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| Sunday, 22 February 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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J.V.R. Dias of Colombo Commercial Co. Ltd : From Eng. Apprentice to Marketing Manager Hard work, dedication as well as training under a European management led to the success of Marketing Manager of Colombo Commercial Company (Engineers) Ltd., J.V.R. Dias. Family J.V.R. Dias was the eldest son in a family of three children, comprising one boy and two girls. "My father was a landed proprietor and my mother a housewife," Dias said. School He started his schooling at St Joseph's College, Colombo, where he completed studies upto GCE (Advanced Level). Career "On leaving school, I joined Browns Group of Companies on February 1, 1964, and was attached to its Dias Place workshop at Pettah as a Special Engineering Apprentice. While undergoing practical training there, I got myself admitted to the Institute of Practical Technology, Katubedda, now known as Moratuwa University. Browns Group workshop, then known as Engineering Services Ltd., was situated at Dias Place, Pettah, but is no more in existence. It is the place where Gunasinghapura Housing Scheme is located. In those days manufacturing of all Browns tea machinery was done at the Dias Place workshop, with the technology obtained from Davidson and Company Ltd., Belfast, Ireland, one of the world's leading tea machinery manufacturers renowned for "Sirroco " brand of tea machinery. Training With a pair of overalls as an engineering apprentice, he had to work with the labourers and technicians to get a first hand experience as well as a basic training. Using of hammer and chistle was the initial exercise. "I had to undergo training in the fabrication workshop, where all types of tea machinery were manufactured. Later I was moved to the foundry, where castings was carried out before being sent to the machine shop, where matching of components were done. Finally, I was moved to the "Assembly bay" where all manufactured components were assembled and machine tested prior to being despatched to the respective tea factories. A familiarisation programme in the Research and Development section, electrical workshop, job costing department was also a part of the training. It was indeed a tough and intense training under the guidance of the works manager, the late H.P. Goonaratne, who was very keen to see that engineering apprentices were given a proper training. At that time, the General Manager in charge of Dias Place, was Robert Kidd, a European who had undergone extensive training and experience at Davidson and Co., Belfast, Ireland. He personally supervised all activities in the manufacturing, assembling and testing process prior to being despatched to tea estates. Punctuality and discipline were given priority, and both Kidd and Gooneratne set an example by practising what they preached. The latter part of his training also included training on installation, testing and commissioning of machinery at sites. "Having undergone special training on tea driers I, had to undergo similar training on assembling the first of Browns two-stage drier on Aislaby estate, where I also had the opportunity to study tea processing after working in the factory for three months. Thereafter, I was assigned to install and commission tea driers at Pedro estate, Nuwara Eliya, El-Teb estate, Passara, Willie group, Deniyaya and Gulugahakanda, Wanduramba. Engineering career Having completed the practical training at Engineering services, of the Dias Place workshop of Browns and, Theoretical Studies, at Katubedda University, I was appointed as an Assistant Engineer in October 1968, to handle sales, supervise installation and commissioning of new tea driers in Badulla, Bandarawela, Ratnapura, Deniyaya and Galle districts," he said. He was transferred to a branch in Lindula from January 1970 and, in 1975, he was appointed as the Manager Brown and Co Ltd., Lindula branch in charge of engineering operations. A "fluid bed tea drier" was introduced in the early 1970s at the Tea Research Institute, (TRI) Talawakelle, jointly by Colombo Commercial Company(Eng) Ltd and TRI. It was a revolutionary change in the tea drying process, he said. Setback to the tea industry The first setback to the industry came around 1975 with the nationalisation of the tea estates and introduction of Land Reforms Commission. All big companies came under the government sector. Since they had to meet various administrative and financial regulations, it resulted in delays in maintaining standards. Revival Around the early 1990s, the government felt that there was a need for privatisation of estates and, again with the formation of the cluster and regional plantation companies their management was handed over to the private sector. The scenario of plantation companies began to take a turn, but unfortunately the three big engineering firms had weakened so much that a revival became very difficult. Brown and Co. Ltd totally wound up plantation engineering activities while Walker and Sons Ltd was able to maintain certain activities with a couple of outstation branches in progress. However, Colombo Commercial Co. Ltd., was able to keep all its branches in full swing except their main complex in Colombo which had to be relocated due to various environmental hazards and reduction of over heads. Fact File |
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