Atlas products moving from strength to strength
By Surekha GALAGODA
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D. S. Madanayake hailing from a business
family completed his studies in Law and Economics at the University of
Cambridge London.On his return he worked as a junior lawyer under H. W.
Jayewardene before he joined the Central Bank as a staff officer.
During this time the government was
providing a lot of incentives to start local industries which made
Madanayake think of starting a pencil company.
He said that the availability of raw
materials and the incentives were the factors that motivated him to
start the business. He visited Mumbai and saw the working of a pencil
factory and on his return he ordered the machinery from Japan and once
everything was in place he started the factory with 10 employees and 11
machines. A Japanese expert who was in the country helped me a lot said
Madanayake.
Once my son Nirmal took over, the company
has progressed a lot and I am happy that we are able to provide
employment to a lot of people while giving a quality product to the
customers. |
Ceylon Pencil Company (Pvt) Ltd makers of Atlas brand pens, crayons
and books will celebrate its golden jubilee on September 29 with
religious observances and donations to the needy as opposed to launching
of products. Today the company is the No. 1 manufacturer of ballpoint
pens and exercise books. The Ceylon Pencils which was started by D. S.
Madanayake with an initial investment of Rs. 75,000 then, with 10
employees and 11 machines initially today has over 1,200 while the
investment is also substantial.
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A production line |
Our main theme is developing creativity in the country. The company
had its fair share of ups and downs but today we have only a few more
items to add to the school stationery .range which is a rare achievement
for a local company, said Chief Operating Officer, Nishantha Hannedige.
There is much scope and potential for exports and at present we are
concentrating on further improving the quality of the products as well
as the productivity of the staff as these are much needed ingredients
for exports. Initially the company will export to the South Asian
regions and it will be gradually expanded to cover other regions as
well.
The maiden product 'Varsity Pencil' was introduced to the market in
1960 which posed a serious challenge to imported pens and pencils which
had by then invaded the local market. Subsequently several other items
such as the Peacock colour pencils,special drawing pencils as well as HB
and 2B pencils were also produced. These were products, which catered to
the needs of the local market. Initially we imported raw materials and
subsequently shifted to the using of local raw materials. The Company,
which specialised in the production of pencils ventured in to the
production of pens in 1970. The "Varsity" pens with a wooden barrel was
not only a successful product but also marked a step forward in the Sri
Lankan pen manufacturing industry. During this period the Atlas Pencil
Company of UK and the Ceylon Pencil Company of Sri Lanka signed a mutual
trade agreement facilitating the exchange of technology and import and
export of products. Through this the UK Company not only provided
technical know how to the Company, but also helped to introduce its
products to the world market. Accordingly Atlas pens made in Sri Lanka
became popular among the intellectuals of powerful nations such as the
United States, England, Australia, Malaysia, and Italy. The trade
agreement with the UK Company lapsed after 10 years and thereafter the
company entered the open market independently. Ceylon Pencil company,
which made steady progress paid attention to the production of items
catering to high quality consumer needs by diverting a large portion of
assets towards long-term technological development. This resulted in the
introduction of 'professional 2000' pen with a luminous barrel to the
market.
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A display of the
products.
Pix by Chinthaka Kumarasinghe |
Ceylon Pencil Company Limited which thereafter introduced a range of
over 450 Atlas products including Atlas Chooty, Atlas Fancy, Atlas Fast
Writer is now the market leader in the production of high quality
ballpoint pens. The Company has also taken steps to provide high quality
exercise books with a new format at a reasonable price to school
children. The company has signed an agreement with the world renowned
"Warner Brothers" to use its cartoons on Atlas School stationery.
Under the Atlas colour products range of school stationery we have
launched colour sticks, colour pens, colour pencils, pas, clay, tube
colours and watercolours to the market. Under office equipment the Atlas
Excellent Photo Copy paper, Correction pen/bottle, Staplers, white board
marker, Buldo clips punctures, staplers and many more items have been
launched.
The main objective of the Company is to provide quality goods at a
reasonable price to its customers while successfully facing competition.
Accordingly it started the diversification of its main line of business
in 1985 with the establishment of Care Products (Pvt) Ltd., this company
produces and distributes more than 100 products that can be used for
cleansing activities. Such as Liquid Soap, Lime Dish wash, white Power,
Jet Cream, Ajax and Glass Cleaner. As the 3rd stage of this large-scale
company the Atlas plastics (Pvt) Ltd, was launched in 1992. This company
under the 'Atlas' trade name has introduced a range of products related
to the packaging industry including various types of packing material to
the market. Such as Strapping tapes, tapes and gum tapes. The products
are distributed through its sales agents without a delay to meet
customer needs and satisfaction.
Awards
The Ceylon Pencil Company Ltd., has won the "Community leadership
award" from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Sri
Lanka branch in recognition of the contribution made for the betterment
of the education sector in Sri Lanka.
The Atlas Chooty advertisement published by the Ceylon Pencil Company
Limited won the "Swarna Maura" - Media Advertising award for good media
publicity at the Ninth Triennial Conference of the Regional Council for
South and south East Asia branch. Ceylon Pencil Company Ltd., created
history to be the only manufacture of exercise books to confer with the
prestigious ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System Certification. The
ISO 9001:2000 certification is awarded to companies that meet ISO
requirements in systems & processes, management, resources, control
mechanisms and remedial activities. The Ceylon Pencil Company has won
the "5S JASTECA Award - 2008 Special Merit" award by JASTECA .
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