World class Porcelain by Dankotuwa Porcelain
Information update by Honeybee Holidays
Dankotuwa Porcelain is named after the town of Dankotuwa which is famous for its clay based terra cotta products. It is believed that the name of the town Dankotuwa originated from the two Sinhala words Dan and Kotuwa, which means an area [Kotuwa] being used for giving alms [Dan] during the reigns of ancient Sinhala Kings. Dankotuwa also became famous as the birth place of the well known Catholic Priest, Rev Fr Marcelline Jayakody the winner of the 1983 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts. Fr Jayakody was born in the Dankotuwa village in 1902, the author of thousands of essays, poems and songs plumbing the wellsprings of sinhala culture and traditions.
Dankotuwa Porcelain Ltd., was established in 1984 as a Private Company. Today it is a Public Company listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and has about to 3,000 shareholders. A consortium of Japanese Companies holds the largest portion of shares and accordingly Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC, is an associate Company of International Ceramics Inc of Japan.
The Company uses the best machinery made in Germany and Japan and obtains technical guidance from German and Japanese experts. Its product quality is recognised as being amongst the best in the world due to many superior characteristics of its body, such as very high whiteness, high translucency, high resistance to chipping and scratching, and also because of the high quality of its decorations.
Dankotuwa products are exported all over the world but mostly to Europe and USA. About 85% of production is exported. While some products are sold under our own brand names; DANKOTUWA, ELAN and LAKLAIN, some are sold as co-branded products having our brand name and that of the agent, wholesaler or retailer. Others are made totally on behalf of other brands. Our products can be found in many top department stores in the world including Macy’s of USA, Bhs of UK, El Corte Ingles of Spain, Migres of Switzerland, Isetan of Japan and Jashanmal of Dubai. Dankotuwa is not a mass scale producer but produces speciality products for niche markets, and therefore, our prices are expensive compared with mass scale producers.
The work force at Dankotuwa is highly skilled and experienced and most of them have been with the Company from the initial years. Dankotuwa is considered a model employer providing relatively high wages and a number of fringe benefits, including free uniforms, subsidised meals, subsidised transport, free tea and snacks twice a day, subsidised loans, free medical care and free books/school bags for children of employees, etc.
Basic details of the Company are as follows:
1. Production capacity - 750,000 pieces per month
2. Labour force - Approximately 1,000
3. Percentage of output exported - 85%
4. Current annual export turnover - Approximately USD 10 million
(Source: Dankotuwa.com, 2014)