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| Sunday, 7 September 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Victory for Victoria by Pelham Juriansz The Victoria Group, now known as Ceylon Auto Industries Ltd and Micro Auto Products (Pvt) Ltd, was a pioneer in the manufacture of automotive leaf springs, and was the first company to start producing auto parts in Sri Lanka with foreign collaboration. Birth of the Company "My father started this company way back in 1952. Humble beginnings earmarked the path that we traversed," commented a proud Deepthi Jayamaha, Managing Director of Ceylon Auto Industries. Jayamaha, an old Peterite and son of an illustrious father, was elated to share the vision of his father, which he continues to carry. The Victoria Group is highly diversified with interests in manufacturing, trading, public transportation, property development and garments and most recently, ventured into Internet installation. The company is a winner in the leaf springs category in ISO 9001:2000 and provides SLS-certified products catering to a range of vehicles. The first company of the group, Victoria Motor Stores (Pvt) Ltd, was the pioneer importer of Japanese spare parts to the country. "Ceylon Auto Industries was formed in 1968/69 while Micro Auto Products (MAP), established in 1994, is today a market leader not just in commercial production, but as an exporter. MAP oil, air and fuel filters are utilised in senior segments of the foreign market. The company utilises machinery and technological assistance from Japan and Korea. "MAP filters were showcased at many international trade fairs and today is the recipient of quality standard certifications including the ISO 9001:2000 and the NCE Export Award for Extra Large Category-Industry sector," Jayamaha said. "The Victoria Group is one of the first companies in the automotive trade to export commercially in an indigenous manner. We have been quite successful by catering to customer requirements and adhering to stringent quality standards. "No local automotive spares company was earlier exporting spare parts. Ours was the first company to operate on a commercial basis. We are into manufacturing plastics, garments, blow and injection moulding. We were very keen to expand our horizons to the export market. During the past few years we were able to export to Europe and Australia. All promotional work is also done ourselves," he said. "Our success has come through looking into customer requirements and satisfying their needs. The staff strength in this industry is about 100, the Pamunugama (Ja-ela) plant has about 440 and the rest are scattered in other industries". As an exporter, the biggest constraint the company faces is the high interest charge. "The Government has taken steps to reduce interest rates, but we are not benefiting. Even when the interest on fixed deposits was high, we were getting about four per cent. We are actually losing at present. "We are unable to expand due to certain interest constraints and no proper incentives are being offered to medium-sized exporters. The environment is not conducive for expansion. There is a constraint even with the filters. But, we should thank the National Chamber of Exporters for encouraging exporters," ended Jayamaha on a positive note. |
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