Softlogic Holdings PLC’s auto subsidiary Future Automobiles (Pvt) Ltd, sole distributor for Ford Motor Company in Sri Lanka, is to set up a Rs.200 million sales and service facility in Pelawatta, an official stated.

“The new plant is a 3S facility where the sale, services and after sales services all will be carried out from one location and will offer the customers the best industry standards,” Future Automobiles Chief Operating Officer (COO), Sujeeva Premaratne said.

He added that in most developed countries like USA and England there are much better facilities for customers and those facilities will be made available to the local market as well.“With the new facility we are gearing to offer world class facilities to our customers,” Premaratne noted.

The new facility will be located about 500 meters away from the Parliament along Denzil Kobbakaduwa Mawatha, on a property of 125 perches. According to the COO, it would commence operations in November, 2013.

Funds for the project are being raised internally and Premaratne stated that Softlogic would be making a formal statement soon.

Future Automobiles will be staffing the facility with local technicians but the company would be getting down an engineer once a month from its regional office in Thailand to look in to the standards and also an engineer from the US will be visiting the site once a year. “Currently we have a staff of 25, sales and after sales. With the new facility in Pelawatta we will be creating an additional 25 employment opportunities. That would include technicians, service advisors and trainee technicians as well,” Premaratne noted.

A segmental analysis of Softlogic Holdings for the year ended March 31, 2013 revealed that revenue of the Automobile sector stood at Rs.689.2 million as against Rs.989.6 million during the previous year while operating profits for the year under review stood at Rs.33.6 million in contrast to Rs.112.8 million in 2012.