Tuesday Nov 26, 2024
Tuesday Nov 26, 2024
Wednesday, 22 August 2012 02:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka’s leading national SME exhibition and forum, ‘SME 2012,’ will commence on Friday 24 August with strong Indian participation, and more importantly, first-ever SME automation.
“The seventh in the series, this event has also become the best proof of on-going and successful Private-Public Partnership. The need of the hour for our SMEs is technology transfer and we are pleased to facilitate this year’s initiative too where we will introduce automation to our SME sector, which is the core of our economy,” said Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce yesterday.
Minister Bathiudeen was commenting on the forthcoming seventh national machinery, technology and services exhibition ‘SME 2012’ by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and its Small and Medium Enterprise Developers (Project SMED).
The event is facilitated by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the event is set to go live on Friday 24 August. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce is facilitating this year’s event with a Rs. 2.2 m outlay and the event is also supported by the Ministry of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development.
For the first time, the show will host high tech automation power for SMEs – the CNC machines. Computer Numerical Control machines are powerful tools of automation and can be pre-programmed to operate 24 hours round the clock to produce programmed designs and items and could be operated even by less skilled workers. Unlike standard machines, one worker can easily supervise many CNC machines, thereby lowering SME production costs significantly.
More than 100 exhibitors catering to SME technology in industry, light engineering, agriculture, fisheries, and livestock will be displaying their wares in Sri Lankan and Indian pavilions.
Well-known Indian machinery firms such as Vikhram Hydraulics, Chass Engineering, Crystal Electric, G.K.S. Engg P, Jet Inks P, Pyara Singh & Sons, Shachi Engg P Ltd., and Shanti Boilers are among those taking part in this year’s show.
Among the well-known Lankan machinery firms are Unilever, Browns & Co, Samson Industries, Micro Cars Ltd., Marbo Trading Co, API Machinery (Pvt) Ltd., Dave Tractors (Pvt) Ltd., FRP Technologies, MDH Fiber, AMW, Torento Engineering, Etisalat, Mytools Pvt Ltd., CMC Engineering Gmbh, and Lanka Industrial Automation Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Other key Lankan participants are the Rubber Research Institute, Sri Lanka Insurance Co, Industrial Development Board, Palmyrah Development Board and the Handicraft – Cheer Project. Among banks taking part are HNB Leasing and Union Bank.
The event, which will conclude on 25 August, also hosts in parallel a two-day SME Forum in all three languages. Among the topics discussed by subject experts will be ‘Government Policy and Strategy for SME Development,’ ‘Role of the Ministry to Protect in Traditional and Small Enterprises,’ ‘Role of the Ministry to Develop Industrial Sector in SL,’ ‘New Technology for Better Productivity,’ ‘IT Applications for SMEs – SME Toolkit,’ and ‘Banking Practices for SMEs’.
