Sustainability

Community Relationships

We are driven by our social consciousness to actively and meaningfully contribute towards the betterment of society. We believe in uplifting the social and economic conditions of the communities we operate in and interact with. Our business policies and procedures support these initiatives, that positively contribute towards the community and the environment.

Palmyra Ekel and Fibre Development Project at Kilinochchi and Oddusudan

In collaboration with the Swiss Labour Assistance Organisation in 2014, we initiated a project to offer assistance to revive the Palmyra industry in Sri Lanka’s northern region, which was greatly affected by three decades of conflict.  The majority of cultivated trees were abandoned and neglected. The joint collaboration infused new life into the area. Technical know-how, targeted training, buy back agreements and the development of local supplier base for Palmyra fibre, helped to recover the industry. It also provided a secondary source for Palmyra fibre, apart from sourcing from India.

The initiative has helped to diversify our Palmyra supply sources, reducing processing cycle time of raw materials. As a result, our company can supply Palmyra tufted products with competitive prices and shorter lead times.

The project currently operates covering Kilinochchi, Ithawil, Palei, Muhamalei and Oddusudan; creating sustainable employment opportunities to the rural workforce, enabling them to work within their familiar environment, whilst supporting the local economy.

Provision of Employment Opportunities

Our high-tech state of the art production plant, situated in a 100,000 sq. ft. factory floor space at Ekala, Ja-ela, in the Western Province, provides a livelihood for workers living in and around the area. The plant manufactures over 10,000 brush and broom products for the export market since the company’s beginning in 1962. Since its establishment we have also initiated several other projects in the areas of infrastructure development, education and youth empowerment  for the benefit of the community in the area.

Workforce Diversity

We strive to develop an environment in which our people feel empowered. We believe in creating a dynamic employee base with a positive mindset. Our non- discrimination policy in addition to being an equal opportunity employer, are all efforts towards maintaining diversity.

Health and Safety and Wellbeing 

Health and safety and the wellbeing of our employees remain a primary priority with compliance to safety regulations, and incentives and welfare benefits to recognise and support their work.  We take pride in skill enhancement, training and development, improving workplace Health and Safety standards and creating a healthy suitable work life balance.

 Supplier and Customer Relationships    

Relationships nurtured over the years are key to our success. Our customers’ support revenue growth and our suppliers are a vital link in ensuring product quality.

Our Group’s Supply Chain Policy ensures ethical sourcing that reviews areas such as fair price, child non-labour and human rights violations when evaluating and registering suppliers.

Sourcing

Good material is one of the key ingredients for maintaining the quality of our brushware line. We work with both large-scale suppliers and SMEs to maintain quality and social responsibility standards.

Purchasing

Our purchasing policy/process and quality assurance process encourage eco-friendly material for all our product components, FSC™ wood purchasing customization can be done upon request from customers, that take into consideration the complete product cycle from production to, product use, to disposal and reuse.

 Product Responsibility 

We assess our product offering and processes across their entire life cycle to guarantee the highest quality standards. We focus on the efficient use of resources, including supporting our research and development teams to explore the introduction of new sustainable products.

Customer Relations

With over 300 plus global customers in 25 countries across the globe, we have a proven track record in quality brushware manufacturing. We constantly build the skills and capacity of our teams. This has contributed to creating a positive customer experience. Feedback, research and development to test new products based on market trend analysis and customer requirements are all contributory factors for this positive experience.