Industrial Services Bureau (ISB) was established in May 1990 in the North-Western Province (NWP) of Sri Lanka as a Statutory Body, with the financial assistance of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Germany and the North-Western Provincial Council.
ISB was a brainchild of the then Chief Minister of the North-Western Province, Hon. Gamini Jayawickrama Perera who was keen on to take many initiatives in promoting regional industrialization during his regime in NWP. Having realized the grave need of the province, he sought the assistance of donor agencies in Germany which had been ultimately conceptualized his intention and as to how ISB came to being, with the sponsorship of KAS in Germany.
Initially, the services offered by ISB was confined to the areas of Investment Promotion, Market & Marketing Promotion, Technology & Quality Promotion and Management Development & Training, we are happy to mention that now it has been diversified into many areas thus becoming a multi-faceted organization in the island.
During the long spell of three decades, there are many personnel who have immensely contributed for the wellbeing of ISB out of which Mr. Werner M. Prohl, former Resident Representative of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Sri Lanka and the founder Director and Chief Executive Officer of ISB, Eng. Gamini Senanayake to be mentioned with much gratitude. Undoubtedly, they were instrumental in transforming ISB to the current eminent position in the island for which we are highly indebted to them.
Apart from the fact that mentioned above, former Chief Secretary of the North-Western Province, late Mr. Y.B. Disssanayake who was also the founder Chairman of ISB ex-officio, is respectfully remembered on this special occasion. The manner in which he handled the matters related to ISB diplomatically, is highly commendable, with his capacity as the Chief Administrative Officer in the North-Western Province. We would also express our thankfulness to all the Hon. Chief Ministers, Parliamentarian & Provincial Ministers, Chief Secretaries and all the heads of the departments who have served in NWP to date, by closely associating with ISB.
After phasing out funds from KAS and North-Western Provincial Council in 2015, ISB has ventured into many challenging areas with a view to become the “Nations Leader in providing total solution for industry and enterprise excellence” and as a strategy being self sustained. In 2016, ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System was awarded to ISB by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) which is a testimony of the services offered by ISB to the business community. Indeed, this is one of the greatest achievements ISB has ever achieved in its history as a very few public sector institutions have so far managed to secure such a prestigious recognition. Further, this has paved the way to focus on further enhancements of the operational mechanism of ISB and to serve its cliental adhering to the optimum quality standards.
ISB has entered into partnership agreements with many international organizations such as ADB, JICA, USAID, UNDP, ILO, World Vision, IOM, JAICA, OXFAM and World Bank etc. and engaged with different types of projects scattered in all parts of the country inclusive of the Northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka thus providing services for the wider spectrum.
ISB is in the practice of organizing business delegation to China for the Canton Trade Fair annually in April & October which is one of the largest and most attended trade fairs in China. ISB was able to successfully handle the trade delegations overseas, exposure visits, taking public sector for trainings and foreign exposure tours to the entire satisfaction of participants to enable them to enhance and link up with lucrative business ventures, exposures through the international collaboration.
Currently inception, ISB engages in providing Business Development Services, Project Management & Consultancy Services, Energy & Environmental, Laboratory & Analytical Services and Management Development & Training etc. which enabled ISB to diversify and innovative service portfolios. In recognition of the services offered by ISB, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) has accredited ISB as a national consultant for Renewable Energy Projects. This has helped ISB to a greater extent to undertake pre-feasibility studies on energy projects based on the guidelines stipulated by the SLSEA.
To further expand & diversify the service portfolios aiming at introducing customized and innovative services for the benefits of its clients. On several occasions, ISB has been Award bestowed with prestigious awards such as Sri Lanka National Energy Efficiency Award for three consecutive years 2011, 2012 and 2013. In addition ISB received a Merit award (Service sector – special category) at the 2018 “National Business Excellence Awards” organized by National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (NCCCSL).
ISB has further initiated and conducting a first ever regional entrepreneurship award ceremony “Wayamba Wijayabhimani Viyawasaya Vishishtatha Sammana Pradanaya” for four consecutive occasions since 2013 onward. It was decided to conduct the 2020 “Wayamba Wijayabhimani Viyawasaya Vishishtatha Sammana Pradanaya” to recognize the entrepreneurs in Wayamba for the contribution made by them in Socio-economic development in a grand scale to mark the 30th Anniversary celebration of ISB.
Apart from that, ISB signed a number of national and international Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Viz; CDI China for joint consultancies, EJCCSE for trade and investment promotion, LIIN for Social Enterprise promotion, ISMM to conduct procurement & purchasing management programmes, University of Sri Jayawardanapura to conduct courses leading to certificate and diploma in Entrepreneurship and Business Management all of which have had a satisfactory outcome.
All in all, the above achievements were made possible through the team spirit of qualified, experienced, committed, loyal and diligent team of ISB staff along with guidance given by the Board of Management of ISB.
The last but definitely not the least, to conclude that with commitment and integrity of all the staff members of ISB who have served in the past and the present, ISB has been able to prove its credibility and possesses the stamina to face the challenges ahead of us, in the highly competitive and rapidly changing atmosphere as we firmly believe secret of the success of ISB is none other than, “Unity in Diversity”.