a century, was in excellent working condition. A testament to the superiority of the Brand. Delmege Interiors which is one of Sri Lanka's largest suppliers of specialist interior as well as building products, is a member of the highly respected and diversified Delmege Forsyth Group of Companies.

As one of the most reputed interior d‚cor firms in Sri Lanka today, Delmege Interiors represents several internationally reputed brands such as Brintons, Shaw, Interface, Gerflor, Unilin, Hunter Douglas, Hufcor , Dux, Black & Decker to name just a few.

The Company imports a wide range of products that include carpets, carpet tiles, vinyl flooring, industrial flooring, laminated flooring, office furniture, ceilings, operable partitions, wall coverings, window blinds and polybutylene pipes & fittings, water heaters etc. Complementing their extensive product range is the total quality promise and superior after sales service that Delmege is synonymous with.

Delmege has supplied and installed carpets in hotels such as Cinnamon Grand, Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo Hilton, Blue Water and Mount Lavinia Hotel, to name just a few, while they have also supplied and installed high quality vinyl flooring in private hospitals such as Asiri, Durdans, New Nawaloka, Hemas and Golden Key Hospitals, while their most recent project was the installation of bamboo flooring at the Jetwing Blue Hotel.

With the ICC World Cup being held in Sri Lanka, Delmege was awarded the contract to supply Carpets, Chairs and Wall coverings at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium-Suriyawewa and also Carpets to the R Premadasa Stadium-Colombo, as well as Carpets and Vinyl sheet flooring to the Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium, Kandy.

Leema Creations distributes free stationery

Annual ceremonial distribution of books and stationery for the children of staff members of Leema Creations (Pvt) Ltd, took place at Leema's Dompe factory recently. This books and stationery distribution event was conducted successfully for the ninth year by Leema Creations.

Speaking at the ceremony, Leema Creations Managing Director Channa Wijesekera said that the company is carrying out this corporate social responsibility project as a boost for the school-going children of its staff to successfully engage in their studies.

He said that he greatly appreciates the assistance of Leema Creations Directors Palitha Rajapaksa and Lakshman Rajapaksa to make this CSR project a success.

Showroom Manageress Maneesha Weerasuriya, Factory Manager Priyantha Abeysundara, Project Manager Manohara De Silva, Administration Manageress Amali Rajapaksa, Sales Executive Dilka Senarathne, Accountant Malka Elvitigala, Chief Designer Dushantha Weerasinghe and Chief Executive Officer Shamika Wijesekera participated in the ceremony.

The main activity of Leema Creations is designing the interiors of houses, offices, hotels, restaurants, shopping complexes and exhibition stalls.

ICAEW envoy visits Sri Lanka to strengthen ties with ICASL:

Bond concerns Accountancy Profession progress

A top official from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka next week to promote the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between ICAEW and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) in October last year which aims to enhance the accountancy profession in both countries.

ICAEW's Head of New Business Opportunities, Justin West is expected to arrive on March 13, on a two-day visit where he will make a presentation to ICASL members on the benefit of the agreement signed between the two institutes.

He is scheduled to hold a series of meetings with ICASL's key stakeholders. West is also expected to make several high-level corporate visits during his stay in Colombo.

The ICASL-ICAEW MoU enables qualified members of either Institute to join the other.

As a world-class professional accountancy body, ICAEW provides leadership and practical support to over 135,000 members in more than 160 countries, working with governments, regulators and industry to maintain the highest standards.

ICAEW members provide financial knowledge and guidance based on the highest technical and ethical standards. They are trained to challenge people and organisations to think and act differently, to provide clarity and rigour, and so help create and sustain prosperity. Meanwhile, the ICAEW has also extended the fee waiver offered to all ICASL members, who wish to obtain membership from ICAEW.

The fee waiver of 840 Sterling pounds was initially offered to ICASL members following the signing of the MoU in October 2010.

However, taking into account the positive response received, the ICAEW decided to extend the fee waiver to the ICASL members once again. The fee waiver was originally scheduled to expire in December 2010.

'e-school' program website launched

Tharunyata Hetak (future for youth) movement in collaboration with Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency has launched the official website of the 'e-school' program to move Sri Lanka towards a knowledge based economy to provide skilled personnel and professionals to the overseas job market and to move away from supplying manpower to the households overseas.

Sierra Global Network Private Limited, one of the leading telecommunication infrastructure development and managed services firm in the country is continuing to provide internet facility to village schools as part of the program. At the event of launching of the website (www.e-school.lk), Sierra Global has provided internet facility to four more village schools - Kethsirigama Primary School, Udamaththala Primary School, M R Thaasim Musilm Primary School, and Kuda Gam Paha Vam Iwura Primary School which are located in Hambantota district.

SriLankan Catering - Protecting environment

SriLankan Catering's success in protecting the environment stands out as a role model among corporate houses around the world as to what an organization can achieve in conservation and corporate social responsibility.

The National Carrier's airline catering subsidiary has through a concerted effort blazed a pioneering trail in energy conservation, recycling, disposal of waste products, and environmental awareness among its employees.

Its efforts have won both global and national recognition. Winner of two Mercury Awards from the International Travel Catering Association in February 2011 for its unique innovations in disposing of food waste, SriLankan Catering was also given a National Energy Efficiency Gold Award 2010 in the large scale state sector category by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority.

It also holds the ISO 14001:2004 certification for Best Environmental Practices, as well as ISO 9001:2008 for Quality Management Systems, ISO 22000:2005 for Food Safety Management Systems, and HACCP-Codex Alimentarius for Food Safety and Hygiene.

SriLankan Catering CEO Sarath Fernando said "Our conservation efforts are no flash in the pan. This organization has consistently maintained the highest standards in safety, hygiene and efficiency, and two years ago we embarked on a comprehensive program to bring all of our operations to the forefront of global conservation standards as well."

The company's efforts to reduce its energy consumption resulted in an extraordinary 40 percent reduction in fuel usage and a 10 percent reduction in electricity consumption between 2009 and 2010.

The company also has a highly successful in recycling all types of waste products - plastic, polythene, tin, aluminum, food production waste, paper, and glass.

Among its most impressive programs has been the successful conversion of food waste into food for farm animals. It was SriLankan Catering's pioneering project to become the first airline caterer to use an 'Auto Clave' food sterilization machine for this purpose that won it two Mercury Awards.

The Auto Clave, which was installed at an investment of just Rs 3.5 million, destroys possible contaminants in more than one tonne of food waste from the used food trays of passengers, a process which saves the company over Rs 12 million annually on incineration costs.

"Solutions don't need to cost you an arm and a leg. Through this simple machine, we have reduced our food waste disposal cost from Rs. 31 per kilogram to under Rs. 2 per kilogram. So the savings to the company have been immense, although our sole objective had been to protect the environment," said Fernando.

The Auto Clave also saves 175,200 litres of diesel and 45,990 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. It conforms to all international and local regulations on preventing contamination by destroying all fungi, bacteria, virus, and spores by heating the food waste for 30 minutes at 121 degrees centigrade. The animal feed is purchased by an environmental model farm in nearby Wennappuwa.

A key factor in its success has been the company's emphasis on creating awareness among its staff, through a comprehensive project to train all employees in environmental best practices. The result has been employees opting to use stairs instead of lifts, using small-sized ovens for lighter loads of food, the use of sensor operated toilet fittings, and the monitoring of usage of virtually everything in all areas.

SriLankan Catering's multi-dimensional approach is headed by an Environmental Excellence Committee chaired by the CEO, lending maximum importance and visibility to the program.

In perhaps the finest gesture of all, the revenue earned from its conservation programs is channeled for staff welfare and community welfare projects.

SriLankan Catering, the flight catering arm of SriLankan Airlines, is the sole caterer for airlines that operate out of Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport. Its state of the art flight kitchen in Katunayake produces an average of over 11,000 meals per day.

'adidas' powers cricketer

The world's number one sports brand, 'adidas', powers Sri Lanka's upcoming cricketer young Chamara Kapugedara with the latest collection of footwear for the current 2011 Cricket World Cup and beyond.

'adidas' Brand Manager Leroy J. Ebert said, "adidas is delighted to partner with a cricketer of the calibre of Chamara Kapugedara. An aggressive right-handed batsman and easily one of Sri Lanka's top world class fielders, he spends a very long time, or even several days, either in the nets, on the pitch or at vigorous training. Since he will be continuously standing, running, jogging and active at all times, 'adidas' footwear is designed for protection from injury and most importantly enhance performance".

Kapugedara who now sports exclusive 'adidas' footwear said, "I'm happy to say that 'adidas' goes a step further and complements my technicality and fitness levels with technologically advanced and performance-driven footwear."

The leading sports brand in the world, 'adidas' has launched its full range of innovative professional cricketing footwear, apparel, accessories and hardware at the exclusive 'adidas' showroom in Colombo 05.

'adidas' has stamped its indelible mark on cricket by powering top international teams such as South Africa, Australia and England, and, teams like Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.

At an international level, players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Kevin Peterson, Virendar Sehwag, Suresh Raina and Keiran Pollard have also been taken on board as 'adidas' brand ambassadors in a mutually win-win situation.

Bartleet Finance relocates Balangoda branch

Balangoda famed for its tea plantations now has a brand new and spacious Bartleet Finance office in the heart of the town.

The newly relocated Bartleet Finance branch was opened by the chief guest Chairman Eraj Wijesinghe recently amidst a distinguished and representative gathering.

Wijesinghe said, "As the country enters a new era of economic development, financial opportunities open up. Bartleet Finance encourages its managers to reach out with more flexible and innovative financial products and services. "Bartleet Finance has always tried to be close to the customer. Opening branches all over the country in strategic locations has been our way of helping our loyal customers so that instead of them coming to us we go to their midst," he said.

With over a century of service to the nation, Bartleet Group has been in the forefront of capital and financial services aiding not only the large scale entrepreneur but also the small and medium scale businessman.