A self-made entrepreneur from a grounded background with humble beginnings, Mr Dhammika Vidanage, Chairman / Managing Director of United Machinery (Pvt) Ltd, shares his inspiring success story and the wisdom and hard work he required to run his powerhouse towards the avenue of success.
Raised in a family of seven in Galle, he was an outstanding student of Richmond College and Nalanda College where he excelled in his studies and was awarded with numerous prizes especially when he was in Advanced Level classes. “My father was an educationist and had been the principal of a number of leading schools in Sri Lanka” he reminisced.
Since his father was the breadwinner of the family, Dhammika decided to contribute to his family financially by commencing his career path at CIC as a front desk employee at the age of nineteen even though he was eligible to enter university. He has no regrets opting for a career path instead of higher studies when he was young, since he is an MBA with a Bachelor’s Degree, a Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing combined with a Diploma in English and many other academic qualifications. Dhammika is currently reading for his Doctorate in Business Administration
Between working for CIC and setting up United Machinery (Pvt) Ltd, he has worked for a few other local and overseas companies. “Life had not been a bed of roses during the first few years of my career but the exposure I got from all the companies and important departments was immense and molded me to become who I am today” he remembered the adversities he faced while climbing the ladder of success.
United Machinery, a leading distributor and a long-term rental company of world-renowned brands of industrial products, deals mainly, in the MHE (Material Handling Equipment) and allied business sectors such as Jungheinrich MHE, TAB forklift batteries, RCM industrial sweepers and scrubbers, Hawker forklift batteries, OPK MHE, Zowell MHE, Heli MHE. United Machinery (Pvt) Ltd have their own brand named UNIMAC, and supply spare parts and repair all brands of forklifts and other material handling equipment.
The company brags an impressive client base in Sri Lanka for long-term rental of electric forklifts and other material handling equipment and they are dedicated to maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction which has been a pillar of the company from day one.
According to Dhammika, the focal point of their company is the client base and they endeavor to attain their satisfaction through creativity and hard work to deliver the best in every single action they take hold of. However, Dhammika also stated that it is not only the clients but also, about maintaining the same sentiment towards the employees, stakeholders, suppliers, government and the independent stakeholders and he firmly believes and claims that this golden quality is the mainstay of their stable and loyal client base over the years.
When asked about his game-plan for the upcoming years amidst the current economic crisis, he remarked with a powerful statement. “I always view obstacles as the challenging step-stones where I decelerate for some extent with a little mothering to observe the ongoing situation to make the appropriate decisions for the wellness of the overall in the future. This mindful business strategy has always backed me to be constant in the business and to sustain my existing client base with the same level of trust and to gain more new clients to build long-term business relationships with me as a bonus”.
He further elaborated that while a number of businesses reduced and diminished their total capital expenditure, United Machinery (Pvt) Ltd was among the handful of companies who made stratagems to nurture the growing demands to maintain the fleet machinery of both existing and potential clients and introduced customized maintenance packages which also saved the competitor brands during the pandemic. The company also takes good care of its employees by trying to keep away from salary reductions, whilst ensuring increments, double bonuses, promotions wherever possible and counselling in a possible manner as employees are the most valuable asset of the organization.
His brilliant versatility in this volatile business world is the key factor to his successful journey from a paid employee to an entrepreneur. Dhammika’s effective leadership skills, positive influence and motivation is the fundamental reason for the success of his team which he considers as the backbone of the firm. The technical savvy he has of his field, fostering the positive and productive work culture in the company encourages and makes paths to worthy business collaborations and openings.
Through his fruitful leadership, he has level-upped his business to a stable position by degrees, for continued modernization and long-term success. He is constantly open-minded to creativity and adaptability to elevate and improve the standard of his business believing that he could sustain in the rapidly changing corporate world by delivering the best.
The visionary leader left some words to the upcoming entrepreneurs. “Life is all about challenges, no matter what, never give up. As influential public figures Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and many others who achieved being ‘out-of-the-box thinkers’ and succeed immensely with their unique notion, you should identify the entrepreneur in you by not repeating but recreating history in this competitive world”.
He was also thoughtful to say “Respect others and be humble enough to admit when you are wrong and learn from your mistakes and never ever forget your responsibilities towards the society and the environment”.