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Samaposha receives SLS certification

Samaposha has received the prestigious Sri Lanka Standards certification. Samaposha is the first local cereal brand to receive the SLS certification in Sri Lanka.

Plenty Foods Limited, a subsidiary of Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL), is the pioneer in introducing innovative local agri-based food items to the market and Samaposha is its flagship brand that has carved a strong image for its nutritional qualities.

Sri Lanka Standards Institute Director General, Dr. Lalith Senaweera presenting the SLS Certificate for Samaposha to Plenty Foods Limited Director - General Manager, Shammi Karunaratne. Ceylon Biscuits Limited, Group Director, Nishka Weerasooriya, Plenty Foods Limited, Dty. General Manager Vasantha Chandrapala and Dr. Bhanuja Wijethilaka, from Nutrition Co-ordination Division of the Health Ministry look on.

Samaposha, a food brand that has been popular among many market segments for a long time, is manufactured using local agricultural raw material such as corn, rice, soya and green gram which are purchased from 10,000 + dedicated farmers closely working with Plenty Foods Limited. These farmers are attached to a backward integration programme introduced by Plenty Foods Limited, where their produce is purchased by the company according to a pre-agreed pricing formula, ironing out the negative effects the farmers would otherwise face due to market price fluctuations. This has created a lot of positive sentiment among farmers to be with the company and to adhere with the production and quality requirements introduced by the company.

The Samaposha production facility is located in Pallekele and this factory is considered to be the first of its kind in Sri Lanka where the entire production process, commencing from the raw material input point to packaging of finished products is carried out entirely by an automated process without any human intervention to ensure high quality and maintain international health and safety standards.

The entire production process is continuously supervised by quality controllers with industry expertise and experience.

Plenty Foods Limited Director- General Manager, Shammi Karunaratne speaking about the SLS certification said, “Samaposha is supporting the national mandate of eradicating malnutrition from Sri Lanka and from the inception this has been a key focus of our organization.”

Group Director Sales and Marketing Head, Nandana Wickramage said, CBL is a heritage Sri Lankan corporate that is committed to high quality manufacturing practices, superior standards and innovation while maintaining our traditional norms.

As a result we have managed to win and retain the goodwill of both local and overseas customers. Samaposha is a pioneer brand that has integrated traditional agricultural practices with modern technology. Due to this fusion we have managed to generate direct and indirect sustainable employment for many thousands.”

Wickramage also mentioned that as a brand championing nutrition, good health and well-being, Samaposha is supporting many sports activities through its CSR programme and the annual national under 13 school football tournament is one such activity.

The winning Grant McCann team

Grant McCann wins Young Spikes again

For two years in succession, Grant McCann Erickson has emerged triumphant at the Young Spikes 2011. The young and energetic winning team, Shehan Rodrigo and Reshad Mohideen will now fly to Singapore to participate in the regional competition Spikes Asia.

Spikes Asia is Asia’s most respected advertising festival featuring a coveted awards show and several seminars and workshops featuring global leaders in the industry held in Singapore every year.

Grant McCann Erickson has always placed importance on strategic creativity and new media ideation and has proudly nurtured several young winners who represented Sri Lanka at the Spikes, Roger Hatchuel, and Young Lotus competitions in the past.

Don't fork out on tyres, fuel

High oil prices and an increase in the cost of rubber have led many port operators to rethink their operation to reduce their long-term costs. According to equipment manufacturer Hyster Company, ports all over the world are adopting new Hyster technologies that significantly reduce the consumption of these important commodities.

"Hyster recently introduced fuel savings up to 15% for the life of a vehicle with new energy efficient technologies" said Hyster Big Trucks Product Strategy Manager Jan-Willem van den Brand. "This is a massive saving for operators of high capacity forklift trucks and container handling fleets," he said.

Hyster achieved the savings by combining Cummins engine technology with performance optimisation developments such as cooling on demand, RPM management and alternate engine idle speed. "Hyster has a reputation for designing tough and dependable trucks with a low cost of operation and we have now managed to make an unmistakable difference at the pumps" he said, explaining that the entire Hyster 'Big Truck' range over 16 tonnes is Tier 4i/Stage IIIB compliant and delivers massive financial savings.

A number of container ports in the Middle East, South Africa, Europe, US and Asia have also received the first batch of empty container handlers that incorporate Hyster tyre saving technology which reduces tyre wear up to a factor of three. In February 2011, the design won the Environment Award at the prestigious FLTA Awards for Excellence in the UK.

"Tyres on large container handlers are not only costly and time consuming to change, they produce a great deal of waste and the availability may not always be there" said Jan-Willem. "With the rising price of rubber, it is not surprising that container ports are adopting this technology," he said.

Hyster tyre saving axle design is now available on Hyster 5-8 high Empty Container Handlers. The differential is mounted in the wheel ends at each side of the axle, an innovation that allows the wheels to rotate independently, greatly helping to minimise tyre scrubbing.