Features

Bajaj trishaw: Small is reliable

By Naomi Gunasekara

The factory is spread all over the site which is 11 acres in extent. Buildings and container houses painted in blue emerged from the otherwise green background. 

"We didn't want to change the environment much. That is why you find buildings here and there. We did a lot of planting ourselves and preserved whatever trees that were left," explained Lester Carron, General Manager (Service), DPMC, during a tour of the complex.

Having won a national award for safety in 1999 the factory has demarcated passages for vehicles and workers to travel within the premises. 

According to Carron, DPMC is not only concerned about its employees' safety but is concerned about the safety and quality of its vehicles too.

"The Sri Lankan customer unlike the Indian is very difficult to please. If there is a slight scratch on a vehicle they refuse to buy it. We have to ensure the vehicle is in excellent condition before it is handed over," said Carron, who ensures that no scratch on a vehicle is left unattended at the time of delivery.

Test runs

Further, in order to prevent damage caused during transportation, DPMC has created a blue hydraulic-platform truck to transport its two-wheelers around the country. "The quality of the product has to be excellent at the point of delivery and we endeavour to improve our service all the time. At the end of the day it is customer satisfaction that matters."

DPMC represents some of the world's most renowned companies like Ford Motor Company and Bajaj Auto and Escorts of India while being the largest franchised automobile distributor in Sri Lanka for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, cars, vans and tractors. It markets Servo engine oil in addition to employing over 300 spare-part and service dealers islandwide.

National marketing

"National marketing for us started in 1990 but we always attended the needs of our early customers. I distinctly remember this instance where our mobile service truck went from Matara to Hambantota to service just one vehicle," said Managing Director Sumith Cumaranatunga who has seen the company grow over the years.

"A few people had to do a lot of hard work at the beginning but they had the same degree of dedication and discipline, which is in every aspect of the factory today. Gradually, we started introducing professional management practices to the company by committing ourselves to big words like strategic planning.

And in getting service dealers and spare parts dealers we didn't go to established people but chose those who had an aptitude for motor mechanism and trained them at the head office. If you look at most of them now you will never believe that they were absolute non-entities ten years ago," he said.

Excellence

"They know that we are fully committed and dedicated and consider our reports first whenever there is an agents' meeting. They also believe in our capabilities and strengths and that means a lot to us," said Carron.

Bajaj India is the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the world, which specialises in two and three-wheeler drive vehicles. According to Carron, Bajaj recognises the services rendered by DPMC, the sole agent for Bajaj in Sri Lanka. 

"Mr. Rajiv Bajaj sent us two motor cycles last week with instructions to do over 10,000 kilometers before producing a report on the bikes.

They have a high regard for us and our testing," said Carron, who was delighted with the thought of testing products for Bajaj at Madapatha before they are marketed in India.

Growth

The unloading bay of the factory was packed with thousands of polythene-covered semi knocked-down trishaws stored in small wooden crates.

"We didn't bring them like this before," said Director Marketing, Jagath Kulatunga, entering the assembly area. "They were imported and directly driven to the head office from the harbour those days. But as the demand increased, this seemed a more practical approach. We are probably the only motor company in Sri Lanka that assembles imported vehicles," he said.

Trained labour

DPMC also provides free training for a number of educational institutions like the SANASA Foundation and National Vocational Training Institution while training unemployed youth and disabled soldiers in motor mechanism.

Within a short span of 20 years, DPMC has successfully diversified its business by venturing into areas like IT and financial services through the establishment of two companies, DPMC Electronics (Pvt) Ltd and DPMC Financial Services (Pvt) Ltd.

Despite its success as a premier automobile company in Sri Lanka, those at DPMC have not lost their common touch. They go that extra mile to help the destitute children in Polonnaruwa, Dimbulagala and also Madapatha.

Turnover

"We were a small subsidiary of a large group (Richard Peiris) with a 12-13 percent contribution to the group's income. Eventually we became the largest subsidiary within that group and later on became independent as a small company with a turnover of Rs. 39 million," said Cum-aranatuga, who feels that the rapid growth of DPMC is a result of the company's "dynamic leadership."

Having come a long way in the sphere of automobiles, the company hopes to expand its operations. "We believe in expanding on both motor and IT sides locally while taking our expertise to other countries. In fact we did a data communication project in Bangladesh and are looking at other countries," said Cumaranatunga.

DPMC will soon launch a LPG driven three-wheeler. According to Jagath Kulatunga, Director-Marketing, though the actual price of these three-wheelers have not been decided as yet, they will be introduced to the market by April.

"The fuel cost of a LPG-driven trishaw is about 30% lower than what we already have. But the initial payment will be more because of the conversion equipment," he told the Sunday Times.

David and his Goliath-like task

A former director of Richard Pieris and Company, Pieris started work as an assistant works manager and climbed the ladder to become a service manager and director at Richard Pieris. In 1978 he set up DPMC as a subsidiary of the Richard Peiris group with 300 workers.

There has been no turning back since then for Pieris, who worked tirelessly for years, to make his business venture a success. Following a management buy-out in 1994, DPMC became an independent body expanding its businesses to avenues like electronics and financial services.

The journey towards DPMC's success has not been a rosy one, according to Pieris who shared his experience as founder chairman of DPMC, after much coaxing.

"Many years ago, when I was at Richard Pieris, officials from Ford International visited us and asked me if I had thought of any other ways of expanding the business and I told them I hadn't. An Australian in the group suggested Bajaj and said; "Why don't you look at Bajaj." I asked him "What is Bajaj?" because I didn't know what it was," said Pieris, who followed the advice of the Australian little knowing that he was to set up the largest automobile company in Sri Lanka in the years to come.

Using his racing background he made inquiries and set up a meeting with the Bajaj group in India. "I called them but it's not like making today's telephone call. You had to book an overseas call and it took me about two days to contact them," said the publicity-shy CEO.

Visiting India within two weeks after setting up the meeting, Pieris recognised the potential of the vehicle; "I knew that was what Sri Lanka needed because we had something called the front engine, which was a terrible vehicle. But the problem was that someone else was already earmarked for the agency. I was asked if I would be able to make a trip to India at a date convenient to the company to consider my offer. I said I will take the first flight available."

Back in Sri Lanka, Pieris was contacted by Bajaj's general manager who congratulated Pieris on his achievement and said; "I don't know what charm you used on the chairman but he has decided to give you the agency." Looking back, Pieris believes he succeeded in winning the agency because of his promise to run the company himself and readiness to visit India at Bajaj's convenience. The other individual who was originally picked as the agent had said he was unavailable to visit India when asked to by the Bajaj company.

Setting up operations of the company had been a tough battle for Pieris who was at that time a director at Richard Pieris; "Here I was sitting pretty as a director of a large blue chip company with all the benefits given to directors. I had to move away and form a subsidiary company which by all means was a challenge. I had to be responsible for the people I brought in and their future. It was a big challenge."

Having established the company, it was extremely difficult for Pieris to sell the first consignment of trishaws brought to Sri Lanka because people didn't know how to run them. "It was a hell of an experience," he said. "The drivers couldn't balance them and I had a real problem on my hands teaching them how to drive," said Pieris with a laugh, recalling how most of the drivers tried to balance the trishaws like motorcycles!

Looking back, Pieris is happy he taught driving for over five hours a day at his head office in Hyde Park in the late 1970s. "A certain businessman bought 750 trishaws and expected me to teach driving because he had purchased them on the understanding that I will teach the drivers how to drive. I had to teach most of them," he said.

"I didn't have anyone to help. From sales to repairs, everything was on my shoulders," said Pieris who drove most of the trishaws from the harbour once they were cleared in those early days. "That in itself was quite an adventure," he said recalling how he cleared the 125-150 vehicles each time from the customs and drove them to DPMC till 2 or 3 am.

The three-wheeler becoming a hit in Sri Lanka has worked wonders for Pieris who went through many a hardship during the company's infant years. "I am surprised that they have not been able to make it as successful anywhere else in the world because it is a very useful vehicle," says Pieris who firmly believes that hard work, commitment and determination, is the way forward to reach one's objectives.