Nestlé Lanka layed the foundation stone recently for a new manufacturing facility in Pannala, Kurunegala with a total investment of more than Rs. 5 billion, as commitment to strengthen the local dairy and coconut industries.
Through this new investment, the company plans to expand its production capacity for its popular dairy and coconut based products, providing local consumers with more goods that cater to local tastes and nutritional needs.
To recognize the efforts made by Nestlé’s dairy and coconut farmers, a farmer felicitation was held in parallel to the foundation laying ceremony in the presence of over 200 Nestlé farmers.
Shivani Hegde, Managing Director, Nestlé Lanka said, “We have marked another milestone in the journey of Nestlé in Sri Lanka. We are deeply committed to this country and the country’s growth potential.
We have been continuously investing in Sri Lanka and we are going to embark another significant investment that would help us to enhance, bring in innovations and also contributing to country’s economy.”
“Nestlé Lanka is making a single, largest investment in Sri Lanka and Nestlé the company is the largest beverage company in the world which has a turnover of about 90 million Swiss Francs, operating in 190 countries across the world. The company has more than 500 factories, more than 300,000 work force. The company has been providing safe, quality nutrition to consumers across the world for the last 150 years,” she said.
“Nestlé has been operating in Sri Lanka for over 110 years and prides itself in being a local multinational that manufactures products locally, largely using local ingredients. Its factory produces over 90% of the Nestlé products sold in the country today and exports to over 50 countries, driving both import substitution and expansion of exports,” she said.
“Over the last six years we have invested about Rs. 6 billion on increasing capacities, and now we are investing on skills development of our people,” she added.
President Maithripala Sirisena graced the foundation laying ceremony of the new facility as the Chief Guest, at the Nestlé Kurunegala factory.
The Minister of Sustainable Development and Wildlife, Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Minister of Disaster Management, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Finance, Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Rural Economic Affairs, P. Harrison, State Minister of International Trade, Sujeewa Senasinghe and Heinz Walker-Nederkoorn, Ambassador of Switzerland to Sri Lanka and Maldives were also attended the ceremony as special guests.
Nestlé Lanka Management Committee were also attended the event.
The company has made significant investments to support and develop Sri Lanka’s rural economy, especially in the dairy and coconut sectors.
Nestlé supports the livelihood of close to 27,000 local farmers and their families.
Its payment to local farmers for procuring these raw materials came to Rs. 6 billion in 2016 alone. Recently, the company launched a Coconut Development Programme in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Coconut Cultivation Board, and donated 10,000 coconut plantlets across 150 acres to 2,000 coconut farming families, and developed two model coconut farms to showcase best practices.
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