Teejay Lanka General Manager Engineering and Sustainability Edga Melan and CEO Pubudu De Silva (left) open new lab Iera

Sri Lanka’s textile manufacturing multinational Teejay Lanka PLC has announced the commissioning of its own water and chemical testing laboratory as a process optimisation initiative as well as a milestone on the company’s sustainability road map – ‘Abhivarah 2030’.

Aptly named ‘Iera’ from a Sanskrit word for water, the laboratory is equipped to test physical, chemical and biological water quality characteristics in conformity with the highest industry standards, the 
company said.

It is located within the Teejay Lanka manufacturing complex at the Seethawaka Export Processing Zone (SEPZ) and will play a key role in quality maintenance in process water and effluent treatment while enhancing efficiency by eliminating dependence on third party laboratories.

One of Sri Lanka’s most prolific textile manufacturers, Teejay Lanka is also one of the largest users of water in its sector. The laboratory will provide mission-critical testing facilities on a prioritised basis for Teejay’s entire manufacturing process with quality verification of chemicals, water and treatment processes covering process water, effluent, cooling water and boiler water.

The laboratory will give Teejay a significant competitive advantage as well by enhancing the company’s value proposition in terms of a higher level of compliance for premium global brands that use Teejay fabrics.
As an element of Teejay Lanka’s Sustainability Strategy ‘Abhivarah 2030’ the laboratory also supports two of the strategy’s three pillars, Responsible Discharge and Responsible Resource Consumption, the company said.
Commenting on this milestone development, Teejay Lanka General Manager Engineering and Sustainability Edga Melan said, “The development of the Iera laboratory is a landmark in Teejay’s journey towards a sustainable future. We are continuously working to develop the laboratory in phases to increase its support to the entire manufacturing process, promoting ethical business practices to achieve organisational goals and value creation for stakeholders in a competitive market.”

He said the laboratory would initially be used exclusively for Teejay’s testing needs but is expected to be opened out at a later date to other manufacturers or entities, requiring outsourced water and chemical testing services.
An ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and OHSAS 18001:2007-compliant company and the first in the industry to develop green fabric, Teejay Lanka was also the first textile manufacturer in Sri Lanka to receive membership of the US Cotton Trust Protocol. Teejay is a public quoted company with 40 percent public ownership and the backing of Sri Lanka’s largest apparel exporter Brandix Lanka, which has a 32 percent stake in the company. Pacific Textiles of Hong Kong, whose key shareholder is the Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Toray Industries Inc., owns 27 percent of Teejay Lanka.