Sunquick Lanka (Private) Limited, the local manufacturer of Sunquick fruit concentrate, Sunquick BiBi ready-to-drink (RTD), invested Rs. 1.6 billion and opened its Manufacturing Facility in Horana yesterday.
CO-RO President Søren Holm Jensen who flew in especially for the opening stated that Sunquick Lanka (Private) Limited entered a new phase of growth with the launch of this RTD Manufacturing Facility.
“We already export to 8 countries and with this factory expansion we will be able to increase our exports.”
Asked if the present economic conditions in Sri Lanka had a negative impact for their investment he answered in the negative and said that they have positive sentiments towards Sri Lanka. “We have also made investments in economies which are worse than Sri Lanka and they have proved to be productive.”
“As a traditional company spanning several decades we also know that it’s always productive to invest during bad times.” He also said that they have 35% local value addition and 30%of their products are exported. The investment is jointly shared by the local and the parent company. The RTD manufacturing facility in Horana is housed with state-of-the-art machinery that conforms to the strict Scandinavian standards demanded by the product, where quality assurance personnel from the Global QA team ensure that international quality standards are never compromised.
Sunquick Lanka (Private) Limited Chairman Hemaka Amarasuriya noted: “The launch of the new SUNQUICK RTD manufacturing facility is indeed a milestone achievement that resulted from the hard work and passion of our team.”
“Utilizing the latest technology and complying to strict global safety and quality standards, the new factory will enhance the capacity and speedy delivery to markets. It’s appropriate to announce that Sunquick Lanka (Private) has become an export hub which generates much needed foreign currency to the country as we expand our parameters.”
Sunquick Lanka plays an active role in contributing to the national economy by enhancing its manufacturing strength and exporting to other countries.
He said that in a bid to increase local value addition they may look at growing some of the fruits locally. “Sunquick is the category leader in the fruit squash segment in Sri Lanka enjoying 70% of the market share and exporting its products to most of the Asia Pacific regional countries including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Maldives, Taiwan, and Bangladesh to name a few.”
He also commented that the dark clouds that were hovering round the local economy are now clearing and this is a good sign for the industry.