Swisstek Aluminium announced it has once again taken steps to improve the industry in Sri Lanka through the launch of www.metals.lk, an online portal that facilitates the sale of scrap metals in the country. The website, developed for the Ministry of Industries and Industrial Development Board (IDB), which facilitate the process of buying and selling scrap metal – such as aluminium, brass, and copper – vastly more efficient for manufacturers islandwide.
Since the imposition of import restrictions in 2020, the export of scrap metal was prohibited, while the Industrial Development Board was the only body authorised to regulate the sale of scrap metal. This posed a challenge to local manufacturers, as the process of selling scrap metal had become more time-consuming, resulting in a wastage of resources. Thus, this website will not only allow industrialists to utilise their resources more efficiently, but will also reduce the burden on the IDB in terms of regulating such sales.
Minister of Industries Ramesh Pathirana, speaking at the launch of the metals.lk portal, noted that the site is in line with the Government’s objective of enabling higher productivity in local industry, stating: “The Government aims to reduce the regulatory activities by authorities operating in the industrial sector, thus facilitating local industrialists. It is very clear that such regulatory activities have hampered the industrial sector in Sri Lanka, and thus should be minimised with immediate effect to create a suitable business environment for industrialists in a free space. In this challenging period, we look towards the support of all stakeholders for this purpose.”
Swisstek Aluminium has thus stepped forward to facilitate this shift towards a more efficient industrial environment, benefitting not only the company itself, but the entire industry and the country as a whole.
Commenting on this initiative, Swisstek Aluminium CEO Tharindu Atapattu stated: “This portal was created to solve an issue that arose due to the pandemic and was exacerbated by the economic crisis. Our company was not the only one affected by the operational constraints; the entire industry was being hampered. We thus came forward to implement such a system that would benefit all players in the industry, with the aim of helping the nation overcome at least one of the many challenges it is facing.
“Swisstek Aluminium has always believed in bettering the ecosystem we operate in. In fact, during the pandemic, while many industrial firms were laying off workers and cutting down on processes, we implemented several measures to ensure the wellbeing of our workforce, resulting in Swisstek being ranked among Sri Lanka’s top 10 best-managed companies in the list compiled by the Institute of Chartered Professional Managers of Sri Lanka (CPM), for the period 2020-2021, at the CPM’s ‘Best Management Practices Awards 2022’. In this way, we hope to continue innovating to improve the lives and livelihoods of all our stakeholders.”
Swisstek Aluminium Ltd., established in 2009, is a subsidiary of Lanka Walltiles PLC which comes under the reputed Vallibel One PLC Group. It has established itself as the leading environmentally-friendly manufacturer of anodised, powder-coated, and mill-finished aluminium extrusions in Sri Lanka, with a reputation for high-quality products, innovation, and commitment to excellence.
