Forever Embracing Technology to Illuminate the World……
With humble beginnings in 1920, and the establishment of Orel Holdings in 1983, Orange Electric is the flagship brand of Orel Corporation, a diverse, technology-enabled, and future-centric group of companies that are truly global yet Sri Lankan in spirit and originality. Although initiated as a joint venture with Clipsal Australia, the Orel Corporation with its brand Orange Electric, came to realise its true potential in 2004 with the demerger from the joint venture. Operating in over 28 countries including the USA, the UAE, Europe, and Asia, today Orel Corporation offers a wide range of electrical, lighting, cable, and industrial solutions to suit a variety of industries and consumer markets alike.
Global Outlook – Lankan Spirit
Orel Corporation envisions to build a billion-dollar global electrical brand and, more importantly, aspires to enrich the lives of its users with the use of electricity. What makes this third-generation family-owned multinational company’s ambitions even more interesting and relevant to today’s day and age is how the company has diversified its offerings and uses modern technology such as AI to better the lives of the people it serves—be it its global clientele, the suppliers, the employees, or the most minor stakeholders. Unique to Orel Corporation is its structure of hierarchy in which the organisation value chain encompasses features such as manufacturing, CSR, innovations, after-sales (backstream) that takes precedence over the traditional determiners of an average organisation. Orel Corporation believes in empowering its workforce of close to 3,700. Operating from 6 continents, Orel Corporation is home to a diverse set of talented individuals tasked with undertaking various levels of operations. However, they are all presented with opportunities to grow and empower others while special activities are organised to uplift their physical and mental wellbeing.
Ever expanding portfolio
Currently, Orel Corporation manufactures products under more than nine categories including power switches/sockets, power cabinet boxes, electrical accessories, industrial switchboards, low-voltage switchgear, low-voltage electric power cables, cable management systems, compact fluorescent lamps, LED lamps, architectural lamps, copper rods for electric power cables, IoT products for home automation, and semiconductor components. Orel Corporation has been able to amplify its international marketing competencies with the acquisition of Qbus, a Belgian lighting automation brand, and Signamax, an American electrical brand. After the acquisition of the latter, Orel Corporation ventured into CCTV cameras and surveillance products, which is an emerging business in Sri Lanka and across the globe.
Orel Corporation has been a supplier for several international building infrastructure projects with the use of its diversified product portfolio. Some of them include the Emirates Islamic Bank in Abu Dhabi, AVM City Center in Istanbul, Villageo Resort in Beirut (for lighting automation), K B Emporium in Seychelles, and several Maldivian resorts (for cables).
An important feature in the Orel Corporation offering is the customer-centric work process, where the customer plays a large part in the entire journey, from ideation to completion. This end-to-end delivery process has enabled Orel Corporation to present a wholesome value offering compared to its global competitors. The quality of the product coupled with the value additions gives Orel Corporation a significant competitive advantage against major players such as India and China.
During the company’s successful journey, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) has been a true helping hand in the export operations of Orange Electric. From creating opportunities for networking and sourcing new business by representing the Sri Lankan export community at trade fairs and exhibitions, to assisting to continue operations during the COVID-19 pandemic have strengthened the relationship between the two organizations.
Technology driven excellence
Orel Corporation is a truly future-centric, technology-enabled organisation. The current focus of the organisation is AI-integrated manufacturing which is backed by the stellar IT arm of the company. Each value chain head has his/her own dashboard with key metrics allowing them to receive real-time data and act promptly and effectively when required. Unlike many other organisations, Orel Corporation uses AI to drive demand management, thus creating an extremely effective supply chain management mechanism.
Furthermore, Orel Corporation holds firm to a culture of continued improvement of Quality Management Systems in the entire value chain and re-engineers its key processes keeping the customer as the centre of focus while enhancing customer service through the Rapid Quality Improvement Team (RQIT) spirit. As an ISO 9001:2015 certified company, Orel Corporation strives to comply with the requirements of product standards, statutory and regulatory requirements, and customer needs and expectations while adhering to Orange Q2DOT (Quality, Quantity and Delivery On time) philosophy. Every step of the processes is guaranteed to assure the quality of the products and services. The testing laboratory of the quality assurance department is equipped to carry out the tests required to adhere to relevant national and international product standards. Accuracy of the measurements of testing equipment is consistently maintained so that the accuracy of the decisions made based on test results is ensured. Orel Corporation’s testing facility is one of the largest testing facilities in the industry. In addition, Orel Corporation’s global certification process covers all six continents, assuring conformity to international standards and customer requirements. The product quality of Orel Corporation has been proved in multiple countries after rigorous third-party testing as per SLS, ISI, SS, UL, IEC, and BS standards and products have received IECEE CB, ASTA mark, ISI mark (India), ECAS mark and G mark (UAE), Safety mark (Singapore), and RCM mark (Australia) certifications.
Here for today and tomorrow
Building an environmentally sustainable business is at the heart of Orel Corporation’s values. The company is on a mission to empower the world with energy-efficient and responsible products that include smart technology and lighting automation, enabling the consumer to control household power usage via a smartphone. Through its main premises, Orel Park, located in the suburbs of Colombo, a greenfield project, the organisation takes several measures to conduct environmentally conscious and nature preservation activities. It strives to develop manufacturing facilities and offices to operate at the forefront of sustainability. In line with that statement, the entire facility at Orel Park is being powered by solar energy and the organisation is on a journey towards being a carbon-neutral manufacturer. Another special feature of this eco-friendly company is water recycling and rainwater harvesting. Going the extra mile, the facility has been strategically located to enable the employees to commute with minimum hassle.
Innovation – Empowerment - Illumination
From an export sector perspective, Orel Corporation has won many awards and accolades since 2014 from both local and international institutions. It is noteworthy that Orel Corporation has won the Most Outstanding Exporter Award in 2018 by the National Chamber of Exporters (NCE), Sri Lanka. The most recent set of awards won by Orel Corporation is: The Best Manufacturer of the Year 2021, The Best Business Response to Crisis Award for 2021, and The Exporter of the Year Award (Large) for 2021 at the South Asian Business Excellence Awards 2021 by the South Asian Partnership Summit (SAPS). From a local industry perspective, Orel Corporation has won many awards for areas such as manufacturing/engineering excellence, green environmental practices, science and technology, and productivity and quality management by organisations such as the National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (NCCSL), the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) Sri Lanka, the National Science Foundation Sri Lanka, the Institute of Engineers in Sri Lanka, etc.
For Orel Corporation, delivering excellence through innovation has been at the forefront since its inception, which is evident from its quality-oriented practices, diverse product portfolio, certifications, and recognitions. Through that drive for excellence in its steady journey of success, Orel Corporation has illuminated and empowered humanity in Sri Lanka and across the world.
