Six wins for Tuffline at Sri Lanka Packaging Awards 2022
Leading flexible-barrier packaging company Tuffline Ltd has been operating in the local packaging industry since 1990, and it is a company under the Capital Maharaja Group of Companies. Since Tuffline’s first year of operation the company has gradually been expanding and quickly became a market leader in the local packaging industry.
Tuffline now manufactures and distributes multilayer co-extrusions, Holographic Stickers and Shrink Sleeves and provides flexible packaging options, such as high-quality flexible-barrier laminates, for its steady and loyal customers.
Tuffline’s Vision: To be a regional player in Flexible Packaging, while maintaining its leadership in the Sri Lankan Market. Tuffline’s Mission: To be the premium service provider for flexible packaging and related services, through its commitment to serve customers with constant flexibility and innovation for value added solutions. It strives towards this goal through a commitment towards the interest of its employees, customers, shareholders, business partners and members of society. Furthermore, it aims to achieve technological enhancements through compliance with ISO Standards in Quality Management, Food Safety Management, Environmental Management, Laboratory Accreditation, and Health and Safety Management to achieve its five-year growth plan.
“We make good quality products at good prices, and we have a team of qualified professionals working with us. Our goal is to cater to all our customers’ needs with high quality packing materials and other products, and we are looking forward to collaborating with new businesses in the future. One of the sectors we will be targeting in the future is the export market, and are very keen on supplying our products to many other countries,” said Group Director Anil C. de Silva.
Tuffline currently caters to the packaging needs of local and international producers and suppliers, including many reputed, wellknown brands and household names in the personal care, construction materials, industrial products, confectionery, milk powder, tea, biscuits, bottled water, food and beverages industries.
“Tuffline originally began in 1990 to cater to the packaging needs of the Anchor milk powder brand which was imported from the UK. Since then we have gradually expanded our product range, and also invested in new machinery. We now cater to the needs of many international brands and companies locally, and are right at the top in Sri Lanka’s flexible packaging industry,” said Tuffline Ltd Senior Consultant Oliver Senaratne.
The company highlights that its top-of-theline initiatives and innovative spirit have been the foundation of its growth. In the early 1990’s, Tuffline developed a stand-up pouch, and a material called “Tuffcote” to replace the triple laminate that was used in packaging materials before. Both innovations garnered the company a Lanka Star Award in 1991. Tuffcote also earned a World Star Award from the World Packaging Organisation, in the same year.
Since then, Tuffline has been privileged to receive many more awards and certifications of recognition, including many firsts in the flexible packaging industry. It was the first company in Sri Lanka to receive an ISO 9002 Quality Assurance Certification in 1997 for laminating and the first company in the industry to be Covid-19 Control Environment certified by the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI).
This year, Tuffline Ltd received six awards—one gold, three silver and two bronze—at the Sri Lanka Packaging Awards 2022, which was held on November 3rd at the Galadari Hotel. While the Gold Award was received for innovation, the other Awards were received for product excellence. Three of the Awards were received by ICL Brands—a member of The Capital Maharaja Group which specialises in bringing world renowned consumer products for the local market.
The Awards are as follows:
2020
Bronze Award in the Flexible Packaging
Material category for Rawan Black Henna Gold Award in the Flexible Packaging
Material category for Mulch Film
Silver Award in the Flexible Packaging Material category for Crunchy Strawberry Wafer 200g
Silver Award in the Flexible Packaging Material category for Bambi Baby Diapers 20”s (medium)
2021
Silver Award in the Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, Cosmetics Packaging category for SafeGuard 3ply disposable medical face mask
Bronze Award for in the Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, Cosmetics Packaging category Bambi Premium Care Diapers (medium) Organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging, the Sri Lanka Packaging Award is held annually. Affiliated with the World Packaging Organisation and the Asia Packaging Federation, the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging recognises excellence, innovation and sustainability in the packaging industry, and allows manufacturers to take their products and services further, locally, regionally and even globally.
Sri Lanka Packaging Awards 2022 was assessed by an eminent panel comprising four onsite judges and five external judges, including two international judges. New products from several companies were also recognised with the 2022 Lanka Star Awards ceremony on November 3, at the Galadari Hotel.
“We recently developed the mulch film, which was being imported to Sri Lanka from India and Israel, and it is mainly used by the agriculture sector for soil protection and to get better growth from plants. This film also offers protection from Ultraviolet (UV) rays and is biodegradable,” said Mr Senaratne.
“Mr Senaratne wanted to create an innovative product that would benefit the agriculture sector in Sri Lanka, which has to be heavily facilitated with local raw materials. So he looked into locally producing the mulch film which has been imported from other countries for several years. We are keen on encouraging the agriculture sector to use our new product, as it can cut costs drastically by using a locally manufactured product instead of an imported one,” added Tuffline Ltd Sales & Marketing Manager Amith Wadduwage.
According to Mr Senaratne, the mulch film is made from an LDPE (Low-density polyethylene)
and many chemicals are added to make it UV protective.
“This product is used widely in the USA, and the market for this product there is huge. Right now we are in the preliminary stage of producing and distributing this product. So let us see what we can do with it in the future,” he added.
“The mulch film we produced is a low thickness film of 35 micron. It has a nice appearance—silver on the outside and black on the inside—and its main advantage is its UV resistance,” elaborated Product Development Executive M. D. C. Sonali Dharmsena, an Applied Sciences graduate of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
In regard to its workforce, Tuffline has more than 200 employees, including a technically qualified management team and an insightful sales team, who are fully equipped and knowledgeable and experienced enough to work with multinational as well as local companies, Mr Senaratne emphasised.
Furthermore, Tuffline’s plant is equipped with top-of-the-line machinery to guarantee a high standard of products and services for its clients. The key capabilities of the company range from flexible packaging to dry lamination and pouch making. It also offers customers expert advice on the choice of materials and technical inputs to provide the best products and services. This assures an individualised packaging requirement, rather than a cookie-cutter solution, for its customers who are from a diverse range of industries.
Elaborating on this Mr Wadduwage said: “Instead of marketing our products in the traditional way, we always try to innovate and create new products that will benefit our customers. We participate in award ceremonies such as the Sri Lanka Packaging Awards ceremony, so we can showcase our new products.”
“We want to be different from our competitors, and we have won many Lanka Star Gold and Silver Awards for our products over the years. We do not see the point in copying another company’s product and making our own; we always try to be innovative. We were happy and proud to receive these Awards at
the Sri Lanka Packaging Award 2022, because they were outputs of the technical knowledge and skills of our team members, that they gathered and developed over the course of many years,” he added.
The company’s three primary goals— according to Mr. Senaratne—are; maintaining high quality of products, increasing its customer base and serving its customers better.
“In terms of challenges, we have had to find ways of tackling the high prices of raw materials and restrictions in imported raw materials. The industry is now quite competitive unlike in the past. When I started this company, there were only a couple of businesses in the industry. Now there are more than 30,” he added.
In terms of staff recruitment, training and development, the Human Resources Division of Capital Maharaja manages staff recruitment for Tuffline. A performance training scheme takes place every six months at Tuffline, and the company’s leaders identify key areas where training needs to be provided for all recruited employees. The training process targets skills development, compliance and technical knowledge, and also focuses on the latest innovations, to take the company forward and provide opportunities for staff members to progress professionally as well.
“We have conducted several training programmes, and have taken it upon ourselves to look into the needs of our employees’ families and support them financially if needed. We also encourage people to move forward professionally in the company—from the bottom all the way to the top. This is a key part of the workplace culture at Capital Maharaja,” said Mr de Silva.
“In our process of creating innovative products, we do not use only one person’s idea or suggestion. We collect ideas and suggestions even from unskilled operators who
join our company. Freedom of speech and an inclusive and open culture is encouraged at our workplace,” said Mr Wadduwage.
“We encourage anyone working here to suggest anything in regard to product ideas and concepts,” Mr Senaratne added.
According to Mr Wadduwage, Tuffline is a food safety certified, quality management certified, ISO certified and COVID-19 safety certified company, and its products are manufactured under strict standards to ensure high quality products. Tuffline’s certifications include ISO 9001: 2008 Quality Management System Certification by the SLSI; ISO 22000: 2005 Food Safety Management System Certification in May 2006 by the SLSI/SGS and FSSC 22000: 2011 Food Safety System Certification by SGS.
He added that they are very careful in selecting raw materials and make the necessary purchases from reputed organisations after a comprehensive evaluation process is conducted.
“We can confidently say, our plant and all our facilities are accorded a great deal of safety and care, to provide the best quality packaging material—especially for the food and beverages industries. We want more businesses to make use of our products, services and facilities and reap the benefits,” Mr Wadduwage said.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic we struggled, but we did not close the factory for even a day because we had an obligation to our customers, and did not want the people of our country to suffer by letting our customers down,” Mr Senaratne said, adding that they asked Lanka Hospital in Colombo to conduct PCR tests on all staff members when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its worst.
“It was a turbulent time for us, including our Group Director, were in the office or at the factory every single day of the week. We provided the necessary COVID-19 safety measures for all staff members. Those who could work from home were allowed to do so, whereas the machine operators and other technical staff, were provided transport daily,” Mr Wadduwage said.
“We did our best to cater to our customer needs even when the country was in lockdown and materials were not being imported or distributed in the country. We got approvals from the necessary authorities and imported our raw materials,” he added.
Tuffline also upholds a Sustainable Development Policy which includes the highest accepted standards of corporate practices, in compliance with local and international regulatory requirements and conventions, to ensure the quality of life and the environment are not compromised on the path to economic growth and development and value creation.
With the need to be more sustainable in its practices, Tuffline focuses on key areas such as energy efficiency, safely disposing of used water and solid waste and minimising emission levels.
“At Tuffline, we are looking forward to creating and moving forward with new projects and new packaging materials and products. We are ready to take up any challenges, as it is not a part of our workplace culture to “pass the ball to someone else,” said Mr de Silva in conclusion.