Sanjay Tiwari, the Indian Sri Lankan who captured the glass market

Sanjay Tiwari arrived in Sri Lanka in December 2005 to head the then Ceylon Glass Company and proceeded to make his stamp in the Sri Lankan business and social community during his 13-year stint here, so much so that he is literally a pillar of the Sri Lankan landscape.

He leaves our shores to assume duties as Chief Executive Officer – Piramal Glass USA Inc., a plum posting indeed. Sanjay will manage the total US operations of Piramal Glass, but will also continue to oversee his second home Sri Lanka. 

Sanjay’s accomplishments at Piramal are legion and will go down in the annals of Piramal Glass Ceylon (PGC) as well as in Piramal Glass India. To name a few; Sanjay spearheaded the turnover growth from Rs. 1.2 billion to over Rs. 7 billion with exports reaching the Rs. 3 billion mark. 

The Company achieved the status of ‘Best Performing Company’ within the glass business of Piramal. He ensured that PGC consistently paid its dividends, payback on all investments and steered the relocation of the manufacturing plant from Ratmalana to Horana, which was an enormous undertaking. In addition, he tripled the production capacity, increased the production lines from 3 to 6, and initiated the investment on the second colouring forehearth. 

Since 2006 the company has invested over $ 50 million US dollars at their facility at Horana and Nattandiya. Sanjay pioneered Piramal Glass Ceylon’s digital journey by launching gamification in manufacturing, whilst achieving Level 3 of Manufacturing Excellence for the Company. 

Moreover, he doubled the capacity of the Silica processing plant in Nattandiya, innovating a crushing process whereby all the waste Silica was utilised, and further installed an additional Polythene plant. He obtained the best ratings at the Group Employee Engagement Survey, established the lowest employee turnover ratio, as well as many other achievements too numerous to chronicle.

Under his leadership, the company has installed Sri Lanka’s largest rooftop Solar Plant of 3 MW at their facility at Horana. During his tenure, the company performance and contribution to the country has been acknowledged by Chambers, Associations, the Export Development Board and the Government by way of several awards including the prestigious Presidential Export Award (Gold) for several consecutive years. 

In June 2013, Sanjay assumed the added responsibilities of Chief Operating Officer, Piramal Glass Ltd., India but continued to be based in Sri Lanka.

Sanjay’s CSR initiatives were varied, ranging from the renovation of wells, construction of temples, sponsoring of cataract operations for the poor, donating of materials for school uniforms, staging musical shows for the entertainment of poor children, enabling sports skills for the disabled, renovating hospital canteens, enabling numerous water projects across the country, and many other noteworthy projects. He also initiated a campaign for creating island wide awareness on the best form of packaging, glass recycling and the perils of plastic under the banner of ‘Believers in Glass’.

Sanjay was one of the co-founders of the Indian CEO Forum (ICF) and was the first President of the ICF. He was responsible for initiating several CSR programs under the banner of ICF, such as medical camps, the drinking water project, and management skills development of member companies by way of lectures, seminars, etc. He was very instrumental in increasing social interactions between member companies by organising events like annual cricket tournaments and other social events.

Sanjay is an active member of various associations and is the President of Sri Lanka Ceramic & Glass Council (SC&GC) since 2017. He is also the Chairman of the Centre of Technical Excellence called CENTEC, (a joint venture between ITI of Sri Lanka and SC&GC). He represents the Indo Lanka Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka as its Vice President and is an active Executive Council member of The Industrial Association of Sri Lanka (IASL), Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging (SIP), and the Sri Lanka Waste Recycling Association (SWRA) etc. Apart from his work, Sanjay’s passions are golf and travelling the world, while he is also an avid action movie buff.

Sanjay, his wife Savita, and their daughters Anushka and Aanya will leave Sri Lanka on 30 July. It is with a heavy heart that they do so as Sri Lanka has been their home for over a decade and their friends are countless. Most Sri Lankan corporates are familiar with Sanjay and his stellar record of accomplishments at Piramal Glass Ceylon. A dynamic and committed individual, with a passion for excellence, Sanjay overcame every obstacle in his path and that is a fact! 

His last year in Sri Lanka saw PGC completing yet another challenging year with its highest ever export turnover and the overall turnover crossing the Rs. 7 billion mark. 

Sanjay leaves Sri Lanka literally with flying colours and impressive shoes for his successor to fill! He will be missed by all who have associated with him and it is hoped that he and his family will continue to regard Sri Lanka as their second home.