Noritake Lanka shines in world market

High demand for bone china products:

Charumini de Silva

The ceramic industry is a vibrant industry that contributes to the economy and Noritake is a recognized brand for porcelain tableware globally.

Noritake Lanka Executive Consultant Nimal Perera said the demand for Noritake products has increased commendably during the last few years.

The mother company of Noritake Japan is pleased with the performance of the Noritake Lanka and allowed to manufacture bone china products in Sri Lanka.

Although bone china products are considered as the most expensive tableware in the world; there is a remarkable demand from around the world. To cater to this high end product and markets; Noritake Lanka is focusing more on enhancing the quality and productivity with zero defects.

The company exports bone china products mainly to the Japanese high-end market and also exports to USA and UK markets.

The company invested over Rs 50 million to commence manufacturing bone china products in Sri Lanka. At present, the company spends Rs 10 million monthly to import bone ash from UK. However, with the energy prices and decoration material like gold prices vary the entire ceramic industry is facing a major challenge in keeping the production costs at a minimum level. "Hence, introducing alternative energies are vital to uplift the industry," he said.

Perera said Noritake Lanka spends about 30 percent on the energy as they use over six tons of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) per day.

The company has the capacity to manufacture over one million pieces per month and of that over 400,000 pieces are bone china tableware.