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May 24

Commercial Vehicle

Why did Ananda Jayasinghe choose a small truck?

Couple of years ago, Ananda Jayasinghe, Chairman of the Antler Group of Sri Lanka, faced an enormous challenge – how to expand operations to reach not only remote regions of the island country but also touch base with the retailers and distributors situated in city centres. This was tougher than it sounds – Sri Lanka is home to hilly terrain and its towns and cities are home to heavy traffic and narrow roads.

Why did Ananda Jayasinghe choose a small truck?

Credit: Adbar – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Why did Ananda Jayasinghe choose a small truck?

Credit: By Eng.M.Bandara – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Expansion was an important aspect of Antler’s growth plan. Mr Jayasinghe is considered the father of the screen printing trade in the island country, and has several firsts to his credit. The Antler Group, established in 1987, was the first to develop a panel screen printing system, the first BOI company for panel printing in the apparel industry, and the first company to manufacture water-based textile panel printing ink and vinyl panel printing ink in Sri Lanka. Over 80 percent of Antler Group’s production caters to the export market and its major clients include leading names in the textile industry.

Why did Ananda Jayasinghe choose a small truck?

In Sri Lanka, the Antler group’s delivery fleet, comprising 11 vehicles manufactured by a prominent Japanese company, proved inadequate to meet the requirements and local conditions. Mr Jayasinghe decided to look for replacements.

A detailed study of the vehicles available in the market led Mr Jayasinghe to zero-in on Tata Motors Super Ace. The one ton diesel mini truck offered the best-in class loading deck, better fuel economy and engine performance, and most important of all – a turning radius of 5.1 m ideal to reach inner city areas.

Despite the fact that the Super Aces commanded a premium of around 40 percent more than the competition, the comfort and ease it offered to Antler employees finally led Mr Jayasinghe to decide in favour of the Tata vehicles.

Adding the Super Aces to its fleet has helped the Antler Group to expand sales and distribution network to the far corners of the island country. The Super Aces have helped Mr Jayasinghe and his group to literally go places!

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