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| Sunday, 28 December 2003 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Personality plus Gunadasa Kevitiyagala : Success built on spare parts
Family Kevitiyagala was born the only boy to a family of four; two elder sisters and one younger sister. His father K.G. Sirimanis or Sirimanis Mudalali was a well-known figure in Elpitiya, while his mother Ensinona adored the children and managed the household chores. Education He had his education at Gulavita Kanishta Vidyalaya, Elpitiya. Career After completing his education, he came to his aunt's place in Colombo. They had a tyre shop at Panchikawatta where he worked for some time before joining the State Engineering Corporation as a technician. "I worked there for 12 years and went to Saudi Arabia in 1977. Only 163 Sri Lankans were working in Saudi Arabia then. I was employed as a technician by EMW, a large American company." He worked there for two years and came back to Sri Lanka and purchased a reconditioned bus, hired a driver and put it on the road. He had to do a lot of repairs on the vehicle since it was a reconditioned one. "I encountered severe hardships when purchasing spare parts. This was the time they started importing Japanese vehicles to the country". Bold Decision "Therefore, I thought of venturing into the business of importing spare parts. With this thought in mind, I sold the bus and also got to know a person who was importing motor spare parts for British vehicles. "I purchased a small Delica T120 van and started delivering motor spare parts around this time. Since I was not very knowledgeable about the motor spare parts industry, I hired a person called Ratnasena, who was working at Indika Motors Horana, after asking the owner of the shop to assist me," he said. During the time, there was a very good demand for RHP English razors, Lucas Auto Electrical parts and CAV 296 tractor filters. He distributed these items around the country on a small profit margin. Contacts Around this time, Kevitiyagala got to know several people importing Japanese vehicle spare parts including Anura Motors at Panchikawatta. He made his purchases from them as well. People engaged in the trade were known as "people doing buying and selling". Although many people were involved in this trade, most of them wanted to earn high profit margins which they started doing by selling duplicate items. "I never practised this method, but sold quality items at a small profit margin and built a good rapport with my customers." Direct Imports With great difficulty, he found the addresses of foreign companies and ventured into importing spare parts in 1985 from Japan. "I started off by importing and selling high quality New Era Auto Electrical parts. I also purchased a brand new ELF 150 truck from Sathosa to transport the motor spare parts". Hardships When Kevitiyagala wanted to purchase his first lorry way back in the early 80s, banks did not want to help him because he did not have sufficient assets. To prove that he had assets, he even went to the extent of paying taxes for nothing; finally he was successful. Office May 28, 1986 opened a new chapter in Kevitiyagala's life with the shifting of his office to the Meemaduma Building at Panchikawatta. "Till then, I was operating from home. By this time, I had 15 people working for me and other than Ratnasena, all the others were recruited raw and trained by me". From 1986, he started importing from several companies and by 1992, he was the owner of 14 lorries, a building and a spare parts shop. Stores "Around 1995, I realised that I needed a store to keep my spare parts. Until then, they had been kept in the garden around my house. "Then, everyone with a shop at Panchikawatta had their stores built behind their shops, but I did not do this, because I felt that within a short period of time, the government will prohibit lorries from entering the area due to the traffic congestion. "Therefore, I took a loan from the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) under a Small and Medium Industries scheme and built a four-storeyed building in Wattala and moved the head office and stores there. "By 1998, about 50 people were working for me and I also had a fleet of seven lorries to transport the spare parts. Till then, we did not have a house of our own, but lived at my wife's place. I did not want to invest in a house till I was financially stable," he said. Loyal Customer Kevitiyagala is a loyal customer of the BoC and Sampath Bank. "I have honoured all my promises and have paid all instalments on time. This has resulted in me getting loans at low rates of interest at any time I request". Samples "Prior to purchasing a spare part, I purchase samples and give them to friends with vehicles so that they can test these parts and tell me about the quality. I check the quality for six months before buying the part on a mass scale". Staff "My staff is my greatest asset. They have been very loyal to me and are a part of my success. I share the rewards with them as making them happy will help me expand my business". Present Kevitiyagala presently imports about five containers of spare parts per month, employs a staff of 75 and has a fleet of 13 lorries. Ninety eight per cent of his business is wholesale while only two per cent is retail. Advice "Be honest and do not ever mix up your priorities, because if you get the basics right, nobody will be able to harm you". Award Considering the services rendered by Kevitiyagala to the country, nationality and religion, he is to receive the 'Deshamanya Lanka Puthra' award from the Sri Jayawardenapura Gunasamaru Padanama, North Thalangama, Battaramulla on December 30. (SG) Fact File Name : Gunadasa Kevitiyagala School Attended : Gulavita Kanishta Vidyalaya, Elpitiya Present Position : Managing Director Semini Motors Wife : Sheela Children : Four daughters and one son |
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News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
Born the eldest child to a family in Elpitiya, Gunadasa Kevitiyagala ,
Managing Director Semini Motors has achieved everything, in life through
hard work, honesty and courage. He says that he started without anything,
but today has everything because of hard work, not getting his priorities
mixed up, and honesty.
