The Brandix Group’s contribution to the country’s export economy was recognised at the highest level this week when Sri Lanka’s single largest apparel exporter was presented with eight Presidential Export Awards at a ceremony presided over by the country’s Head of State.

Brandix was recognised as the Sri Lankan Exporter of the Year in respect of 2012 and 2013, was adjudged the Best Exporter in the Apparel Sector in those two years, and was honoured with four Special Awards for being the Highest Net Foreign Exchange Earner and the Highest Employment Provider in the Export Industry in 2012 and 2013.

The collection of awards presented to the Group by President Maithripala Sirisena and senior ministers of the government at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre on Wednesday, 16th December, made Brandix one of the biggest winners across all sectors at this prestigious event, held after a lapse of several years. Organised by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), this year’s event recognised export performances in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

“Brandix has continued to invest in expanding operations, in new technology and innovation and in eco-friendly manufacture. As a result, the Group has consistently added value to its offering, and helped keep Sri Lanka’s apparel industry competitive in the global arena,” Brandix CEO Ashroff Omar said.

“We are also delighted to note that of the eight Presidential Export Awards we won, six transcend the apparel sector, as they are in respect of the entire export industry,” Mr Omar added.

The eight Presidential Export Awards presented to Brandix this year bring the Group’s tally of accolades for export performance to 14. Brandix has been a consistent winner of these awards since 2003, when they were known as the National Awards for Export Excellence (NAEE). Brandix was first ranked as Sri Lanka’s most outstanding exporter and best in the apparel sector by the Export Development Board in 2003.

The Brandix CEO was specially invited by the EDB to address the gathering of export achievers at the awards presentation.

The headquarters building of the Brandix Group has been awarded the Green Mark – Platinum certification by the Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB), making it the first commercial building in Sri Lanka to receive this rating, developed by the Building Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore to assess Green buildings.

The milestone award presented to Brandix by Special Projects Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama, is the second won by the building within a month. In November, the Brandix head office received the Gold at the National Energy Efficiency Awards.

The Green Mark recognises achievements in four key environment related indicators and a general category. In the assessment for the Green Mark – Platinum conferred on Brandix, the building was rated on Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Sustainable Operations & Maintenance, Indoor Environment Quality and Other Green Features & Innovations.

The building received an overall score well above the 90 required to qualify for Platinum – the highest Green rating possible under the scheme.

“Our new headquarters building is a perfect representation of the Group’s deep-rooted commitment to sustainability,” Brandix Director Feroz Omar said. “The latest in technology was utilised to minimise its environmental footprint, and the two awards won in the space of a month are a fitting recognition of its status as a new benchmark for a Green office buildings in Sri Lanka.”

Commissioned on 1st March 2015, the eight-storey, 37,800 square foot Brandix HQ building has 29,783 square feet of air conditioned office space.

Purpose-designed by Architect Murad Ismail, the edifice accommodates approximately 200 people. The extensive use of double-glazed, Argon-filled, black tinted self-cleaning glass walls gives the structure improved thermal insulation and a high solar reflectance index, keeping its interiors cool. Daylight harvesting facilitated by a high window to wall ratio, the use of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting controlled by a smart system that switches on and adjusts lux levels based on ambient light and occupancy, and a highly energy-efficient water-cooled, oil free magnetic bearing air conditioning system, all integrated into a series of sophisticated intelligent building management systems, enable significant savings in energy consumption.

One of the largest suppliers of apparel to top retail brands in the US and Europe, Brandix is an international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice. The Group was recognised as Sri Lanka’s ‘Organisation Committed to Green’ by the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka (GBCSL) in 2014.

Provides water and sanitation facilities to schools and hospital under novel community initiative

Nivithigala in Sri Lanka’s Ratnapura District has been refreshed with water supply and sanitation facilities it received from Brandix, under the Group’s novel ‘model village’ themed community initiative.

Sri Lanka’s single largest apparel exporter has donated water supply and toilet facilities to five schools, two Sunday schools and a hospital in the Nivithigala area under the second project carried out under this initiative, benefitting more than 4,700 children and adults.

Inspired by the temple, school and tank – centred village development concept of yore, the Brandix programme identifies and addresses water-related issues facing people resident within a five kilometre radius of the Group’s factories. It involves the provision of water supply facilities to, or upgrading existing water supply infrastructure in schools, hospitals, places of worship, police stations and similar community locations.

The first Brandix Model Village programme benefitted residents of Polonnaruwa.

In Nivithigala, the project assisted the Thuthipitiya Viduhala; Parawaththa Vidyalaya; Watapotha Maha Vidyalaya; Sumana Kanitu Viduhala; Sumana Maha Vidyalaya; Sri Sudarshana Daham Vidyalaya – Watapotha; Sri Sucharitha Daham Vidyalaya – Kiribathgala and the Wathupitiya Hospital. In all, Brandix donated 13 toilets, five water supply facilities including tube wells and repaired a water tank.

“This approach of assisting public institutions and communal locations brings communities together and builds a sense of ownership that has lasting beneficial impacts,” Anusha Alles, Head of CSR of the Brandix Group said. “Projects of this nature enable our factories to play a role in the community, and become important contributors to the wellbeing of the people in their neighbourhoods.”

Brandix factories, usually one of the biggest employers in each community, become an intrinsic part of the social fabric of the village through their role as benefactors under this programme. The Group plans to extend these projects to an area within a 10 kilometre radius of its factories in the project’s second phase.

The Brandix Group’s principal CSR efforts are driven by the central corporate theme of ‘Water’ and are planned and executed by the ‘Bindu’ Foundation established by the Group for the purpose. These efforts represent a long term commitment to increasing the availability of water and the provision of safe drinking water to those most in need.

— Top apparel exporter marks World Water Day 2016 with ‘Diya Siththam’ contest for schools —

A novel initiative to inspire children to give expression to their views on water conservation and management through art has resulted in the Brandix Group engaging with 37 schools in Sri Lanka to commemorate World Water Day 2016.

The ‘Diya Siththam’ (Water Frescoes) programme conducted by the Bindu Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility division of the Group paved the way for nine schools whose thematic wall paintings were adjudged the best among participants to receive financial assistance from the country’s largest apparel exporter.

Driven by Brandix Group factories around Sri Lanka, the initiative brought together children from areas as geographically and socially diverse as Batticaloa, Polonnaruwa, Giritale, Koggala, Nivithigala, Rideegama, Seeduwa, Ratmalana and Avissawella to name a few, in an activity that stimulated deeper thought about the water-related issues facing many communities in Sri Lanka.

“The enthusiastic response of hundreds of children to this art competition was heartening and inspirational,” Anusha Alles, Head of CSR & Corporate Communications at Brandix said. “It was a great platform to educate a wide cross section of our future generation on the importance of water use and conservation, while providing them with an opportunity to have fun and explore their artistic skills.”

Brandix Group factories that participated in the programme identified schools in their areas to be invited to participate and provided them with the materials and tools required to produce their wall paintings under the theme ‘Water for the people; Water by the people.’ The competition was open to all age groups of students.

A team of judges travelled around the country to assess these efforts, at the end of which the wall paintings of five schools, Medirigiriya Central College, Giritale; Sri Rahula Maha Vidyalaya, Ratmalana; Halpathota Romanu Katholika Vidyalaya, Koggala; Kadawala Navodya Central College, Ratmalana and Peellawatta David De Silva Kanishta Vidyalaya, Katunayake were chosen as the best. Each of these schools received Rs 200,000 from Brandix for their efforts. The Group also rewarded every one of the four primary schools that participated, with a total of Rs 375,000 in cash prizes.

Engaging with employees or the community to increase awareness of the importance of managing water resources, improving access and conservation, and rewarding initiatives in this sphere have become part of an annual initiative at Brandix to mark World Water Day, commemorated worldwide on 22nd March.

The pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector and a preferred supplier to some of the top retail brands in the US and Europe, Brandix is a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice. The Group’s principal CSR efforts are driven by the central corporate theme of ‘Water’ and constitute a long term commitment to increasing the availability of water and the provision of safe drinking water to those most in need.

Sri Lanka’s apparel giant continues its support for J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York as Official Apparel Solutions Partner

The Brandix Group’s partnership with the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York this January saw Sri Lanka’s leading apparel exporter on the global sporting stage for a third successive year as Official Apparel Solutions Partner and a Bronze Sponsor.

The world’s largest spectator squash event, the 2016 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions celebrated its 19th year of presenting the world’s best squash players in competition on the four-walled glass court in Vanderbilt Hall in New York’s Grand Central Terminal. Defending champion and World No. 1 Mohamed Elshorbagy from Egypt beat three-time world champion Nick Matthew (England) in the Men’s final, while seventh seed Nour El Sherbini from Egypt captured her first Tournament of Champions trophy by defeating 10th seed Amanda Sobhy (USA) in the Women’s final.

The 2016 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions featured 46 of the top 50 world-ranking players in the sport among the 112 athletes from 25 countries who competed in front of sell-out crowds throughout the week-long championship.

As part of its sponsorship of this Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Series event, Brandix presented custom-designed and branded players’ shirts to the players in the Men’s and Women’s draw.

The Tournament of Champions traces its distinguished international squash lineage back to 1930 when it was first staged as the “U.S. Professional.” In the late 70s it became the World Professional Squash Championships and then the Tournament of Champions in 1993. The list of titleholders is a veritable “who’s who” of squash through the years. The tournament has been played in 17 different cities, but is now closely identified with its majestic Grand Central Terminal venue where it was first presented in 1999.

Brandix has taken another significant step in its on-going efforts to promote gender equality across the Group by graduating 19 female mechanics who completed an in-house training course on sewing machine maintenance and repair.

Penetrating what was once a male bastion, the 19 female associates from four business clusters of the Brandix Group completed the intensive four-month training programme that covered 10 types of sewing machines and encompassed a comprehensive range of technical skills. The course was conducted at the Brandix College of Clothing Technology (BCCT).

Aged 18 to 30 years, these associates who had earlier been employed as sewing machine operators, quality controllers and helpers, have now been promoted to the position of Junior Mechanic with higher salaries and improved prospects for progression in their companies. With further training available within the Group, they may aspire to positions such as Maintenance Executive and Plant Engineer, the company said.

“We are delighted with the enthusiasm, passion and commitment of the batch, and with the success of the training programme,” said Iresha Somarathna, Group Head of Engineering at Brandix. “As a Group that is committed to equal opportunity employment, Brandix offers its executive and non-executive staff numerous opportunities for career progression, and it is most encouraging to see these opportunities being made the most of.”

The 19 female mechanics that completed the course were examined via a practical test, a written test and by their manuals and record-keeping. Notably, seven of the female mechanics obtained a High Distinction pass, while eight others received a Distinction.

Ranked Sri Lanka’s most valuable export brand in 2016 by Brand Finance, Brandix is the country’s single largest apparel exporter. The pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector and a preferred supplier to some of the top retail brands in the US and Europe, Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice.

Employees of the Brandix Group, Sri Lanka’s single largest apparel exporter, donated 3,448 units of blood in 2015, earning the appreciation of the National Blood Transfusion Service (NTBS), which recently presented the Group with a special plaque for being the largest corporate blood donor in the country.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Brandix was acknowledged as the largest donor of blood among private sector organisations that donate annually to the NTBS.

The blood collected at Brandix factories in Sri Lanka in 2015 was the second highest volume contributed by the Group to the NTBS in a single year, and took Brandix’s cumulative contribution over the past nine years to 20,423 units.

“Our associates continue to be committed to support the annual blood donation drive the Group conducts with the support of the National Blood Transfusion Service,” said Col. Sujith Jayasekara, Senior General Manager – Group Works HR at Brandix. “Their sense of civic consciousness and social responsibility is inspiring, and amply justifies continuing and expanding this initiative. We will look at sustaining the next donation campaign throughout the year in collaboration with the NTBS.”

Among the highest contributing locations of Brandix’s 2015 blood donation campaign were Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited (BASL) – Athleisure, Polonnaruwa with 368 units, the most by a single factory to date; BASL – Essentials, Koggala with 262 units and BASL – Lingerie, Wathupitiwala with 249 units. The provinces covered were the Western, Southern, North Central, Sabaragamuwa and North Western provinces.

According to the NTBS, donations of this scale over a significant time period are necessary to meet the organisation’s requirements. By being geographically widespread, the Brandix campaign increases supplies of blood in many areas, including those that do not usually receive donations of significant volume compared with areas like Colombo. Brandix’s blood donation campaigns are also extra significant as they are conducted on weekdays instead of the general norm of weekends. This is particularly helpful in sustaining blood platelets, which have a lifespan of five days, for use during the course of the week. Brandix was also commended for the timing of its blood donation campaign, as the NTBS had experienced a shortage of blood during the September – December period of last year.

The Brandix Group employs more than 48,000 people at 42 operations in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh and is one of the largest suppliers of apparel to top retail brands in the US and Europe. Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice.

A second batch of Brandix associates that completed the Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) programme for female workers in the apparel industry graduated recently at Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited (BASL) – Casualwear, Ratmalana.

The batch comprised of 143 associates and took the number of Brandix associates that have completed the P.A.C.E. course to date to 293.

The P.A.C.E. programme is a life and work skills education programme designed by Gap Inc. to positively impact female garment workers in factories that manufacture for the label. The programme provides workers with foundational skills, technical training and support to help them advance in the workplace and in their personal lives.

The course comprises of eight modules of life skills education including Communication; Problem Solving & Decision Making; Time & Stress Management; Water, Sanitation & Hygiene; Financial Literacy; Legal Literacy & Social Entitlement; General & Reproductive Health; and Execution Excellence. Research shows P.A.C.E. graduates are more productive, have lower rates of absenteeism and are promoted faster than factory workers who do not participate in the programme. The P.A.C.E. programme is run in apparel factories in India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

“The content of the P.A.C.E. course has been proven to motivate and empower female workers to progress in their careers,” Anusha Alles, Head of CSR & Corporate Communications at Brandix said. “This is an aspect that Brandix remains committed to as a Group, and we are greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm of our associates to follow the course and obtain P.A.C.E. certification.”

In another example of the Group’s commitment to the empowerment of female employees, Brandix recently graduated 19 female mechanics who completed an in-house training course on sewing machine maintenance and repair.

Ranked Sri Lanka’s most valuable export brand in 2016 by Brand Finance, Brandix is the country’s single largest apparel exporter. The pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector and a preferred supplier to some of the top retail brands in the US and Europe, Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice.

Company wins coveted World Textiles award for 2nd consecutive year

Textured Jersey Lanka PLC (TJ Group) benchmarked yet again with an outstanding win at the World Textile Awards for the second consecutive year. The Company who won ‘Firm of the Year’ in 2014 was the only Sri Lankan Textile Manufacturer to be recognised at the prestigious awards this year, with the ‘Dyer & Finisher of the Year’ award for 2015 for the second year running.

Currently one of the largest textile manufactures in the region, with a satellite plant based in India too, TJ was selected for the honour from amongst worldwide competitors representing different areas of textile and apparel manufacturing. The world’s best pitted their industry knowledge and expertise at this premier event, with TJ walking away with one of the key accolades of the evening.

As is its practice, the World Textile Awards take their candidates through a stringent selection process, prior to being judged by an elite panel – some of the most respected in the industry across the world; drawn from leading international textile organisations and institutions.

Headquartered in London the awards’ mission is to provide a global platform to reward excellence amongst outstanding textile companies in the industry from fibre production to end stitched products. Judging criteria include a number of different aspects such as the company’s market position, technical performance, environmental and sustainability practices, quality control, employee programmes etc.

CEO of the TJ Group, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne commending his team on the win said that winning this prestigious award for the second time reflects the talent, expertise and passion of his team, “This is great recognition and clearly shows what we as a team are capable of achieving. This has been a roller coaster year for us, making our presence felt in the industry not only through the acquisitions we’ve made but also with the great results we’ve shown overall in terms of financial stability and growth. We have made breakthroughs into new and innovative areas of textile production and these are exciting times for the Company. This award is an affirmation and an inspiration for us to do bigger and better things. Combined with our strong competencies, globally strong shareholders and a rich heritage, we are poised on the threshold of a new era to provide our world class clients not just the best quality product but new innovation tailor made for them.”

TJ who is top of the class for their fabric innovations and reputed to meet the highest international standards in product quality, has continued to win numerous industry accolades through the years, receiving a number of awards for Sustainability as well as Quality and Performance both locally and internationally.

Listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, with a current Market Capitalisation of around Rs. Twenty Three Billion, Textured Jersey Lanka is backed by two leading industrialists – Pacific Textiles Hong Kong and Brandix Lanka as its main shareholders. The company supplies to some of the best international brands including Marks & Spencer, Victoria’s Secret, Intimissimi, Tezenis and Calvin Klein.