Story of a Pioneer
As a government entity, Lanka Steel Corporation Introduced modern manufacture of steel rebars( 260 Grade plain mild steel bars) to Sri Lanka in the 1960s. It was a groundbreaking venture that shifted the emphasis of the economy from being agri-based to that of industry.
Although the emphasis was towards the manufacture of rebars for the reinforcement of concrete, there were a portfolio of structural and non-structural steel products that were manufactured to cater to the needs of the time, such as angle iron, flat bars, bared wire, wire netting, wire nails and even welding rods. The entirety was a Russian Government grant on very concessionary terms to the government of Sri Lanka.
The next phase of the manufacturing plant began with the introduction of TOR Steel. Ceylon Steel became the sole licensee in Sri Lanka of its manufacture. At the time, in the construction industry this new product was a quantum leap, because the hot rolled, cold twisted deformed rebar had a yield stress value almost double that of the plain mild steel bars.
Thereafter, the establishment shifted its ownership and management from being a government owned business undertaking to a Limited Liability Company in 1993 and in 1996 to a Korean Based company.
The present ownership and management took over the steel giant in September 2009 and reinstated it to its rightful place of pride and named it as Ceylon Steel Corporation Limited with the brand identity as LANWA Sanstha Wane –NATION’s STEEL. NATION’s METTLE.
Under the able and visionary stewardship of entrepreneur Chairman Nandana Lokuwithana, the steel giant was resurrected, renovated and refurbished in its entirety, with the infusion of state-of-the-art- technology and plant expansion and diversity to play its role as a leader and trendsetter in the steel industry.
