Japanese envoy visits JASTECA Gold Award winner Hirdaramani Knit

Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Kenichi Suganuma visited the Hirdaramani Knit Eheliyagoda factory recently in recognition of the factory winning the coveted Japan Sri Lanka Technical and Cultural Association (JASTECA) 5S Gold Award earlier this year. 

In addition to the prestigious Gold award awarded to the Eheliyagoda factory, 4 of Hirdaramani’s factories walked away with Merit awards at the JASTECA ceremony. Hirdaramani led the way with number of nominations with 5 out of 12 of factories shortlisted.  

]Hirdaramani continues to lead the way in sustainable and lean manufacturing, providing a blueprint for the rest of the industry. Its fully-integrated infrastructure delivers an end-to-end supply chain solution to the industry through its award-winning, state-of-the-art factories.

The Japanese Ambassador’s visit to the Eheliyagoda factory consisted of a factory walkthrough to showcase the procedures and policies in place for implementing 5S as well as a presentation on the same. The Japanese Embassy delegation included Koji Yagi, Counsellor - Deputy Head of Mission; Kiichiro Iwase - 1st Secretary; Takushi Otokita - 2nd Secretary; and Tasuku Watanabe - 2nd Secretary. 
JASTECA officials were also present on the occasion, led by its President, Nihal Seneviratne; Immediate Past President Athulla Edirisinghe; Vice Patron Lal de Alwis and Vice President Chandana Amaratunga. The Hirdramanai senior management was also in attendance to welcome the Japanese Embassy and JASTECA delegations. Vinod Hirdaramani – Director; Siddarth Hirdaramani – Director; and Indrajith Kumarasiri – CEO of Knit Cluster represented Hirdaramani 
Welcoming the high profile delegation to the factory, the CEO of the Hirdaramani Knit Cluster, Indrajith Kumarasiri said, “We are very proud of the achievements of the Eheliyagoda factory as well as the efforts of all factories across the cluster in their commitment to 5S. Visits by prominent officials such as these offer a great boost to and recognition of the hard work our teams put in. Hirdaramani remains committed to continued evolution and innovation that drives efficiency and lower waste manufacturing practices”.

The JASTECA awards are bestowed following a meticulous evaluation and audit process that extends across multiple rounds by a panel of experts. Apart from the Gold award won by Hirdaramani Knit Eheliyagoda, the other 4 Merit awards were bagged by Hirdaramani Knit Agalawatta, Seethawaka, Texwood and Weliweriya. Hirdaramani also received the apparel sector award.