MAS Fabric Park gets apparel facility

Indunil Hewage in Pannala

MAS Fabric Park at Thulhiriya will get a apparel and footwear manufacturing facility and it was expected to be operational before the end of 2013. This is a joint venture project between MAS Group and NIKE. Around 200 people will be employed at the initial operational stage of the factory. MAS Fabric Park spreads across 165 hectares and seven business entities are currently housed at the MAS Fabric Park and MAS Group and NIKE joint venture project will be the latest business entity to be housed at the park.

Similarly, Sri Lanka’s first privately-operated industrial zone, MAS Fabric Park received ISO 14001 certification awarded for environmental management systems, making it a trailblazer for industrial zones in the country.

The certification follows diverse efforts by the park to enhance its environmental performance and management system. Commenting on the certification, Park Director Misver Deane said , “ISO 14001 certification is a key milestone in a systematic and long-term approach to building an environmentally responsible business.

We remain committed to providing competitive and resource-efficient solutions to our customers at the park and facilitating a sustainable path for their businesses.” The certification initiative which was led by Harsha Deraniyagala Senior Manager-Hydro & Environment has further strengthened the zone’s capacity to streamline its environmental processes and account for its environmental performance.

The MAS Fabric Park’s journey under the supervision of Director Engineering Tenisen Arachchilage focuses on minimizing environmental footprint investing in many short-term and long range initiatives. In 2012, the park invested in a biomass-powered-boiler for its steam supply to customers resulting in substantial savings of heavy furnace oil.

The boiler is also the second such in the country to receive evaluation from the Central Environmental Authority to co-incinerate industrial sludge ensuring a responsible disposal mechanism for sludge waste within the zone. The MFP Eco Center that went live in April 2012, is a solution offered in collaboration with Green Keepers Pvt. Limited that supports a zero-burn and zero-landfill policy.

The Recycle Facilitation Plant is an integrated waste solution that takes in all non-biological and non-hazardous waste in facilities making management of it easier. The Fabric Park Eco Center has processed 110,000 Kg of waste since its inception last year. The zone’s administrative buildings also support a unique rainwater harvesting model which is channeled directly to the raw water sump minimizing chemicals and energy used to treat water for fabric manufacturing plants.

The park’s ISO 14001 certification forms part of the larger journey of MAS Holdings’ Environmental Sustainability Initiative which has driven a concerted effort across all its 30 facilities to improve environmental performance.

A key pillar of the group’s environmental sustainability strategic framework is standardization which was enabled through ISO 14001 certification of all facilities.

To date, 28 facilities of the Group are certified resulting in considerable improvement in facility level environmental management.

Outside of the business boundary, MFP has also reached out to surrounding communities by setting up Osu Gammana a herbal plant nursery –the first such to be housed within an industrial zone in collaboration with the Ministry of Indigenous Medicine which acts as a supply base local medicinal needs.

In an effort to inspire the youth in the region, the park has linked up with three local schools to enhance knowledge on sustainable development. MAS Fabric Park is a fully owned subsidiary of MAS Investments, which forms part of MAS Holdings.