NEWS IN Brief

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce launched a ‘Registry of Small and Medium Enterprises of Sri Lanka’ (SMEs), thus providing a vital source to track SME operators in the country and also help local SMEs find potential business partners.

The latest registry, which is the volume 1 of the issue, contains contact details and business descriptions of SMEs operating in the country.

The registry has a series of classified list of products and service providers, ranging from importers, exporters, distributors and suppliers. Sector-wise, firms engaged in the business of spices, ICT, confectioneries, food processing, travel and leisure, logistics and electronics are included in the registry.

Sunil Wijesinha judges Quality Convention

Sunil Wijesinha who pioneered the introduction of Japanese style Quality Circles in Sri Lanka, was invited recently as the international judge for the Quality Circle Convention and competition of a major Indian manufacturing group, the Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG) in New Delhi.

Quality Circles is an employee engagement and involvement technique which originated in Japan and aimed at floor level employees who are trained in problem solving techniques to study, analyse, generate and implement improvements.

It is credited with the huge quality improvement wave in Japan and other Asian countries in the 70s and 80s.

Although Sri Lanka’s interest in Quality Circles has had its ups and downs, the Movement in India has grown in quality and quantity. The last National Convention in India organised by the Quality Circle Forum had 950 presentations from 370 companies, Wijesinha said.

Wijesinha introduced Quality Circles in many organisations in the private and public sectors. The most successful programs were at Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC and at the Employees’ Trust Fund Board.

Vasco Worlwide teams up with Janashakthi Insurance

Vasco Worldwide, a travel service enterprise, expanded its business operations in Sri Lanka by opening a new office in Colombo. The company also tied up with Janashakthi Insurance to provide worldwide travel insurance to its customers comprising frequent travellers, corporate business travellers and overseas travellers.

General Manager Yoshan Amarasinghe said, “The newly inaugurated Vasco office will offer customised travel solutions for independent and corporate travellers.

“With a presence in over 120 countries that operates about 200 Vasco Service Centres, our company reflects a blend of global expertise and local knowledge.”

Managing Director, Janashakthi Insurance PLC, Prakash Schaffter said the alliance would serve travellers who face a wide range of risk when they travel overseas.

“Overseas travellers need to carefully consider risks to their health and safety and it is absolutely essential that they are equipped with a comprehensive travel insurance plan such as Janashakthi Worldwide Travel Insurance,” said Schaffter.

Thermo Plastics receives Eco certification

Thermo Plastics (Pvt) Ltd., a leader in apparel packaging in Sri Lanka, has been recognised again for its commitment to society and environment becoming one of the world’s first apparel shroud manufacturing plant to obtain Eco-factory accreditation by Marks & Spencer for fulfilling their plan A Eco attributes.

As global warming and pollution take a toll on the planet, environmental sustainability plays an increasingly important role in business. Organisations across the world, engaged in diverse industries are recognising their impact on the future and are striving to maintain a balance in their environmental footprint.

Those at Thermo Plastics have not only embraced this commitment, but have also made it central to their company’s philosophy.

Minister of Lands, Tourism and Christian Affairs John Amaratunga attended the first world conference on Tourism for Development at the Great Hall of the People in Bejing, China. The conference was inaugurated by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang who outlined the impact of tourism on economic development. Here the Minister with the Sri Lankan delegation in China.

Credence Genomics appoints consultant

Dr. N. Chandrasekharan

Dr N. Chandrasekharan has been appointed consultant at Credence Genomics. He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Colombo with research experience in Molecular diagnostics. He has registered international patents and has won various awards in respect to research contributions in Molecular Biology.

CEO and Director of Credence, Dr. Vaz Gnanam said, “We are pleased to have Dr. Chandrasekharan working with us. We believe his experience and knowledge will add to our present and future commercial and research developments.”

Dr. Chandrasekharan said, “It’s a pleasure to join the pioneering and innovative team at Credence Genomics. Credence has created a portfolio of world-class products which can add value to any healthcare institution. Credence has not only innovated, but commercialised cost effective diagnostic tests on the latest technology by working with a panel of consultants and scientists.”

Credence Genomics is a DNA Diagnostics facility using the latest techniques of NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) to diagnose infection, predict and treat cancer with precision medicine. Credence delivers competitively priced DNA diagnostics to assist physicians and consultant specialists.

Softlogic Group Chairman Ashok Pathirage opened the new Odel Department Store in Wattala recently.

Unilever bags ‘Marketer of the Year’

The Unilever team

Unilever Sri Lanka won the ‘Marketer of the Year’ award for the second consecutive year at the recently held Effies 2015. In a year Effies presented two Golds for the first time, Unilever became the first company in the country to win both, including being the first FMCG company to win Gold in Effie history. Unilever won two Golds, one Silver and three Finalist awards.

Marmite’s Mealtime Magic campaign and Knorr’s Seven Ways of Dhal campaign won Gold and Silver in the Packaged Foods category. Sunlight’s Festival of Lights campaign won Gold in the Media category. Vim’s Avurudu campaign was a finalist in the Home Supplies and Services category.

Smart Metro signs agreements with Sony and Fujisoft

Sajeewa Hendawitharana and Toshio Yoshihara exchange the agreement

Smart Metro, a Sri Lankan based international software development company, signed two agreements with Sony Corporation and Fujisoft Inc, Japan to become Sri Lanka’s sole agent for the distribution and application of Sony’s Near Filed Communication Technology widely known as ‘FeliCa’ and Fujisoft’s Finger-vein Biometric Authentication technology. Through these agreements Smart Metro will provide a wide range of products and applications based on these technologies.