Agriculture, fishing, and livestock are among the main economic engines in Batticaloa, located on the country’s east coast. However, the apparel industry, and Brandix specifically, is transforming lives in the area, providing locals with employment opportunities while also ensuring the community around which Brandix Essentials Batticaloa operates is developed and strengthened.
During a recent visit to the manufacturing facility in Batticaloa, The Daily Morning Brunch had the opportunity to see for ourselves how Brandix operates in the area. Their efforts are internal, in terms of working conditions and on-site facilities, employee benefits and upskilling, and sustainable and eco-friendly initiatives, and also external, with community development projects that address the needs of the people of Batticaloa.
In terms of internal efforts, a visit to the factory premises challenged misconceptions about the apparel industry that are still very much present in society. In an industry criticised for its sweatshops and poor working conditions, Brandix Essentials Batticaloa has provided its employees with clean and hygienic work floors, medical facilities, and meals that are not only prepared with utmost care but also take into consideration certain socio-economic factors as well as nutritional needs.
The on-site medical facility has three doctors and eight nurses to support the operation
The people
Organisations are built on their people and sustained by their people. At Brandix, this doesn’t go unnoticed, and the employees are considered family across the organisation. At Brandix Essentials Batticaloa, focus is on creating the most preferred work environment in the East.
Speaking about their transformational journey, the team focused on four areas: People and growth, culture and society, customers, and employee benefits. When exploring these areas, we were taken to Batticaloa in 2008/2009, which was an area badly affected by the armed conflict that spanned three decades in the country. At the end of the conflict, Batticaloa District had a population of 525,000, which is now expected to be closer to 625,000.
In 2008, Brandix made its way to Batticaloa, with a facility in Punani that had 160 employees. This was right before the armed conflict ended. In 2012, they moved to Kalliyankadu, which is in the Batticaloa town, and had by then expanded to 1,400 employees. The operation moved to its current location in Arayampathy in 2017, and went from 1,400 employees to 4,500 employees in 2019.
According to the team, 89% of employees at the Batticaloa plant are female and cover two districts: Ampara and Batticaloa. It is considered to have one of the biggest communities and demographics. There are two eight-hour shifts a day, and the factory runs six days of the week.
Making a change
When talking about how Brandix Essentials Batticaloa has transformed the community, the team shared that they worked hard to create a culture of respect and equal recognition of all those who work at the facility. Given the multicultural environment they operate in, there was also a need to bridge certain cultural differences. Language was one of the key points here, with executives from the area learning Sinhala and executives from elsewhere learning Tamil. This helped bridge the language gap from top to bottom and instilled the notion of one voice, one team.
Efforts were also made to encourage employees to adapt to technology and stay on par with the outside world, a necessity given the impact of the armed conflict on the community’s education and exposure.
Women’s empowerment was and continues to be an area of focus, especially given that the majority of the plant’s workforce is female.
The team explained that in 2017, they recognised certain issues, like the high number of single mothers and early marriages. Through educational programmes and cultural changes, these issues were addressed over time.
Giving us more information about this, the team explained that empowering women helped overcome the challenges posed by patriarchal families, while single mothers were empowered through the building of self-confidence and motivation.
Knowledge sharing and awareness tackled the issue of early marriages, and programmes were implemented for the development of IQ and increase of exposure. Identifying barriers to female employment, the Brandix Batticaloa team took steps to build good relationships with family members and educate them.
Brandix has also implemented various mental wellbeing measures, where every shift across the Brandix plants has a counsellor. Employees also have access to a hotline, which is especially important given the current economic crisis in the country.
The team acknowledged that they had to work on reducing the stigma surrounding mental health, and address the impact of social factors, religion and culture.
The factory also carries out various corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives under the pillars of provide, educate, research, and engage.
Brandix Essentials Batticaloa is built on sustainability, starting with its green building design
Where the magic happens
The whirring of sewing machines in the Brandix Essentials Batticaloa manufacturing facility mixes well with the hustle and bustle of the factory and the voices and laughter of employees. While being shown around, the Brandix team said the buzz was the heartbeat of a factory, and the energy within those walls painted a clear picture of employee satisfaction. The floor was described as being the size of two football grounds, and it was vast, although not occupied at full capacity.
Safety is naturally a key concern, with safety standards followed especially in terms of storage as well as spaces between aisles. The work stations are clean, chairs ergonomic, and the space well-lit. Employees are also given free meals, transport and access to medical facilities, as well as many other benefits.
During the factory tour, we had the opportunity to drop by the plant’s canteen as well as the medical facility. The canteen is spacious, and the kitchens are similar to a professional kitchen. The highest health and safety standards are followed, with annual certifications. Samples of each meal are also refrigerated for two days in case of food poisoning incidents.
A total of 5,000 meals are prepared in the kitchen daily, with special high nutrition meals prepared for pregnant workers. The team explained that gastritis was a major issue among employees, as the meal they had at the facility would sometimes be the only meal they had all day, which prompted the factory to give employees a bun along with their morning tea.
Looking at the on-site medical facility, there are three doctors and eight nurses to support the operation, with separate wards for female workers and male workers.
There is also an employee council and welfare association, to ensure open communication within the organisation.
Sustainability at its core
The foundation of Brandix is built on sustainability, with its goals focusing on air, water and earth. In 2008, the company achieved the world’s first LEED Platinum certification. In 2019, the Batticaloa facility achieved the world’s first Net Zero Carbon status, setting the trend for other manufacturers to follow in its wake.
Explaining what Net Zero meant, the team said that all emissions, whether related to diesel or electricity usage, are met by on-site renewable energy generation. While they started with what’s in their control, focusing on Scope One and Two, which are directly-owned emissions, they do plan on moving to Scope Three, which includes logistics, transport and business travel, by 2030.
The facility is also entirely powered by solar power, and had the largest rooftop solar installation in the country at the time.
It is also a zero liquid discharge plant, where all wastewater is treated and used within the facility, where treated occupant water is stored in a tank for sanitary facilities and in a pond that houses 100,000 fish, for gardening purposes.
Other aspects that cement the role of sustainability at Brandix Essentials Batticaloa are its green building design, energy-efficient Servo motors for sewing machines, air saving devices that reduce the compressed air wastage by over 40%, and solar tubes for sky lighting.