The INSEE Cement Company is anticipating its business to increase with the demand for specialist cement from Chinese companies.
Chairman INSEE Cement Nandana Ekanayake said, “Many Chinese contractors understand the different types of cement. Some of them demand specific cement products and we are working with the authorities to cater to these high-end customers now operating in Sri Lanka.”
He was speaking at the launch of INSEE Cement sustainability report at the Taj Samudra Hotel early this week. The sustainability report notes, the company revisited its internal quality frameworks as part of the company’s ongoing improvement program and introduced several quality dashboards to further broad base the quality benchmarks over and above the guidelines set out under the ISO 9001 Quality Management Standards.
INSEE Cement has a long history in Sri Lanka. Ekanayake said, “We have these two captive brands Sanstha and Mahaweli Marine. One-third of the houses in Sri Lanka are built by the use of Sanstha Cement.”
The company has island-wide coverage. The company has two grinding centers in the south. It also has an import terminal in Colombo, which is capable of providing 800,000 tonnes of cement.
Ekanayake said totally, his company could provide the market with 3.5 million tones of product.
INSEE Cement places itself as the only fully integrated cement manufacturer in the country. Ekanayake pointed to warehouses, express delivery, concrete mixing plants and wood substitute products that his company provides.
The sustainability report notes, “After INSEE Group taking over operations in 2016, infrastructure investments amounting to approximately US$ 47 Million in direct investments have been made for capacity expansion and new product solutions.”
Ekanayake cited the high safety standards of the INSEE Group. “We have very strict safety rules. Even when I enter a plant, I have to go through the breathalyzer test.” In the event of a major safety incident, the management would have to explain itself to the Board. If you go three times an year you are out. We are working with some of the organizations especially to promote safety. (Local) safety is not up to the standard that we are expecting of.”
INSEE Cement burns waste to fuel their energy requirement. The EcoCycle waste management initiative has reduced non-renewable energy usage by 34 percent. Many of its clients are multinational companies. Ekanayake said that multinationals are more conscious of the requirement to safely dispose of waste products.
They currently process 700,000 metric tons of waste. INSEE Cement also handles the destruction of contraband for law enforcement needs. “It is a personal request of the President that these drugs could be taken and destroyed. This ability is only with us and nobody else.”
The company expects the government to implement a polluter pays principle shortly. The company made a profit of Rs 1.8 billion with revenue of Rs. 30.5 billion.
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