ADVERTORIAL

New LG Inverter AC's at Abans

LG's new improved Low Watt air conditioner consumes only 660 Watts compared to at least 900 Watts consumed by other air conditioners. One will realize how low this is if one compares it to a rice cooker that consumes 900 watts; bread toaster that consumes 850 watts; and an electric iron that consumes 1650 watts. The energy efficiency ratio (E.E.R) of LG's low watt air conditioner is 12.5 in BTU.

Unlike conventional air conditioners, LG Inverter technology in air conditioners control the speed of the compressor to adjust cooling when indoor temperatures reach desired levels. By thus regulating the compressor to work at slow speeds while at the same time maintaining its cooling efficiency, it greatly reduces electricity consumption as compared to conventional air conditioners.

This reduction in energy consumption, combined with LG's Low Watt feature, enables a saving of 60% or more on electricity usage.

Low Wattage in LG's innovative Inverter air conditioners is combined with LG's already successful Health + Series which is the perfect healthcare solution. It provides the perfect choice for health and comfort with a highly efficient filtration system that protects your health and gives maximum cooling comfort.

A Triple Filter consists of three different organic compounds which help to eliminate discomfort of eye and throat. It also removes ordinary odours that cause migraine and common fatigue.

A Formaldehyde Filter cuts off formaldehyde, a leading cause of new house syndrome and prevents dermatitis, vomiting and pneumonia.

The VOC Filter removes odour and hazardous volatile organic chemicals that are discharged from household materials made with chemical substances (carpets, paint, cleaners, furniture etc) that cause discomfort, eye and throat disease. The nano-size Carbon Filter removes fine odour particles at home and creates a more clean and pleasant environment. The filter can be easily removed and washed and cleaned.

LG's Health + Air Conditioners also have a special Plasma Filter that sterilizes in-take air and creates a clean and pure indoor environment. LG Health Plus's BAF Certified Allergy Care Filter decomposes allergen protons and provides clean air. It also has a N1H1 protective filtering system.

A new engineering innovation of LG incorporated in their Health + air conditioners is the Skew Type Cross Flow Fan which reduces turbulence in the distribution of air flow. This innovative "Skew Fan" is fitted with specially designed blades that greatly reduce interference with the heat exchanger to achieve extremely quiet cooling.

The Jet Cool function is another feature in the air conditioner that blows strong cool air at super high speed for 30 minutes to cool the room to 18 degrees Centigrade. The anti-corrosion Gold Fin - an anti-corrosion coating on the heat exchangers surface enhances resistance from corrosion and increases durability. Ideally suited for coastal areas.

So no more tossing and turning during hot sleepless nights and days. LG has provided the answer to healthy, economical cooling with their innovative Low Watt Health + Air Conditioner.

Visit Abans showrooms island-wide to learn more about its innovative features and view the wide range which will be available on easy payment terms through all Abans showrooms island-wide.

HNB Sectoral Partner of EXPO 2012

The EXPO 2012, a timely and important mega event organized by the Export Development Board especially at the point of time when the economy is beginning to develop as a result of a few years of peace, was no doubt an absolute need of the hour.

It was pleasing to note that more than 1300 foreign investors and buyers from across the globe patronized this exhibition, where more than 360 Sri Lankan exhibitors from over 20 different product sectors took part.

The Small and Medium scale Entrepreneurs, who are the back-bone of the country's national economy too, took part in this show for the first time. Their products were exhibited through about 60 SME display stalls, especially setup for them. In this way Sri Lanka's SME sector is being assimilated, to the global export supply chain, thereby serving a long term national objective of integrating this sector, to promising international markets.

HNB having recognized this paramount requirement, joined EXPO 2012 by being one of the Sectoral Sponsors as well as having a stall ideally positioned in the SME exhibition section. This initiative by HNB was well received by the exporters who were from all parts of the country, as this had added value to their presence by being able to have a one to one chat with HNB with regard to their various banking needs such as financing of their exports both pre shipment and post shipment, technical advice in handling exports under Letters of Credit and not under Letters of Credit and other related matters resulting in establishing for themselves a link for assistance on banking matters on a continued and long term basis.

HNB's presence also facilitated the large number of buyers who were present numbering over 1300 to build their confidence in the availability of professional banking services to handle their trading operations with Sri Lanka. The fact that HNB was one of the oldest and largest private banks in Sri Lanka, having begun operations in 1888, the trade service operations being ISO 9001: 2008 certified and the availability of a large network of correspondent relationships to facilitate a trade transaction to almost any point on the globe, additionally supported by the two representatives offices in India and Pakistan were contributory factors in this regard.

Sri Lanka's export sector has shown strong resilience, by registering a highly commendable growth rate of 22.37 percent in comparison to 2010 despite a looming global economic downturn.

This assures that the crucial proof of international buyer confidence, on Sri Lanka continues to grow unabated, despite a climate of global economic downturn. It is also clear testimony to the emergence of Sri Lanka branding in the global marketplace.

An ambitious target of, US $ 20 Billion export revenue by 2020 has been set.

HNB has been serving the SME segment from its early days and has a track record in development banking and micro lending spanning over 20 years. HNB will continue its support in promoting exports to achieve the set target of US $ 20 billion for 2020 by focusing mainly in assisting and promoting the SME sector to be a major partner contributing towards achieving this goal.

For street pooches in 2012 :

'Embark' celebrates five years of care

Embark, the unique community animal welfare initiative supported by the popular fashion label of the same name, completed five years of promoting care, humane reduction of population and re-homing of street dogs in March 2012.

The innovative programme launched by Otara Gunewardene in 2007 has been responsible for nearly 20,000 interventions on behalf of homeless dogs and been instrumental in creating awareness in the community about their needs.

Reviewing the work done since inception on the occasion of its fifth anniversary, Embark said that it had sterilized, vaccinated and treated over 10,000 dogs and found homes for more than 600 homeless puppies. Embark has also conducted 16 education and awareness programmes and five fund raising projects in its first five years.

One of the principal sources of funding for the programme is the allocation of part of the proceeds from the sale of clothing and accessories bearing the Embark label sold exclusively at ODEL stores in Sri Lanka. What began with five T-shirts has now grown into an array of categories. The brand focuses on making the street dog fashionable and calls its followers ' pashionable people ' - fashionable people with passion for a good cause.

"As we celebrate five years of commitment to the cause of Embark, I would like to pay tribute to the passion of the team and the generosity of our loyal customers, who have adopted the brand and the cause with enthusiasm," Gunewardene said. "It is truly encouraging to see so many people who love animals making an effort to show they care," she said. The programme's largest Humane Dog Population and Rabies Management Project to date was launched during 2011 in Maharagama, in partnership with the Blue Paw Trust and the MoH Maharagama. Focused on sustainability and results, this comprehensive project also conducts primary and secondary school education on bite prevention, rabies, and responsible pet ownership.

ODEL's commitment to community animals through the Embark programme won international acclaim in 2011 at Animals Asia Welfare Awards 2011. ODEL was the only corporate entity to receive an award at this event.

Peercore IT's Visitor Management System used for Expo 2012

Peercore IT's state of the art visitor management system was used for Sri Lanka Expo 2012, the spectacular showcase of Sri Lanka's export quality products, services, trade investments and tourism , attracting industry experts, public and private sector representatives, trade and business associations, and international buyers from every corner of the world, which concluded recently.

Peercore IT is an Australian owned IT company, catering to the business requirements of strategic global markets headquartered in Melbourne, with a fully fledged branch office at the World Trade Centre in Colombo. Their visitor management system known as "iVisit" allows visitors to an event or organization to be registered in a smooth and efficient manner by allowing fast processing of visitor registrations, printing of name tags and clear and easy identification of visitors via colour coded name tags.

The system enables fast searching of per-registered visitors and facilitates real time visitor attendance reporting. One of the key features of the system is that it provides valuable market information using dynamically populated statistical information.

The system is secure and simple to use and is capable of adapting to multiple scenarios such as catering to requirements at events, media briefings, product launches, any other high profile event, including organizations which require to trace visitors.

Mohamed Subhani Lafir the Country Manager from Peercore Sri Lanka said, " We are delighted to be a part of the Sri Lanka Expo 2012, which can be compared with any other state of the art trade exhibition in the world.

For an international exhibition such as Sri Lanka Expo 2012, which is being attended from visitors all over the world with diversified business interest, including ministerial delegations, this registration system acted as a useful tool to record several important statistics of the visitors , which included the ability to record several categories of visitors separately and contained the features to get instant information reports at any given time."

With the aim of reaching other business entities, Peercore also exhibited their other products such as their Warehouse Management System (iWarehouse ) a totally integrated paperless WMS system.

They also showcased their key product, their CRM Solution, which assists organizations with the tools and solutions they need, to improve, retain and strengthen relationships with their customers.

This highly personalized client coordination system, is a combination of business processes and automation technologies and organizes information in a centralized repository , manages access across multiple entities, with capabilities to query the information in an efficient way, supports users with role based access to the information, and provides tracking and analysis capabilities of sales and marketing teams. Client leads, product proposals and follow up schedules and a client's purchase history can also be generated through this system.

Commenting on their role in Sri Lanka , Lafir said, " Unlike off the shelf software, Peercore own and write the source code for our software solutions which means it can be customized to the level of automization to suit the specific requirement of the client.

"Hence if the client wishes to only partially automate their business processes this can be facilitated, with the ability to continuously grow as the organization grows. Therefore our Sri Lankan clientele can except software that are completely localized to suit specific Sri Lankan businesses. All our solutions have been developed here at our delivery center in Colombo"