With hard work, dedication:
Rise to the top in double quick time

Samantha Kumarasinghe
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Commitment to quality and dedication to work is the key to my
success, said Chairman and Managing Director of Multichemi Group of
Companies and Natures Beauty Creations, Samantha Kumarasinghe who was
recently awarded the Sri Lankan Entrepreneur of the Year 2007.
He is a unique person as he has been able to reach the pinnacle
during a time span of less than 15 years.
In an interview with the Sunday Observer Kumarasinghe said that
“Armed with a degree in science with chemistry as a subject from the
University of Peradeniya in 1981, I joined a private company as a sales
executive and worked for 11 years.
In 1991 the company went through a management change during which
time Kumarasinghe was the marketing manager.
After the change some of us decided to leave. Left with the choice of
finding a job or doing a business, I settled with the second option. My
wife and my parents were not in favour of my decision as they were not
from a business background.”
Beginning
Kumarasinghe started Multichemi Industries in 1991 with a small
investment of Rs. 300,000 and 12 on the staff at Hokandara. The company
started by manufacturing the Dash range of environment-friendly
detergents.
“From the initial stages we were involved in manufacturing due to my
background and knowledge. From 1990-1995 I was involved in textile
chemical business and we floated a BOI company in 1996 to export textile
chemicals.
The company also opened a liaison office in Bangladesh as I saw a big
potential for textile chemicals due to the growing apparel sector and
with Sri Lanka winning the World Cup opened up many opportunities for
Sri Lankans in Bangladesh.

The state of the art factory at Horana. |
The good quality product and the support of Sri Lankans in Bangladesh
were some of the reasons for his products to be accepted in Bangladesh.
As we were an accepted company in Bangladesh it helped our competitors
also to establish themselves in Bangladesh,” he said.
In addition we trained textile technicians, washing technicians with
the support of the Textile Training and Services Centre. The training
for 50 technicians was provided by us for one year while the
certificates were awarded by the TTSC.
Kumarasinghe then established a BOI approved company in Bangladesh
and it was the first 100 per cent BOI owned company in Bangladesh.
Cosmetics company
He established “Natures Secret”, the herbal cosmetic company in 2001
in a small way to offer a good product at an affordable price. This was
the time when the global interest was increasing for herbal cosmetics.
This also became a very good launching pad for us. “Every year our
herbal cosmetics grew by 40-50%.
In addition to the other facilities the company had a very good R&D
team. We felt that there was an opportunity for our products globally
and this was the rationale behind in investing Rs. 350 mln on a
state-of-the-art cosmetics manufacturing facility. Natures Secret is the
only GMP certified cosmetics company in Sri Lanka. The garden of the
factory has 350 medicinal plants which are grown and nurtured.
He said that genuine herbal cosmetics from its source is the way we
position our cosmetics company. In 2007 Kumarasinghe started work on the
new factory while commercial production commenced in 2008.He said that
their vision is to be a global supplier of herbal cosmetics by 2012.
Speaking of markets he said that at times the company does cosmetics
for labels while in some overseas markets the company promoted its own
brands. Kumarasinghe said that the global recession has affected the
business to some extent but we are optimistic and by 2020 we want to
have a Sri Lankan brand for cosmetics. At present the brand is
registered in 25 countries.
Product lines
The company has three product lines which include the standard
cosmetics range, professional and the platinum range. To develop a
product it takes one and a half years while it takes six months to
design a label.
He said that as a policy he never recruits anyone from a competitor.
At “Natures Secret” there are six chemists while the total staff
strength is 225 while the group employs about 400 Sri Lankans while
there are some Bangladeshis at our plant in Bangladesh.
Customer care
All the products are tested at each stage to ensure quality and
consistency. He said the products which are returned are destroyed,
amounting to a couple of millions of rupees each year. It is a costly
exercise but we do it as we want the best quality products to reach the
customer. In addition if the company gets a complaint we send a company
representative to meet the customer and sort out the problem.
Global crisis
Despite the crisis there is a demand for herbal cosmetics. Market
value of the cosmetics industry is US$ 350 bln and 15% of this is herbal
cosmetics and still growing.
Kumarasinghe said that the global crisis has shrunk the market
therefore the company has shelved some of their plans.
“It is very important that every company survives this year.
Therefore it is a must that the government intervene at this juncture to
support the ailing companies or else 20-25% of the factories will put up
shutters. He said that the high interest charged by Banks is a major
threat to the industries.
In addition they never think about the local industries. Due to
government policies we have established one company with a tax holiday
for five years.
Kumarasinghe said that the Banks have no policy on interest rates for
project loans.
He is the proud father of two daughters and a son. |