LANKAN BRUSH MANUFACTURER GOES GLOBAL WITH ECO-FRIENDLY, HIGH-TECH APPROACH
Sri Lanka, over the past so many years, gained popularity world over through its tea, gems, rubber, and spices. But more recently the country has silently been gaining recognition for a product that is probably the last thing that would pop in our minds…brushes!
For nearly two decades, Beira Parawood Products Ltd (BPPL) has been making our small island nation proud as a high quality producer of cleaning products. Not opting for the straight forward exports in bulk form, which is what the majority of the industries engage in, BBPL is all about value addition. And it is this focus that has allowed it to stand tall and sustain its place in the global market.
It may seem rather easy to manufacture brushes, but it is certainly not so. Looking at BPPL’S manufacturing, they have not just thought through the processes but have strategically looked into all the nitty-gritty, resulting in it being recognized as one of the largest backward integrated brushware manufacturing facilities in South-east Asia.
Keeping up with its promise on delivering nothing but the best, it was pleasantly surprising to find that Sri Lanka’s very own BPPL has secured the first position as the top high quality industrial brush manufacturer from a list of seven entities, beating those from the USA and China.
In a nutshell, BPPL provides environmentally friendly cleaning products to the professional, commercial and household markets worldwide. With nearly 1200 products under its belt, the company typically functions in three lines of business where it mainly engages in fibre for mono-filaments, brushware and household products such as mops, buckets, dustpans, rubber matting.
Company snapshot
The entity was founded in 1986 as a family business and remained in that structure for a little more than a decade. In an effort to successfully expand the business, shareholder structure of the company was broad based with the entrance of several investors. Since then, BPPL has gathered pace in its activities and is determined in further exploring the global market.
In an interview with Mirror Business, BPPL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr.anush Amarasinghe affirmed the entity is being led by a vision to push the frontiers of brush making through research and innovation, underpinned by a strong sense of ethical responsibility and sustainable manufacturing.
“As a company, we are constantly thinking about how we could do things better, more responsibly, in a more meaningful manner and thereby add value not only to our customers but also to the knowledge base of the country.
“Sri Lanka is a nation on the march towards prosperity and we want to be positioned as one of the proud local companies that showcase local talent and skills to the world,” expressed the upbeat Chief.
Having a global distribution of over 18 countries, BBPL is in Canada, USA, Mexico, Jamaica, Panama, Ireland, England, Netherlands, Denmark, France, Turkey, Dubai, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand.
The company is financially sound having performed quite steadily in the past few years. According to Amarasinghe, the group has been growing at 15 percent over the last 4 years.
Manufacture for top international brands
Being in the export sphere for 20 years, BPPL has been more than successful in securing top brands. Its high quality and near zero defects has enabled it to source for top
As a company, we are constantly thinking about how we could do things better, more responsibly, in a more meaningful manner and thereby add value not only to our customers but also to the knowledge base of the country
retail brands such as Carrefour, The Home Depot, Tesco, United Stationers, Fastenal, Century, Lowe’s and Oates.
While 99 percent of its products are exported, 70 percent of its sales are from the USA, 13 Percent from Australia and New Zealand, 6 percent from the UK, 4 percent from Canada, 4 percent from the Indian subcontinent, 2 percent from the Europe, and 1 percent from other regions.
Having largely focused on overseas markets, only recently it looked to explore the local space. It started off by putting its products on the shelves of Arpico, and now to Cargills Food City as well.
For the international market, BBPL has been essentially producing under the brands required by distributors, but in Sri Lanka it has gone a step ahead by selling under its very own brand name ‘Tip Top’, a product range designed for the Asian user.
In an attempt to put the Sri Lankan brand on the map, plans are afoot in making its products available globally under the Tip Top brand name.
“This way we will not only be bringing our product quality, but our marketing skills as well,” said Amarasinghe.
In harmony with nature
Conservation is one of the core areas of focus for BPPL and for that recycling of PET bottles is a major component of the manufacturing process of some of the brush ranges.
The recycled flakes are collected from post industrial and consumer waste PET water bottles. Amarasinghe explained that the waste bottles collected countrywide are sorted, crushed and washed in the newly commissioned washing line. Mono-filaments are then extruded using an extrusion plant from Reifenhauser of Germany.
“This happens in a very large scale, about 70 tonnes of these fibres we extrude every month. Sri Lanka imports around 900 tonnes a month and most of it ends up in dump yards. About 15 percent of the country’s waste goes into making these fibres which then get re-exported.”
All in all, about 110 tonnes of recycled waste is used for manufacturing a month, probably the highest scale in Sri Lanka. “No organisation, engaged in similar activities and operations, do the recycling in the scale we do,” he noted.
Although BPPL collects approximately 70-80 tonnes (about 19 percent of total recycling portion) of post-consumer bottles (PCB) per month from dump yards, hotels, cleaning and beverage companies, there is still room to increase the use of such material.
Pointing out there is 81 percent of un-recycled portion, there are still untapped bottle sourcing areas such as the sea belt along Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Arugam Bay and Jaffna.
Furthermore, there are PET materials not subjected to recycling, such as tooth brushes, toys, garment packaging, and stationary items, which accumulate throughout the country as garbage, generating negative effects to the environment.
PET virgin material imports to Sri Lanka in 2014 averaged 897 tonnes per month.
Sustainable sourcing
With regard to raw materials, BPPL goes where there is a comparative advantage. “Wherever sourcing is easy, we go there. Sri Lanka’s strategic location allows us to source in such a manner.”
Bulk of the raw material is wood-based and 40 percent is sourced from Sri Lanka. From the recycle side, about 60 percent is from Sri Lanka while the rest is imported.
BPPL only purchases wood from plantations certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a body that has been set up for responsible management of plantation where it is ensured that for every tree that is cut, a new tree is planted.
“What we bring to the table is this global network of sales outlets and distributors, whatever the country produces which we can sell through this network, we do,” stated Amarasinghe.
It can be said that BPPL has been successful in integrating a lot of countries to bring down materials, added value and export and contribute to the national economy as a key foreign exchange earner.
Strong emphasis on quality
Absolute emphasis on quality is what BPPL does best. Raw materials are taken
into stocks only after stringent quality checks where all tiers that are to be met are documented.
Amarasinghe explained that throughout the production process quality checks take place on a daily basis. But to the surprise of many BPPL does not have a designated quality division.
“We at this company consciously do not have a quality division, since the moment you have one conflict arises,” he justified.
Instead, officers in charge of quality checks report directly to the production heads who have to take responsibility for not only manufacturing the products but also making it to meet the required quality standards.
The highly experienced production team constantly monitors the production process, from uprooting of rubber trees, sawing and chemical treating of the timber to kiln drying. From formulation to production, each process represents a standard for quality unmatched in the industry.
“The reason why most of these customers continue to buy from us is quality. Otherwise having to deal with quality issues and setbacks taxes them in a number of ways,” he said.
“When you look at our Chinese competitors, some of our customers have their own quality teams residing in China because they are not happy with the quality checks the Chinese do. But in our case, because of this stringent checks we do, they have left everything to us, they save money.”
Expectations from government
With some of BPPL’S companies being BOI certified, it already receives a fair amount of concessions by way of taxes.
But looking at the future, it expects more, at least in the utilities side. While electricity tariff has come down, stable connection is what is required.
“Having power is not enough, what is important is to have zero interruptions. Power failures impact our productivity greatly.
“As we start going up the value chain and start competing with superior producers, pricing become sensitive and elements such as power matter.”
Noting it is essential to think differently as the country progresses, he stressed the need to have such aspects in order that would help push the nation towards value addition.
Another area of concern, just as for other industries, is human resources.
Amarasinghe shared that a major challenge is faced in this regard when recruiting. It is observed that majority of the applicants require training and it is expected from the government to help in the supplying of skilled trained workforce.
“Lot of the basic infrastructure is provided. But now it’s about adding value and progress to the next level,” he opined.
New markets
In addition to South East Asian markets, BPPL is on the lookout for some virgin markets as well.
For the group, interesting is the Asian region which is now reaching the stage of higher per capita income. “They are now starting to do most of the work themselves and their affordability factors are higher. They are willing to pay a premium and buy higher quality items,” he said.
When queried as to where Middle East was on the list of markets to explore, Amarasinghe observed that characteristics of that region were not attractive for BPPL.
“People who spend on our quality products are the developing countries. The Middle East has a lot of cheap labour. When that is the case they don’t buy high quality products, but disposable items.
“The markets we are currently in, it is generally the users who purchase the items. They buy a higher quality product, for a higher price for longer use. That is why you don’t see us having a presence in the Middle East. They are a price conscious market,” professed Amarasinghe.
He added that the company is looking at what can be done by getting into other Asian markets. Noting that some of the markets operate very similar to Sri Lanka, he said that it was easy to push similar promotional exercises with just a bit of tweaking.
New initiatives
BPPL is keen on expanding its Tip Top range which will soon see more value addition. While this is just one of the priorities on the fibre side, it is looking to source other industries, such as apparel.
According to Amarasinghe, exports are fine if the mind-set is to be a contract manufacturer. But when an organisation chooses to engage in branding it is imperative to understand markets much more.
“Being a contract manufacturer is easier, but we want to switch. We want a big enough pie and sustain our share,” he added.