Tharanganee Garments bags ‘Best Emerging Exporter’ at the 20th Presidential Export Awards

Tharanganee Garments CEO Rukmal Fernando receiving the award from President Maithripala Sirisena

The 20th Presidential Export Awards Ceremony organised by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) was held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena recently at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

The Presidential Export Awards (PEA) initiated by EDB in 1981 is the most prestigious award for exports in Sri Lanka and is presented to exporters who have made a significant contribution to Sri Lanka’s exports.

The PEA 2014 and 2015 was organized by the EDB under the leadership of Chairperson and Chief Executive Indira Malwatte and the guidance and directions of Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama and State Minister of International Trade Sujeewa Senasinghe.

This year’s ceremony recognised and saluted the exporters for their excellence in the years 2014 and 2015 and the awards symbolised the national recognition of the exporters, particularly in non-traditional products and services. Ten overall special awards and another 93 awards under the Goods and Services section were presented at this ceremony. In total 113 awards were presented during the ceremony.

At this year’s ceremony, Tharanganee Garments Ltd. (TG) was able to bag the ‘Best Emerging Exporter Award for the Year 2014,’ which was categorised under the most prestigious special overall awards. 

Tharanganee Garments Ltd. CEO Rukmal Fernando said: “We are delighted to be a part of this journey having being recognized as the best emerging exporter at the prestigious export awards for the first time. This is a tribute to our people for their continuous commitment and hard work, and we’re confident to thrive in similar recognitions in the future.”

The TG team – Board of Directors and senior managers

With years of experience and business acumen, Fernando was the brain behind the company’s immense turnaround in early 2013 when he took over as CEO and has been in the forefront of its strategies and performance efficiencies. 

Tharanganee Garments was established in the year 1984 and is a BOI approved company. It is one of the most successful textile manufacturers in Sri Lanka; a company with a great potential in the field of garment-manufacturing. The company has acquired a versatile production chain to cater to flexible orders in shorter lead-time that assures the perfect blend of quality and efficiency.

Over the 30 years of accomplishment, Tharanganee Garments has expanded its capacity, developed a skilled workforce and introduced integrated technologies to remain globally competitive. It has a healthy mix of buyers scattered across Europe and Russia. 

Furthermore, TG is in the process of exploring business opportunities in Canada and Australia. The strategy is to secure a considerable market share in Canada and Australia and expand on business volumes in the next couple of years. 

Currently, TG is operating with three manufacturing plants situated in Dambulla, Piliyandala and Pepiliyana employing over 1,000 associates. The total production capacity is around 225,000 pieces per month. It is strong in product development, marketing and manufacturing and has its own design and development division headed by a foreign expert, which prepares its own seasonal collection as per the latest market trends.