Ceylon Oxygen launches largest air separation plant in Sri Lanka

Ceylon Oxygen’s recently established Air Separation Unit (ASU) in Colombo is the company’s second and the largest air separation plant in Sri Lanka further reinforcing Ceylon Oxygen’s position as the leading industrial and medical gases player in the country, according to Niran Pieris, Chief Executive of Ceylon Oxygen Ltd (COL).

Speaking at a recent media conference to commemorate the launch of COL’s flagship ASU, Mr. Pieris said “the plant is also very energy efficient, allowing us to lower our energy input costs and also pass on the savings to our customers”. The new plant also represents a milestone in the industrial gases market as it will produce argon and indeed will make Sri Lanka fully self-sufficient in argon. “This will in turn prevent the drainage of vital foreign exchange out of the country”, Mr. Pieris noted.

Speaking at the event Bernd Eulitz, regional business unit head for South and East Asia of the Linde Group, which owns COL, said “our new ASU will significantly increase production capacity and enhance product and service offerings to our existing and potential new customers in the hospital, shipbuilding and ship-repair, steel, glass, food and chemi- cals sector”.

Asked about whether Sri Lanka’s prevailing legal environment is conducive for investment, Mr. Eulitz stated, “We have full confidence in Sri Lanka and are looking forward to supporting economic growth in the country”. Mr. Eulitz also hinted at the possibility of future expansion although noting “that we do have any immediate plans at the moment”

Regarding the impact of the new plant on COL’s profitability, Mr. Pieris asserted that COL has “remained profitable over the years and will continue to remain profitable in the future”.

He also added that the new plant has been constructed with the most stringent of safety and environmental standards. Reaffirming COL’s commitment to safety, Mr. Pieris stated that “we have walked out of business agreements that have not conformed to our safety requirements in the past and will continue to do so if needed as the safety of our employees is crucial to us”

The new state –of –the art ASU built at a cost of Rs. 1.3 billion is capable of producing 62 tons per day of gaseous nitrogen, oxygen and argon for the merchant gases market. The new plant is approximately three times larger than that of the former. (SP)