Lankan solar hot water systems to bangladesh

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

Lankan Hume Pipes will manufacture pyrex vacuum tube solar hot water systems with an investment of Rs 60 million for the first time in Sri Lanka.

A Chinese expert showing the way to a local staff member at the factory in Polgasovita

This will create around 50 employment opportunities apart from the existing 200 while giving a cost effective and eco-friendly industry to the country.

The recipient of first Sri Lanka Standards Institute SLSI certificate for hume pipes the company will also export their new product to the South Asian region. "We are initially looking at the Bangladesh market," company's Managing Director D.W.J. Kumara told Daily News Business.

The new factory at a four acre land in Polgasovita will be re-launched with brand new machines installed by Chinese expertise next week.

Kumara said he started with the hume pipe manufacturing plant with four people in 1992 and later developed the Buffalo septic tank and then entered the construction field.

With great experience and knowledge gained over the years in the industry he realised the importance of using affordable cost effective methods and started importing Solar hot water system from China last year and became the market leader.

"After doing a survey on the possibility of manufacturing this plant in Sri Lanka I realised that it is possible and could give a great service to customers while saving huge amount of foreign exchange to the country. With all the environmental issues and global climate change the solar hot water system is not a luxury anymore but a necessasity," he said.

The factory at his four acre land in Polgasovita came up with Chinese technical co-operation as a result and the new system will benefit the country.

The Buffalo water heater system could replace an electric geyser for residential use and save 3,000 units of electricity annually and it prevents emission of three tones of Co2 per year. It saves about 50 percent gas and water bills reducing the cost of living of the people," he said.