| The founder of a number of Fiber Mills factories, Mr. Wimal Herath was a born businessman. Being brought-up in a family business environment, Mr. Wimal Herath started his career as a businessman at a very tender age, after the untimely demise of his farther. With the help and support from his mother, Mr. Wimal Herath started his first business venture by opening the fiber factory “Daraluwa fiber mills in Kelanimulla in the year 1963. Business started booming through the factory, and as a result Mr. Wimal Herath opened the second fiber factory “Sandasiri Fiber Mills”.
As his business was blossoming, delivering fiber products to the ever increasing clientele was a challenge, thus to overcome that challenge, Mr. Wimal Herath invested on a few lorries and started his own transport company by the name “ Wimal Herath & brothers, which was used to deliver fiber products to clients as well as to help reduce the transport issues in his village.
Mr. Wimal Herath was one of the pioneers in producing fiber ropes using machinery, thus leading the way to producing twine thread to the foreign market. His next venture was to start coconut plantations, as coconuts was a key ingredient for his fiber productions, thus he started a number of coconut plantations. This paved the way to branching out to producing various coconut based products. In 1991 after the purchasing of the Pannala Oil Mills (PVT)Ltd., the success of his business reached great hights.
As a father of three sons, Mr. Wimal Herath made sure, all his sons should continue his legacy and develop the network of his business. Thus his eldest son, Mr. Nilantha who was educted at Nalanda College Colombo and is a professional business planner, became the managing director of the Pannala Oil Mills at a young age of 21.
During the time period of 1990 to 1997, coconut oil producers were facing great difficulties in the local market as palm oil was imported to Sri Lanka. To overcome this challenge, in 1995 Mr. Nilantha Herath started “Metro Marketing” which was a company that deliver machinery for construction. At the same time, Mr. Nilantha Herath’s younger brother started “Wayamba Oil Stores” and began to produce white coconut oil to the local market. This proved to be a huge success. In 2008, Mr. Nilantha Herath established a branch of “Wayamba oil stores” in Narehenpita.
In 2010, A.C Care Exports (PVT)Ltd, was established. Thus paving the way to export fiber to the foreign market. Not only fiber products, through the company, Mr. Nilantha Herath was able to export virgin coconut oil. Then in 2013 he launched “Coco Ceylon Exports Company”. Through the company, coconut and fiber products are marketed to a number of foreign countries such as Japan, Australia as England. Mr.Nilantha’s latest business speculation is the Wayamba Desiccated Coconut & Oil Mills (PVT)Ltd. The factory that houses a large number of sophisticated machinery was opened recently.
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