Plastics and Rubber Institute of Sri Lanka makes a promising start in 2014
Monday, 10 March 2014 00:00
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PRISL is the apex organisation in Sri Lanka, focused on the training and development of manpower needed to the emerging requirements of the plastics and rubber based industries in Sri Lanka. During the period January/February, PRISl successfully accomplished three significant events
A joint venture with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce
PRISL achieved another significant milestone, in its history of 55 years when it launched a training program on the practical aspects of rubber processing technology, with the blessings and support of the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen.
The official inauguration of the program was held at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on 17 January 2014. The event was graced by Ministry Secretary Anura Siriwardena, Additional Secretary (Development) Asitha Seneviratne and Ministry of Industry and Commerce Director Epa Dayaratne. President of PRI Rangith Samarasinghe and other office bearers participated in the official inauguration ceremony. Fifteen participants selected by careful screening and interviews to follow the course also participated in the ceremony.
The Ministry of Industry & Commerce provided 50% of the funds required to conduct the course as a grant while the balance was provided by the participants or their respective employer companies. It was encouraging to note the participation of SME sector entrepreneurs from as far as Ampara, and some university students who are doing research projects related to the rubber industry.
Secretary Anura Siriwardena in his address stressed the need for establishing private/public participation ventures of this nature in moving towards the country’s development targets. Ranjith Samarasinghe, thanked the senior members of the PRI who have worked untiringly with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and the MOIC over the past two years to make this program a reality
The course was initiated on 18 January 2014 at the PRI Auditorium with a simple opening ceremony attended by the office bearers and the members of the education sector and the Events and Seminars Committees of PRISL. The course which will be conducted on Saturdays over a period of five months will include visits to leading rubber product manufacturing companies and testing laboratories. A panel of well experienced and knowledgeable lecturers have been selected to conduct the lecture sessions
Seminar for sustaining profitability in the rubber industry
On 23 January, PRISL conducted a half-day seminar for the benefit of the supervisory and operator level personnel of the rubber product manufacturing industries. Forty participants attended the seminar titled “Profitability of rubber product manufacturing in turbulent times”. The topics were carefully selected to cover productivity, quality and energy management practices and the a panel of experienced and knowledgeable resource personnel conducted the sessions whose main emphasis was on the practical aspects of cost savings which can be implemented at shop floor level. The panel discussion which followed generated a good amount of interaction and sharing of experiences among the participants
Seminar for sustaining profitability in the plastics industry
Based on the valuable inputs generated at the seminar in January, the PRISL ventured ambitiously to conduct a similar seminar on 25 February for the benefit of the plastics product manufacturing industry in Sri Lanka.
The theme of the seminar was “Profitability of plastics product manufacturing in turbulent times”. This event was conducted as a joint seminar of PRISL and the Plastic Industry Association of Sri Lanka (PIASL) which is relatively young organisation, focusing mainly on policy issues specific to the plastics industry. The topics selected were on process controls and productivity, 5S Kaizen and lean manufacturing and practical aspects of energy management. An eminent panel of nationally recognized resource personnel conducted the seminar
An unprecedented ninety eight personnel from supervisory and operator levels in the plastics product manufacturing participated in this highly successful seminar which brought forth in to lime light the necessity for cooperation, and collaboration among organisations in order to achieve common benefits for the polymer industry in Sri Lanka.
Phoenix Industries Director Aslam Omar which is one of the leading plastic product manufacturing company in Sri Lanka graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and made a short but thought provoking speech which emphasised the need for considering the turbulent times as a challenge.
PRISL envisages conducting similar events through the rest of the year in line with its core objective of education and knowledge dissemination in the polymer industry in Sri Lanka.
