MAS Fabric Park receives ISO certification

By Gamini Warushamana

MAS Fabric Park, the first privately- operated industrial zone in Sri Lanka received ISO certification for its environment management system.

Park Director, Misver Deane said that the certification followed diverse efforts to enhance environmental performance and management system.

“It is a key milestone in a systemic and long-term approach to building an environmentally business. We remain committed to provide competitive and resource efficient solutions to customers at the park and facilitate a sustainable path for their business,” he said.As a fabric park, obtaining ISO 14001 was a challenging task because there are different types of industries and their environmental impact are varied.

In August 2011, we decided to go for this certification and environmental sustainability initiatives were launched. It was a complicated task and our project team headed by Senior Manager, Hydro and Environment, Harsha Deraniyagala with the support of all stakeholders took much effort to obtain this certificate.

The fabric park has invested on many short-term and long-term initiatives to minimise its environmental footprint. It includes efficient management of electricity and water, 'learning to see' initiative to identify waste, environment conservation and contribution to society.It is a journey to sustainability and a never ending process with new things coming in.

“We are happy but not satisfied and this is a beginning of journey to MAS Green Park,” said Deane.

MAS Fabric Park sits on 165 acres of land in Thulhiriya on the banks of Ma Oya. From 1964 there was a textile mill, Thulhiriya Textile Company Limited, a state-owned company. In 1990 it was privatised and thereafter Indian and Korean investors managed the mill and later abandoned it.

In 2006 MAS holdings acquired the land and the factory complex and started MAS Fabric Park.

Today eight entities have made investments in the park and a new investor has signed an agreement valued at $ 70 million and construction work is due to commence this year.“The special feature of the MAS Fabric Park is that we have centrally controlled power, water, steam and waste management systems that facilitates the investors.

This facility is not available in any industrial park in Sri Lanka where each industry has to maintain its own facilities,” said Harsha Deraniyagala.“In all these facilities, electricity, water, steam and waste management, we have spare capacity but it is offered to investors very selectively. This centrally controlled system enabled us to implement ISO 14001 initiatives,” he said.

In 2012, the fabric park invested on a biomass powered boiler, replacing the furnace oil boiler to supply steam to its customers.