Orange Electric invests in Singapore company, taking on the world
View(s):Orange Electric, Sri Lanka’s premier manufacturer of electrical and lighting products, has now entered the South East Asian market through a strategic acquisition of a leading Singaporean electrical company.
From left - Kushan S Kodituwakku and Lim Shien Siong, Joint Managing Directors of Orel Far East
The 49 per cent acquisition of Shirakawa Denki Pte Ltd. led to the creation of Orel Far East Pte Ltd. The new partnership will now take Orange to the next level in its strategic marketing plan; positioning the company’s products across South East Asia. “This strategic move by Orange could be termed as against the grain, considering that the company, instead of appointing a dealer to manage their products in Singapore initially, chose to go for an acquisition of an existing Singaporean company, in order to give Orange a stronger brand positioning in an extremely competitive and quality conscious market,” according to an Orange media release.
Managing Director of Orange Electric, Kushan S.Kodituwakku was quoted in the statement as saying that the time has come to expand the Orange product portfolio to international markets and Singapore is an important step. “Singapore for us is a strategic market. We will now be a much stronger entity in terms of taking Sri Lankan manufactured Orange products to sophisticated markets. Singapore is a very vibrant market and will open many doors for us such as the Middle Eastern market and it is also a gateway to other far eastern countries. Apart from that, this partnership would not only improve and expand our product portfolio but will allow the development of parallel products for different markets, which we could eventually introduce here in Sri Lanka as well,” he said.
Mr Kodituwakku says that this unique partnership is a balanced formula for both partners where the suggestions of what the market requires come from the controlling shareholder in Singapore; whereas all decisions on branding of products and manufacturing lie in the hands of Orange Electric Sri Lanka.
Orange Electric, began operations 30 years ago as an Australian Sri Lankan joint venture with Clipsal. Its beginning was a simple assembly line producing a limited range of switches and sockets. The sale of Clipsal Australia to the French multinational company Schneider Electric led to the founding of Orange Electric. Today, the company’s product portfolio ranges from the light meter to the light bulb and everything in between for domestic and industrial applications including switches and sockets, electrical wiring cables, low voltage switch gear, data-com accessories, industrial panel boards and energy saving lamps (CFLs).
With this growth, the company has been looking at outside its shores for a sustainable business model.
“We need to create a collaboration culture, to have a multinational input coming in. We need to develop our portfolios, as we have only concentrated on the Sri Lankan markets. But now this will change. Orel Far East will take our brand to the international arena and create product expansion opportunities. The requirements of Singapore are so different from the local market so we will have to manufacture accordingly,” he said.
Lim Shien Siong, Managing Director of Orel Far East, Singapore commenting on the new partnership, noted that “Singaporeans look only for the best whether it is from Europe or Asia, and Orange is ready for that challenge. Orange is not just a domestic company making a domestic product; they are now ready to go into the international arena with research and development backing them up. The products they have suit the market and whatever standards they use in manufacturing is the same as in Singapore. The plus is also the fact that unlike some manufacturing companies who stick to the status quo and are unwilling to change, Orange is always willing to change and design the product to suit the market.”
He added, “Orange should go out to the world and opt for joint ventures and grow to become an international company, an international product”.
The company exports to over 10 countries spanning four continents with a turnover of Rs. 6 billion and provides employment for over 1000 people.
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