Tuesday Jun 17, 2008
A Sri Lankan engineer from Veyangoda, Rankoth Pathirana has manufactured a vegetable and fruit dehydration machine that can be operated without fuel.

A popular method of preserving vegetables and fruits is dehydration. Pathirana the owner of Rankoth Industries said in Sri Lanka a lot of fruits and vegetables go waste during the season, due to unavailability of sufficient preservative systems and storage facilities.

This machine will help entrepreneurs in the food industry not only to reduce production costs but also to get an additional income by way of storing their products to sell during the season when items are in high demand.

The rising fuel cost has become a dilemma globally. While some people complain without doing anything about it some are trying to find solutions to the problem using whatever the skills and knowledge they have. Pathirana using his talents has found a solution to a particular section of this problem without any cost on fuel.

Pathirana who is a specialist for design and manufacturing industrial machinery told the Daily News that there is a huge potential within the country to reduce fuel cost by using alternative methods.

“But it is necessary to make the people aware of these talents in the country and make them confident about the local products rather than importing from foreign countries at a huge cost.” he said.

Pathirana worked for two private sector companies as a mechanical engineer and left as he wanted to do a business of his own where the country will be benefit.

He started his manufacturing plant with a small investment two years ago giving employment to few people in his village. He uses only saw dust to operate this attractive dehydration machine.

The finished products using this machine is of high standard and in a position to compete even with the international market where he guarantees a responsible after sales service.

Being a designer of industrial machines, Pathirana is capable of manufacturing tailor made machines required by any industrialist even on a large scale.

Among the machinery that he manufactures are coconut scrapers, dust collectors, spindal moulders, plastic crushers and sheet benders.

“The country spends a large amount of foreign exchange to import machinery for various industries but most of these machines can be manufactured here while providing employment to people with the support of relevant authorities,” Pathirana said.

Author: Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI