Chathuranga Amarasuriya, the Chief Operating Officer of Printxcel Pvt. Ltd., has a dazzling 17 years of expertise in various industries, including Banking, Apparel, Plantation, Manufacturing, and FMCG. In addition, he is a certified accountant with the renowned CFA charter and CIMA Fellow status.
This youthful leader has been strengthened by the multi-layered exposure he has obtained across several spectrums, which has provided him with experience and knowledge that is more likely to emerge with age. Having to cope with each industry’s distinct marketplace, competitive strategy, business plan formulation, financial strategy, marketing strategy, and so on is an enthralling experience that Chathuranga refers to as “an on-the-job MBA.” According to him, maintaining high performance in any field necessitated a thorough understanding of the industry’s principles, nuances, and dynamics. The job at Printxcel has indeed provided him with the opportunity to realize his full potential based on the knowledge and expertise he has gained through years of hard work and commitment.
Printxcel, according to Chathuranga, is primarily concerned with people, the market, and capacity. Giving human capital the respect and value it deserves and aiming to keep the finest personnel in-house is predicted to result in higher yields in no time. Printxcel will launch a “never-before” marketing campaign, reinventing its customers while investing in the newest state-of-the-art machinery to expand capacity. “We’ve virtually got the infrastructure in place to leapfrog,” Chathuranga remarked. The firm is also the proud producer of Promate and Rathna Exercise Books, which holds a long and illustrious history spanning more than six decades. Printxcel is currently one of the leading printing contributors for publishing school syllabuses through the education publishing section, following their path of generating educational material and syllabus books. This reason alone has brought attention to the pandemic’s impact.
According to Chathuranga, the team slid down a slippery slope for pupils not attending school for more than two years, who were their main customers. However, the team has managed to perform just as effectively due to the fast configuration of altering trends and adjusting routes to market strategies to suit the timely needs. “We make good use of this time by extending our retail market penetration and achieving higher sales volumes than we anticipated. Furthermore, export orders helped us retain healthy cash flows during lockdown periods,” Chathuranga went on to say. He declares that no external force, such as the Easter-Sunday bombings or pandemic, has been able to diminish Prinxcel’s pre-planned investment plans.
Chathuranga understands the ongoing demand from competition to be more than just local. According to him, the market is clogged with a high number of companies, which is made worse because the industry does not expand or grow. This circumstance necessitates innovation, originality, and novel viewpoints in order for Printxcel to continue to thrive and retain its dedicated consumer base. Being a distributor to markets outside local borders comes with overseas competition, which means that this player in a stagnating industry must always struggle for their place and supremacy.
Printxcel culture combines refined and workplace principles with a 63-year history and a family-owned business. According to Chathuranga, among the passed-down values that have played a significant role in keeping the firm on top to this day are exceptional quality, social responsibility, and an ethical work attitude, that’s on top of the experience of people in the Printxcel family who excel at handling the business side of things. These people are at the top of their game in their respective fields. As Chathuranga puts it, the flat and robust design of the Printxcel management hierarchy has allowed for greater scope for rapid decision-making, resulting in a more well-coordinated and smoother operation. There are no partitions within the top management team, which is as tight as a family.
Printxcel, according to Chathuranga, plans to develop its business in the next few years and set a precedent as the first worldwide brand from Sri Lanka in the book and stationery industry. According to the data and conversations, the firm is well on its way, and the young protagonist is carrying out his responsibilities to bring out the best in the brand. However, Chathurange is looking forward to improving his soft skills to manage his high-performing. While accounting skills need a higher level of technical knowledge, Chathuranga has eagerly accepted the task of polishing the essential soft skills, which he feels would give him an edge in becoming an influential leader of a high-performing team.