By Ruvini Jayasinghe
The inspiration to launch into the bitumen business descended upon him during his daily ride to work in Auckland, New Zealand. But a soul-searing yearning to serve his country, coupled with a deep-rooted desire to follow his dreams motivated and finally convinced a young professional to return to his homeland to dabble with a relatively unknown industry as a startup business.
Ashoka Siriwardena returned to his homeland with his young family after a three-year stint in New Zealand where he had migrated to establish a new life in greener pastures.
Siriwardena, who had even received PR status in New Zealand, noticed the bitumen products factory called BITUMIX on his daily commute to work in Auckland.
The memory stayed with him even after Siriwardena decided to leave his new homeland and return to his motherland, to attend to family property matters and most specially to care for his ageing parents and parents in law.
With the decision not to return to New Zealand, where he felt undermined by the fact that he was only a second citizen, although a qualified professional, Siriwardena began searching in earnest for career options and business opportunities.
Encouraged and supported by colleagues at Lankem Ceylon Ltd. where he began his career after completing his university degree at Peradeniya Campus in physical science, Siriwardena made the most momentous decision of his life.
Plunging into the business world, he set up a bitumen products industry catering to the country’s construction sector, where there were only two main players. With the field wide open, Siriwardena boldly stepped in with his company Bitumix Pvt. Ltd. and steered it through rough terrain right to the leading position it holds in the industry today.