Ceylon Tobacco Company Recognized as the Second Most Efficient Factory in BAT

Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC (CTC), a member of the British American Tobacco (BAT) was recently recognized as the second most efficient factory among BAT’s subsidiaries across the globe. Speaking on this achievement, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Koest noted: “CTC takes great pride in this recognition. This achievement is a testament to the manufacturing team’s relentless efforts to continuously raise the bar on its operations.”

CTC has long since established itself as a benchmark for corporate excellence in Sri Lanka. During its over 100 years of operations in Sri Lanka, CTC has achieved many local, regional and global accolades for their commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. CTC achieved its groundbreaking results in efficiency improvement following the launch of its distinctive management system, the Integrated Work System (IWS), which was adopted in 2015. Following the implementation of IWS, in 2016, the company became a front-runner in manufacturing efficiencies among companies in BAT’s Asia Pacific region before rising to the second spot globally in 2016.

Sajeewa Rajapaksha, CTC’s Manufacturing Manager said: “IWS aims to deliver ‘zero losses’ along the process by ensuring 100% ownership of people. In this journey the ‘zero loss’ mind-set is key. We continuously worked together with our manufacturing team to ensure they are always motivated to strive for “zero losses”. We inculcated employee ownership by showcasing critical behaviors necessary from individuals, recognizing effortsand rewarding individual, team and cross functional contributions.”

As a result, in the span of 6 months, the company broke 10 average modular output records, which is a testament to the commitment of the team.  Furthermore, the company’s safety and quality parameters also improved significantly during this period. The landmark results achieved are a tribute to CTC’s consistent drive towards executing innovative and globally acclaimed industrial practices, and the company will continue to be at the forefront of manufacturing with its unceasing determination to achieve maximum efficiencies in its production processes.