When you live for a strong purpose, then hard work isn’t an option. It’s a necessity.
Born in the little known hamlet of Andaradeniya in Deniyaya, Wettinghe Jinadasa’s story explains this adage amply.
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| Wettinghe Jinadasa |
He is the fourth son of Diyonis and Lamahamy Wanniarachichi and was one who always wanted to do something with his life. This family consisted of nine sons and two daughters and Jinadasa told the Business Times during an interview in Colombo while settling down for a long chat that he wasn't born with a silver spoon.
Although education is considered as an important aspect, Mr Jinadasa a true son of the southern soil felt that his immediate priority was to lessen the burden of his family.
In 1977 he left school and commenced his life’s journey by seeking employment as a trainee field officer at And Estate.
Mr Jinadasa says his life story is of stuff which movies are made of. His tenacity and sheer determination to succeed is ample testimony considering that he after some years managed to own the very land he traversed on in day in and day out.
The beginnings
In 1983 Mr Jinadasa remembers that he passed the hat among his brothers and sisters to collect Rs 10,000 amongst them to start his journey in tea as a leaf collector supplying green leaf to factories in the vicinity. By being able to give a good price to his tea smallholders and dealing with them honestly and ethically he was able to convince about 150 smallholders to give him a total of around 8000 kilos of green leaf per day which in turn was supplied to factories in the area. In time he developed his business to such an extent that he was able to collect upto 500,000 kilos of green leaf from nearly 2,400 small holders monthly.
 As business improved and his suppliers had been convinced that they were dealing with a person of integrity, it was time to expand the business, Mr Jinadasa says. "With the assistance of the Bank of Ceylon I bought 110 acres of Andaradeniya Estate, situated in the mountains of Deniyaya, which, I felt had unlimited potential for eco tourism," he says, adding that he believes that for each disciplined effort there is a multiple reward.
This was also the estate he had originally worked as Field Officer. In his efforts to increase the green leaf harvest and its profitability Mr Jinadasa personally attended to replanting in the entire estate. "Within a short period of time I managed to pay off the loan to Bank of Ceylon and managed to become a full fledged land owner," he says, adding that this is when his desire to grow the business became more prominent. His gratitude to Bank of Ceylon still remains.
Next steps
With his ability to procure green leaf, he says that his next goal was to own a factory. Inspite of many a negative comment given by his close friends and relatives, he bought Mahakanda Tea Factory along with 12 acres of a neglected plantation around the factory all of which at that time were making huge losses.
This amiable bachelor has tea running in his entire system and anything he touches relating to tea turns into gold. He solely attributes it to pragmatism and financial discipline. Today factories such as Fortune Tea Factory, Devonia Tea Factory and all other business units which were white elephants in their infancy were turned around by Mr Jinadasa's sheer hard work.
He is humble enough to admit that his successes have not only been due to his dedication, hard work and quick decisions but also to several other factors where he was blessed with unlimited financial assistance from banks and financial institutions. Most of the factories which were abandoned by their original owners and were resuscitated through his farsightedness and the courage and determination of his brothers are now generating billions of rupees.
He also doesn't forget the loyal and dedicated efforts of many others working with him. "They were of same frame of mind and were able to rejuvenate these mere structures to viable profit making ventures that they now represent," the enterprising tea producer says fondly.
The factories belonging to the Andaradeniya Group have an annual turnover exceeding Rs 2.8 billion producing quantities in excess of seven million kilos of tea per month at an average of Rs 400. "This has put us in an enviable position of being the highest producer of tea in the Southern Province and only second islandwide," he says, but remembers to mention that this phenomenal growth and profitability would never have been achievable if not for the dedicated service of the tea smallholders and employees.
Number one
In April 2010 the Andaradeniya Plantations were ranked number one amongst all other plantations in respect of quantities produced and number three in prices obtained during the year.
The annual tea production of the group is equivalent to 2.5% of total tea produced in the entire country which in terms of money is Rs 2.8 billion.
Mr Jinadasa says that his factories provide direct employment to over 2000 persons in every category of employment comprising of white collar, skilled and unskilled personnel and also create indirect employment opportunities to more than 5000 families in the southern province. These employment opportunities are for green leaf suppliers, leaf transporters, firewood suppliers and other miscellaneous contractors.
For ease of management the operations are divided into five broad segments which are Finance, Manufacturing, Bought Leaf, Human Resources and Information Technology. These segments are headed by five of Mr Jinadasa's brothers who take collective decisions under his guidance.
Amongst the challenges in the tea industry, Mr Jinadasa says replanting is an issue. “The low grown teas that we deal in, needs replanting," he says, noting that the subsidy which is given by the government doesn’t cover the cost of replanting. “We need another incentive to encourage replanting,” he explained.
The future has many plans for Mr Jinadasa. While eyeing a tourism project, he also wants to venture into value added tea-both for local consumption and exports. |
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