Pubudu Engineering (Pvt) Ltd. a leading electrical products manufacturer has completed 20 years in the business, making powder-coated panels and with its beginnings in a garage with just two employees. The company has now grown to a leading establishment in the field and had ventured into projects, electrical installation and manufacture of its own brand of products for both the local market and export.
Speaking to this newspaper, Pubudu Engineering Chairman/Managing Director, T A S Premalal said, "the journey that started 20 years ago from humble beginnings with a lot of hard work has paid dividends.
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| T.A.S. Premalal Chairman/MD of Pubudu Engineeing receiving the CIMA Janashakthi award |
A friend of mine who had to supply the CEB (Ceylon Electricity Board) with enclosures for panel boards approached me asking if I could supply (this product). Being an engineer by profession I knew that I could meet the challenge. At that time I was employed at Brown & Company as an engineer. I decided to venture out on my own and called the foreman to join me in this. He took a day to decide and joined me and he is still with us."
Speaking further, he said, "To meet the order I needed a sheet bender which I purchased for Rs. 26,000. At this time the 200 garment factories were being set up. There was a large demand for electrical trunking and panel boards. Due to the deadline in the opening of these factories producing these items on time was a real challenge. However we met our deadlines. In six months we realized that we needed more space and had to move to larger premises."
The years that followed showed prosperity and the present site was purchased from the UDA in 1993. With a view to producing a higher quality product Pubudu Engineering started a plant to 'Powder Coat' its panel boards, the first in the country to do so, creating a good market for its products.
In order to handle other aspects of work in 2006, Pubudu Engineering Projects (Pvt) Ltd was created. Under this company several large projects were handled. Projects for the CEB, Lanka Transformers, Fonterra and Lanka Electricity Company are a few of them. By this time Pubudu Engineering had received the ICTAD EM1 certification grade (mechanical grade 1).
Commenting on the future expansion plans, Mr Premalal said, "We are targeting the Middle East except Dubai. Of the other countries there Qatar has shown particular promise. There is a boom in the construction sector there. A Qatari company has shown interest in entering into a joint venture with us and opening a plant in Qatar. We have been exporting our products to the Maldives and Bangladesh for some time now. We have also established a joint venture under the name Pubudu Engineering (Pvt) Ltd in Bangladesh. We are looking at further developing this market".
He said the company markets its products under the name 'Power Link'. "We will also be going in for type-testing our product. That is the product will have to be manufactured under very precise specifications and to internationally accepted standards. We will be the first Sri Lankan company to have this," he added.
Mr Premalal noted that, "To face future challenges and be capable to meet the demand both locally and globally we will be putting up a state-of-the-art factory which will be equipped with ultra modern machinery. We have come so far with a lot of hard work it is now imperative that we take this to the next level. One of our main reasons for success has been our employees. We have an open door policy where they could access the management directly to have any problem or grievance solved. We have always rewarded our employees for their loyalty and service.
The longest serving employee (our foreman) was given a 3-wheeler while another was given a plot of land to build a house. Children of employees who pass the year 5 scholarship examination are sponsored up to university level. The success of our labour management is amply demonstrated by the fact that we have a long serving staff and do not have unions or strikes at Pubudu Engineering". |
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