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Pandithage, Chairman/Managing Director of DIMO, shared his valuable experiences and insights on this topic gained during his 40 years at DIMO and attributed the success of the company to the DIMO brand, its culture and its staff.
“DIMO has a culture of providing international quality products and superior service to its customers and that has been our competitive advantage over the years. In the 1950s there had been a passion to own Mercedes Benz among the elite and affluent of the society and I doubt there was a need for any marketing or salesmanship at that time.”
Pandithage had his school education at Ananda College, Colombo. He is an Engineer by profession, holds a Dip. Ing. from Germany and is a member of the Institute of Engineers, Germany (VDI). Pandithage joined DIMO in June 1973 and was appointed to the Board of Directors in June 1977. He became the joint Managing Director of DIMO in November 1984 and the Managing Director in 1986. He was appointed the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer in 1994 and thereafter, the Chairman/Managing Director and CEO in July 2004. Presently he is the Chairman/Managing Director of DIMO and a Director of Dial Textiles Ltd.
DIMO was launched in 1939 and in 1961, TATA Motors, India ventured into the international market starting with Sri Lanka by partnering with DIMO, which gave birth to one of the most successful business relationships ever in Sri Lanka. DIMO started producing radiators, brake linings, gaskets and kingpins which were very rare due to the imposed import restrictions before 1978.
The new millennium witnessed DIMO reaching a pivotal milestone by meeting the demands of internationally approved norms and standards with ISO 9001:2000 for the company’s operational practices and ISO 14001: 2004 for their environmental management practices. With the end of the war and the resulting growth in the economy, DIMO had laid the foundation to achieve world-class status through their years of strategic business practices, particularly with their focus on services and a new era of business diversification.
In 2006, DIMO introduced the unbeatable TATA Ace diesel mini-truck to Sri Lanka which was affectionately renamed the ‘DIMO Batta’. Today DIMO Batta stands as the bestselling commercial vehicle in the history of commercial transportation in Sri Lanka with more than 30,000 units on the road.
This unique vehicle not only managed to revolutionise the fundamental way goods are being moved in Sri Lanka; it completely opened a new dimension in the way Sri Lankans viewed transportation and how a vehicle can so effectively be utilised for the enhancement of their livelihoods. Its applications are virtually limitless with the DIMO Batta currently serving as mobile units for collecting and distributing milk, mobile barber saloons and textile sales outlets, vegetables, poultry, grains, fancy goods, ornamental items, books, tea, fish, milk and kola kenda outlets.
DIMO has been recognised at several prestigious award shows including SLIM Brand Excellence 2010, National Business Excellence Awards 2011 and HRM Award 2012 while it has been included in the Business Today Top Twenty list on multiple occasions. In addition, the company has won accolades at CIMA Business Case Awards, SLITAD People Development Awards, Sustainability Award and Vision Awards. The 10th issue of the SLIM Marketer magazine was launched at DIMO Auditorium on the same day as the ESF.
SLIM Experience Sharing Forums are held regularly and serve as a platform for marketing professionals, students, and interested parties to harness knowledge from experienced and eminent personalities in Sri Lanka.
