OFP, SEV, Mountain Hawk Express collaborate on green initiative

Thursday, 18 September 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

16 September – World Ozone Day saw the launch of a significant initiative towards adopting eco-friendly business mechanisms spearheaded by Orient Finance PLC (OFP), Spark Electric Vehicles (SEV) and Mountain Hawk Express – licensee of Federal Express Corporation in Sri Lanka. Being responsible corporate citizens, the three institutions take pride in establishing this special project where they aim to educate the general public about eco-friendly transportation technologies that are available. These options are made available through global technological advancements and will encourage customers to convert to the utilisation of eco-friendly energy sources.

The event included two highlights. Spark Electric Vehicles – a brand of E Lanka Automotive Ltd. entered into an agreement with Orient Finance, a leading financial solution provider in the country to offer trade-in options for customers who opt to upgrade their existing vehicle to an electric car from SEV. An enterprising new automotive company focused on making electric cars accessible to Sri Lankans, SEV partnered with Orient Finance’s Orient Car Exchange, to avail Sri Lankan consumers to some of the best electric cars available in international markets. This option will be available for models such as the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi MiEV and BMW i3. The second highlight saw the introduction of another green project by Spark Electric Vehicles in collaboration with Mountain Hawk Express, where the company’s fleet of diesel vans will be converted to electric vehicles courtesy of Spark. As such, one electric vehicle has been purchased and is currently being operated as the pilot project of this initiative. Driven by the mission of making available eco-friendly cars, services and supportive infrastructure for electric vehicles to the Sri Lankan market, Spark envisions to significantly reduce tailpipe pollutants that contribute to greenhouse gases and other emissions. SEV was established in 2013 and the company’s objective is to encourage and popularise the usage of electric vehicles by importing, manufacturing, servicing and installing re-charging facilities countrywide for electric vehicles.

FedEx Express is the world’s largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable delivery to every US address and to more than 220 countries and territories. FedEx Express uses a global air and ground network to speed delivery of time-sensitive shipments and usually in one to three business days. Orient Finance PLC (OFP), a company licensed by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka under the Finance Business Act No.42 of 2011, operates with 23 fully fledged branches and customer convenience centres. The Board of Directors of OFP consists of Dr. Dayanath Jayasuriya P.C. as Chairman, Prakash Sch-affter, Ramesh Schaffter, Ananda Atukorala, Lakshmi Gunetilake, Anil Tittawella P.C. and Sarath Wikramanayake as Directors. Suresh Amerasekera functions as the Chief Executive Officer. Pix by Daminda Harsha Perera