South Asia’s largest textile manufacturer Textured Jersey (TJ) have been placed on the Forbes Asia’s 200 Best Under a Billion list of 2016. The 200 companies in the Forbes’ Best Under a Billion Asia-Pacific list must have an annual revenue between $5 million and $1 billion and be publicly traded for at least a year. The 200 are picked from a universe of over 15,000 companies across the Asia-Pacific exchanges based on earnings growth, sales growth and return on equity in the past 12 months and over 3 years.

TJ has been on a major expansion drive in the last few years extending its regional presence with the acquisition of Ocean India in 2015 and acquiring one of the region’s best fabric printing facilities Quenby Lanka in the same year. The recently strengthened Management Team, and the operations teams, then transformed these companies, delivering great synergy. The Company ended its last financial year on a resounding note recording a strong net profit of Rs. 2,175 Mn, a 63% growth over the last year. Continuing its performance momentum in the new financial year, TJreported 8 straight quarters of strong quarterly profit growth. TJ share price has been on a steady rise and reached an all time high of Rs. 41/- just this week. The stock however still trades at lower PE ratios compared to many of the companies featured on this prestigious list, and the CEO of Textured Jersey, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne says this is a company to watch out for in the future.

The CEO adds that he was delighted and honoured to be named amongst Asia’s Best. “To be recognized by a prestigious brand like Forbes is a benchmark achievement for the Company as well as the industry. This is a proud moment for the TJ team, and a testament of our groundbreaking work and milestone achievements in being a part of the ever evolving global supply chain for the garment industry. We will continue to work closely with our Customers and Partners; our teams have put in phenomenal efforts to consistently provide new Innovations, Costs savings and Faster Delivery to the many Brands we service” he elaborated.

Whilst being placed on the Forbes list is TJ’s crowning glory for 2016, the Company has been on an exuberant journey ever since it won the prestigious Firm of The Year Award the London World Textile Awards, whilst being selected Best Dyer and Finisher of the Year at the same time. TJ who is featured in the Most Respected list locally, was selected Worldwide Best Dyer and Finisher for the second year running in 2015, as well as winning a number of coveted accolades at the National Business Excellence awards locally as well as the Green Era Award in Italy. TJ says they will continue their aggressive expansion plans for both Sri Lanka and India in the coming years with several new innovations already in the pipeline. The Company plans for Synthetic manufacture and Digital Printing are already in the public domain.

An expert panel of Asia-based senior executives and internationally-recognized knowledge management and intellectual capital experts select the finalists. This year’s roster saw an average 60% growth in annual sales and in total generated a combined $47 billion in revenue, $10 billion in profit, and has a combined market value of $349 billion. This list reflects companies that have navigated the global credit crunch with little to no debt on their balance sheets. Asia’s leading organizations have been listed for their ability to leverage enterprise knowledge to deliver superior performance in the areas of innovation, operational effectiveness and excellence in products and services. TJ Chairman Bill Lam said the Board was thrilled to hear this exciting news, and felt that the company was receiving due recognition for some excellent work done over the recent past. “The Global Fashion Industry is in a transformative stage, and to have a Textile firm manage this turbulence while outshining thousands of businesses in Asia to be featured in the top 200, is indeed something to be proud of” he added.

Listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, TJ is backed by two leading industrialists – Pacific Textiles Hong Kong and Brandix Lanka as its main shareholders. The Company currently has a Market Capitalisation of Rs. 28.6 billion.

The power of inspiration that animates the Brandix Group was in conspicuous evidence when Sri Lanka’s top exporter honoured high-achieving associates from manufacturing operations in three countries at the Group’s flagship annual event for employees recently.

The 2016 Rasadiya Mangalya at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium brought together Brandix associates from Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh at a scintillating multi-dimensional celebration of excellence, just days after the Group was named Sri Lanka’s Exporter of the Year for 2014 and 2015.

The Group recognised and rewarded 28 Employees of the Year (EOYs) and five Supervisors of the Year (SOYs) from Sri Lanka as well as 10 EOYs and four SOYs from Brandix factories overseas at a day-long event at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. Each Employee of the Year and Supervisor of the Year received a handsome trophy of appreciation as well as a company-sponsored study tour to China, India or Bangladesh, and in Sri Lanka for those attached to the Group’s overseas plants.

As in past years, the sixth edition of the event included the finals of the annual Brandix Rasadiya Kusalanaya Volleyball tournament for non-executive staff, the awards for the winners of the Brandix Mech Challenge  an annual group-wide competition in mechanical proficiency, and the colourful finals of the Rasadiya Gee Tharuwa and the Rasadiya Narthana Tharu competitions that promote and recognise the singing and dancing skills of members of the 48,000-strong Brandix family in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at the event, Brandix Chief People Officer Ishan Dantanarayana said: The Rasadiya Mangalya inspires the many thousands we employ to rally as one family and one company on a journey of inspiring our stakeholders with a common goal that extends across the Group. Employees are the lifeline of our business, and this event, which is undoubtedly the single largest employee recognition event held by any enterprise in our country, is a good example of the degree to which Brandix appreciates the skills, potential and passion of its 48,000 associates. Let’s portray the camaraderie of the Brandix family, have fun and take our Company to even greater success by achieving our vision of providing inspired solutions to our global customers.

The Brandix Group’s Employees of the Year and Supervisors of the Year are selected through a comprehensive process designed to identify the best employees in the Associate, Staff and the Supervisory categories that have met or exceeded performance expectations and made significant contributions to the overall business and the Brandix team, while demonstrating potential to grow further.

More than 5,000 Brandix associates packed the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium to applaud their colleagues rewarded for operational excellence and to encourage the teams that competed in Volleyball, and in the performing arts.

Entertainment for the event was provided by the evergreen Gypsies, while the Rasadiya theme song was performed by the dynamic Umaria and Sachith Pieris. Associates who won the Brandix Rasadiya Gee Tharuwa singing competition and the troupes that won the Rasadiya Narthana Tharu dancing competition also entertained the audience.

The Brandix Group recently won 11 awards at the Presidential Export Awards, which was held on the 9th of August 2016, including the awards for the Highest Employment Provider in the Export Industry in 2014 and 2015. Brandix was also ranked Sri Lanka’s most valuable export brand in Brand Finance’s 2016 ranking of the country’s leading brands. The Group is the pioneer of the concept of total solutions in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector and is 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.

Virtuoso volleyball was on display when teams from Textured Jersey Lanka PLC (TJL) and Brandix Fast Fashion Mirigama won the Men’s and Women’s finals of the annual ‘Rasadiya Kusalanaya’ (Mercury Trophy) Volleyball Tournament conducted by the Brandix Group at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium.

The Men’s team from TJL Avissawella defeated Brandix Athleisure, Polonnaruwa 22  25, 25  23, 26  24 while in the Women’s final, the team from Brandix Fast Fashion 2, Mirigama won the trophy in straight sets, soundly beating Brandix Casualwear, Giritale 25  15, 25  15.

More than 300 players participated in the preliminary rounds of the tournament. In its sixth year, the Brandix ‘Rasadiya Kusalanaya’ is the largest volleyball tournament conducted by a private sector entity Sri Lanka. Conducted for non-executive employees (or associates, as they are referred to at Brandix), the tournament provides an opportunity for Brandix associates to develop and showcase their skills in the country’s national sport, while promoting employee interaction and team spirit.

For their individual performances in this year’s men’s final, Sujeewa Jayathunga and Haritha Fernando of Textured Jersey Lanka PLC were adjudged Best Setter and Best Player respectively, while Amila Ishan of Brandix Athleisure, Polonnaruwa was declared Best Attacker. Among the women players in the final, Dilhani Madhushika, Deepika Bandara and Oshini Chapa all of Brandix Fast Fashion 2, Mirigama received the awards for Best Setter, Best Attacker and Best Player respectively. The finals, on Saturday, 13th August, were witnessed by more than 5,000 Brandix associates.

“The quality of play continues to improve each year, and we are happy to see that this tournament while promoting the sport, is contributing to building the pool of players for other mercantile and national tournaments,” said Colonel Sujith Jayasekara, Senior General Manager Group Human Resources of Brandix. “It also contributes immensely to building character, versatility and leadership skills among our associates.”

The highest employment provider in Sri Lanka’s export sector, the Brandix Group employs more than 48,000 associates in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh and is the pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector.

The champion women’s and men’s teams at the 2016 Brandix ‘Rasadiya Kusalanaya’ volleyball tournament with representatives of the Group management

— Initiative helps communities in the neighbourhoods of its factories, covering 12 towns in 12 months —

The quality of life in a dozen towns and villages across Sri Lanka is looking up after the Brandix Group accelerated its ‘model village’ programme in 2016 to help communities around its factories with their water supply and sanitation needs.

The country’s top ranked exporter and the largest employer in the export sector, Brandix completed multiple projects at schools, hospitals, places of worship, police stations and a community centre during the year, committing more resources and time to a project that is at the heart of the Group’s community relations agenda.

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 in its first phase, and thereafter extends its assistance to an area within a 10 kilometre radius of the factories to benefit more people in the programme’s second phase.

Communities helped in 2016 were those within five kilometres of the Brandix factories in Ekala, Katunayake, Seeduwa, Batticaloa, Kahawatte, Koggala, Rambukkana, Avissawella, Welisara, Ratmalana and Nittambuwa, and those within five to ten kilometres of the Brandix factory at Nivithigala.

The work involved the provision of water supply facilities to, or upgrading of existing water supply systems at 23 public institutions, the provision of both water supply and sanitation facilities to another 35 institutions and the construction or repair of sanitation facilities at 10 institutions, the Group said.

The beneficiaries were 46 schools, 13 temples, a mosque and a kovil, four hospitals, two police stations and a community centre.

‘The simultaneous participation of 12 factories in our model village programme enabled us to reach out and help thousands of people in different parts of the country in the course of the year,’ said Anusha Alles, Head of CSR and Corporate Communications of the Brandix Group. “Inadequate water supply and sanitation facilities continue to be a problem at many public institutions even in some urban and suburban areas, and we had to expand the programme to reach needy communities sooner rather than later.”

The Brandix Model Village programme focuses on assisting public institutions and communal locations by bringing communities together and building a sense of ownership that has lasting beneficial impacts. These projects enable the Group’s factories to play a role in the community, and become important contributors to the wellbeing of the people in their neighbourhoods. As a result, Brandix factories which are usually among the biggest employers in the beneficiary communities become an intrinsic part of the social fabric of the villages and towns assisted under the programme.

The first Brandix Model Village programme launched in 2015 benefitted residents of Polonnaruwa, while the second programme conducted in the same year covered communities in Nivithigala. Some of the water supply facilities donated to schools under the Brandix ‘Model Village’ programme.