Teejay fetes high-flying employees at grand Achievers’ Awards

Exceptional employees of the Teejay Group have been recognised and rewarded for performance, innovation and also for long service at a grand celebration of people and their contributions to Sri Lanka’s world-class knit fabric solutions provider, on either side of the Palk Strait.

The 2017 edition of the Teejay Achievers’ Awards, the most important event in the company’s employee calendar, saw top performing employees and the best departments being honoured with trophies, prizes and accolades, as the company continued its upward momentum in market rankings and industry presence.

Held for the first time since the company underwent a comprehensive brand change, the glamorous awards events reflected the colours, energy and vitality of Teejay’s new brand identity and the unification of all strategic business units under it.

“Our annual Achievers’ Awards demonstrate the depth of our commitment to the belief that people are the lifeblood of the company,” said Teejay CEO Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne. “In an intensely competitive industry, the performance of individuals and teams in terms of quality, speed, productivity and innovation are mission-critical. Our star employees recognised at this event are an inspiration to others. Their leadership and dedication make the company what it is today.”

Taking top billing among those honoured at Teejay’s spectacular awards ceremony in Sri Lanka were 25 top achievers in the different Employee of the Year categories, six innovators who came up with potentially game-changing ideas under the company’s All Ideas Matter (AIM) programme, and many others who were recognised with Long Service Awards. The exclusive CEO’s Special Awards were presented to two Chief Operating Officers of the Group; Pubudu De Silva and Rodney Arland, for their extraordinary impact on the evolution of the company and for their dedicated service.

The winners of the Employees of the Year awards were Sajeewa Samantha Chandrasiri in the ‘Executive & Above’ category, Chiranga Chamal Bulathsinghala in the ‘Staff’ category and WAD Saman Kumara in the ‘Associate’ category. Sajeewa Samantha Chandrasiri also led his Department remarkably well to win the prestigious Department of the Year Award.

A Special Award for Outstanding Leadership Achievement was presented to Upul Indika Nallaperuma – General Manager, Teejay India Operations, while a Special Award for High Performing Female Talent went to Gayathri Bandara – Assistant Manager, Merchandising. 

The Teejay India awards followed the format of the event in Sri Lanka, with the unit also recognising seven of its own as Employees of the Year, the Department of the Year, two winners of the unit’s AIM program and 20 recipients of Long Service Awards. Ceremonies were spiced with scintillating dance routines and musical performances, in an exclusive ambience. 

Innovative ideas rewarded this year included an environment-friendly and cost effective marl washing process; a device to remove dust particles of incoming fabrics before printing; a reduction of finishing chemical costs by using a new silicon softener. The joint winners of this competition were M. Pushparatne Fernando of the Dyeing Department and Upali Ranasinghe of Teejay Prints.

Teejay is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and last year entered the S&P Top 20 Index in Sri Lanka. The company was also named among the Forbes ‘200 Best under a Billion in Asia’. The Teejay Group is backed through shareholding by two leading industrialists – Pacific Textiles, a Hong Kong based company with one of the largest manufacturing facilities in China, and Brandix Lanka, which is Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter and partners Teejay as a strategic link in the supply chain.

Teejay recently invested approximately $ 15 million to double capacity in India in preparation for future growth through GSP, and also invested in synthetic manufacture in Sri Lanka.