New management strengthens Pelwatte Dairy

Sri Lanka’s Pelwatte Dairy Industries Ltd (PDIL) recently strengthened its operations with the appointment of a new Managing Director and Operations Director at its state- of- the- art Buttala manufacturing plant.

Akmal Wickramanayake, appointed as Managing Director of Pelwatte Dairy Industries in early 2017, is taking over management responsibilities of the company that was founded by his father Ariyaseela Wickramanayake. Under his guidance, Pelwatte Diary has undergone corporat e restructuring to better streamline operations and reposition the brand in a highly competitive market, according to a company media release.

“We compete in a highly volatile market and it has always been my father’s vision to make Sri Lanka self-sufficient in milk. As an organisation we strongly believe that this is an achievable dream and we constantly strive to better the lives of dairy farmers and their families, while also supplying a 100 per cent Sri Lankan product to consumers,” the MD said.

PDIL has also recruited talented personal to senior management positions, one s u ch being Toshan Wickramanayake, who took over as the Director of Operations at the Buttala Factory towards the latter part of last year. The operations director is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and brings with him a fresh new perspective to the company.

Together with several other senior management appointees, PDIL is also putting much emphasis on expanding its procurement network in order to control supply and acquire raw milk for the increased production capacity.

Under Toshan Wikramanayake’s guidance the Buttala factory has undergone several changes in staff, processes and technology. A lot of attention has been spent on existing product improvement and new product development. As a result of this emphasis, products such as butter, milk powder and ice cream have undergone product development leading to better products for customers, the release said.