Ceylon Quartz Industries looks at expansion Records over US$ 1 m of exports in 2010

Ceylon Quartz Industries (Pvt) Ltd. (CQI), a subsidiary of the renowned Bartleet Group which has now obtained ISO 9000 certification from Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Netherlands, in a press release this week said that Ceylon Quartz Industries was a Board of Investment approved pioneering venture, incorporated in 1991 and was in partnership with Tatsumori Limited Japan who is the Asia’s No. 1 manufacturer of silica based products.   

The company, which processes crystalline silica quartz, at its factory in Katulanda, Dekatana, is already the leading Sri Lankan exporter of high purity crystalline silica filler, mainly to Japan and Malaysia.

Ceylon Quartz Industries has been establishing itself as a non-traditional exporter during the past few years and has managed to successfully steer through the recession that hit the global economy during the last few years.  

The company recorded over US$ 1.1 million in export revenue from April to November 2010. In the financial year 2009/10, the company’s export revenue recovered from recession impacts, to US$ 1,496,303, and within the eight months from April to November 2010, Ceylon Quartz Industries saw its exports surge to US$ 1,102,970.

“Obtaining ISO 9000 certification is a timely achievement for our company as we are planning large scale expansions during 2011. Our growth plans include installing three new production lines that will double its current production capacity, enabling increase of exports. The current workforce will also expand by another 50%, to cater to expansion plans,” said Rex Stewart, Managing Director, Ceylon Quartz Industries (Pvt) Ltd.  Stewart further stated that Praguna Management Services consultancy expertise helped the company in streamlining the systems and processes of the organisation in steering it towards ISO expectations.   

The Ceylon Quartz Industries’ factory in Dekatana is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery to produce quartz powder, used to manufacture Epoxy mouldings for silicon chips (IC chips), that are used in phones, computers, white goods and hybrid auto-mobiles.

Eraj Wijesinghe, Chairman of Ceylon Quartz Industries & Bartleet Group, said: “Obtaining ISO certification will certainly boost the image of our company with our foreign customers. Since the products of the company are used mainly in the making of highly sensitive items in the electronic industry, this achievement will further enhance the confidence of our customers.  Further, this certification will not only help the next development stage of the company but also contribute to giving Ceylon Quartz Industries a competitive edge in the international market.”

Yasuharu Suzuki, Managing Director, Tatsumori Ltd. Malaysia, said: “Ceylon Quartz Industries has seen a vast improvement in a very short period. We expect them to continue processing best quality, highly purified products for the international markets”.

Tatsumori Ltd. is a shareholder of Ceylon Quartz Industries and shares their technical experience and expertise in processing powdered quartz.

Ceylon Quartz Industries confronts competition in the international quartz markets from Japan, China, Singapore, India, Korea and the US. However, quartz processed in Sri Lanka has a natural advantage of possessing a 99.8% purity level, compared to quartz from other countries. Sri Lankan quartz has a naturally high purity level and does not require a fusing process, to increase purity levels, as in the case of quartz from some other countries, said the company.

“Our processing is done according to ethical and environmental friendly practices. We are a ‘nation feel’ company and are very conscious about the country’s natural resources and take extra precautions when harvesting quartz resources. With our strengths such as modern machinery and equipment that guarantee high purity and consistency, well trained staff, quality packaging and prompt delivery, has made Ceylon Quartz Industries to stay ahead of most Asian competitors,” said Stewart.