In an interview with BMD, Ashoka Siriwardena, Chairman, Bitumix Pvt. Ltd. spoke of the establishing of a new company, Megakem Lanka (Private) Limited to meet the needs of the construction industry of the country.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: BITUMIX became the uncontested leader in the bitumen industry in Sri Lanka and you are maintaining this position so solidly. Now you are stepping into the building construction material sector. What are your thoughts about it?
With very committed professional inputs into the business, we have gained the flagship position in the bitumen industry in Sri Lanka, giving leadership in introducing new products and also maintaining & developing the largest product portfolio in the value added bitumen industry. We pioneered the export of value added bitumen products from Sri Lanka which we are continuing to do so.
If you take the total construction industry (roads, buildings and waterworks) road construction has only around a 20 – 25% value presence, while the building construction sector has a vast variety of products used. We have identified notable gaps in the market and decided to step into the building construction material market in Sri Lanka, while simultaneously exploring export opportunities. Our team is highly geared to be a strong leader in the specialized “building material and chemicals supply and applications” sector.
We have MEGAKEM LANKA (PRIVATE) LIMITED as the manufacturer of construction material and HSR ENGINEERING (PRIVATE) LIMITED under the BITUMIX cluster ownership umbrella to go to the market with material supply and applications respectively.
Q: Can you specifically explain your product portfolio?
Under our current product portfolio, we have several water proofing products produced with bituminous/ cement coatings, epoxy, concrete structural repair and strengthening products, Concrete grouts, admixures, flooring systems as well as bituminous, epoxy and resin based protective coatings, skim coat, tile adhesives and a range of specialty products locally manufactured at the above “Megakem” and “Bitumix” outlets. All these products have necessary quality certificates and they are not second to any imported products.
We have plans to expand our product range with locally manufactured as well as some imported brands.
Q: I am sure the strategies, those, used by BITUMIX, to become the market leader in the bitumen sector are useful in developing this business too. What are your comments?
When BITUMIX was developed as a manufacturer of value added bitumen products to the road construction / industry sectors, we realized that our competitor was us, ourselves! Understanding the basic principles of maintaining and continuous improvements on product quality, customer service, new product developments and use of new technology have transformed BITUMIX into pillars, building it to the current elevated level.
We strongly believe that the same principles could be used to strategize the building construction sector too. Our manufacturing facility in a prominent industrial park in the suburbs of Colombo is geared with modern plant and machinery, staff and infrastructure to reach greater heights in manufacturing high quality products. We will serve our customers with the highest integrity to make our services very reliable on quality, delivery time and of course at the most competitive price.
Q: Sri Lanka is currently going through a difficult terrain in terms of forex supply for imports. How do you face this situation to operaMANUFACTURINGte your business?
We seek the services of banks for funding the imports of necessary raw materials and we too are facing the common difficulties encountered by other businesses in the country which have to import raw materials. However, we are looking at this situation through a different angle and seeking opportunities of local manufacture of many completed products hitherto imported, by only importing the raw material required to make such and in some cases only the concentrated material. Import substitution is a key term in our product development function and we have already been successful in several products and have saved scarce foreign exchange.
Q:How do you bring new technologies to Sri Lanka?
Our manufacturing plant facilities and also the technical staff are knowledgeable, experienced and dedicated to deliver good results. They are well set to invite overseas business partners, specially, with new technology. Also we work with local universities, SLINTEC and NBRO for new product development using new technology and introduce them, once invented, in commercial scale. Once the environment is right and free of Covid threat, our technical team will visit our suppliers and also trade exhibitions to get the right technical engagements. BMD