After Indian debacle:
Ceylon Biscuits opts for Bangladesh
Second factory at Seethawaka end 2011; Exports
already to over 45 countries:
Ravi LADDUWAHETTY
Ceylon Biscuits Ltd (CBL), whose flagship Munchee brand swept the
board at the Presidential Export Awards on Tuesday night, will shortly
re-enter a fresh South Asian market when it establishes a fresh
manufacturing facility in Bangladesh, whose population numbers 140
million.
CBL’s Munchee won a total tally of nine awards including the ‘Best
Sri Lanka Brand Exporter’ and ‘Exporter of the Year’ for the three
consecutive years, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
“The parent company CBL is seriously looking at a manufacturing
facility in Bangladesh. The new facility will be in an industrial zone
outside Dhaka. The investment will be made through one of our seven
subsidiaries using one of our popular Munchee range brands,” an CBL
Chairman Mineka Wickramasinghe told Daily News Business yesterday.
“Finding suitable land with infrastructural facilities was the delay
in implementing our plans to be in production this year. We have now
identified a few blocks of land and will be going in for inspection soon
after the deeds and the legal formalities are completed,” he said.
This is a sequel to the Sri Lankan manufacturer having an adverse
experience with its North Indian factory at Patiala where it operated
for four years but had to close down due to a New Delhi High Court
judgment following a blunder made by the liquidator.
“We were operating in India for four years and were the third best
selling brand in the Indian market after Parle and Britannia, but there
was a drastic piece of legislation brought where our factory, which we
acquired from Bakeman, was taken over where a petition was upheld by
Court for having conducted the auction by a provisional liquidator
selected by the Court and not an official liquidator. It has been
pointed out that 50% of Court auctions are conducted by provisional
liquidators. ‘Court blunders, Munchee victimized’ was an echo from one
of the executives.”
The Chairman said, “All happens for the best, India rejects but
Bangladesh welcomes us.” Meanwhile, Ceylon Biscuits will be going in for
a new factory operation at the Seethawaka Industrial Zone which will be
ready by the end of the year. This factory will also be for export to
worldwide markets.
“The machinery will arrive from European manufacturers and we will be
commencing trial runs by December and we will be giving fresh employment
to at least 70 people,” he said. Munchee is at present, exported to over
45 countries.
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