Thursday Dec 26, 2024
Thursday Dec 26, 2024
Monday, 13 August 2018 01:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
From left: The Kingsbury Managing Director Lalin Samarawickrama, Hayleys Advantis Managing Director Ruwan Waidyaratne, Hayleys Chairman/Chief Executive Mohan Pandithage, Dipped Products Managing Director and Hayleys Executive Director Sarath Ganegoda, Hayleys Agriculture Managing Director Jayanthi Dharmasena, and Hayleys Head - Human Resources, Legal, Corporate Communications and Sustainability, Group Security Darshi Talpahewa
Leading Sri Lankan multinational and diversified conglomerate, Hayleys PLC is celebrating 140 years of business excellence and innovation this year.Established in 1878 by Chas. P. Hayley, a British entrepreneur in Galle, the company at its inception served as a trading house for the import of valuable goods and export of locally produced goods such as spices, coir yarn and essential oils.
Over 140 years, the Hayleys Group has grown with a global presence of manufacturing and marketing offices across five regions with business interests spanning a total of 16 sectors. Today, it stands out as one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent success stories, having been the first listed Sri Lankan corporate to surpass $ 1 billion in revenue and accounting for 3.3% of the Nation’s total export earnings.
“In our 140th year, Hayleys continues to display vibrant growth, agility and innovation across its businesses. Our continuing success has been a result of a concerted focus on consistent 
operational excellence, long relationships with our principals and business associates, strategic investments into fresh growth opportunities and an unwavering commitment to the delivery of economic and export development in alignment with needs of Sri Lanka as a nation.
“Throughout our history, a theme that consistently recurs across all of our businesses is one of localised value addition, to capture increasingly globalised markets. Our organisation is geared towards seeking out new methods to sustainably harness this Nation’s potential and transform it into lasting value that will lend vital support to the aspirations of our country and all of our fellow Sri Lankans from every walk of life,” Hayleys Chairman and Chief Executive Mohan Pandithage stated.
Catering to over 7.6 million customers worldwide, the Hayleys Group today stands as one of Sri Lanka’s most crucial economic centrepieces, providing direct employment to 32,000 Sri Lankans, in addition to providing indirect employment to over 20,000 people.
The Group’s diverse array of subsidiaries have each developed an independent reputation for business excellence, positioning Hayleys at the apex of Sri Lanka’s domestic and export economy.
The Group’s eco-solutions sector stands as Sri Lanka’s leading manufacturer and exporter of value-added coconut fibre products, distributing over 105 products locally and internationally.
Meanwhile, the hand protection segment represents one of the largest glove manufacturers in Sri Lanka, maintaining a global market share of 5% through a product portfolio that spans 109 categories of gloves and 240 versions of natural and synthetic latex.
The Group’s ability to command a strong and competitive presence in global markets is further bolstered by its purification segment, which stands as the world’s leader in coconut shell-based activated carbon solutions. The segment currently produces 42,500 tonnes of activated carbon and currently retains a 16% global market share for high quality activated carbon.
The Group’s textile manufacturing business supplies fabric to some of the world’s leading clientele, including global fashion and sportswear brands, producing over 2.8 million metres of fabric per month.
The Hayleys Group’s construction sector is comprised of Sri Lanka’s leading aluminium extrusion manufacturer, offering a wide range of architectural, residential and industrial products, catering to the top and middle tiers in the construction industry.
Similarly, the Group’s agriculture business has served as a proud forerunner for innovation in the field of agriculture, serving as Sri Lanka’s largest exporter of processed fruits and vegetables, accounting for approximately 45% market share.
Meanwhile, the Group’s award-winning plantation sector stands among Sri Lanka’s largest and most successful companies, spanning 44 tea and rubber estates and collectively accounting for 3.8% and 3.4% of Sri Lanka’s tea and rubber production, respectively. Similarly, the Group is also engaged in the fine art of producing classic Pure Ceylon Tea under its flagship brand Mabroc Tea.
The Hayleys Group’s transportation and logistics sector represents one of the country’s most influential industry players, straddling diverse areas such as international freight management, terminals and engineering, marine, and integrated logistics services.
The Group also stands as a trend-setter in the leisure sector, offering end-to-end tourism solutions, spanning from tour operation and destination management services to the management of eight resort properties – including one property in the Maldives - through the Amaya Resort chain and its five-star city hotel, The Kingsbury.
Following the historic acquisition of Singer Sri Lanka over the last year, the Hayleys Group also stands poised to drastically scale up its presence in the domestic retail market
Notably, the Group has also developed a business process outsourcing sector, supporting clients to reach new heights of efficiency and quality in order to derive stronger business outcomes utilising a range of innovative, cost-effective solutions.
Having established significant mini hydro, wind and solar power generation capabilities, Hayleys has pioneered the use of renewable energy in Sri Lanka through the establishment of landmark projects, including Sri Lanka’s single largest solar power facility in Welikanda. The Hayleys Group now contributes 2% to Sri Lanka’s renewable energy with a combined 50 megawatts of power already being created, and plans underway to explore further opportunities for clean, renewable energy to be added to the national grid.
In addition to its leisure sector, the Hayleys Group also maintains a strong presence in the aviation sector, serving as a general sales agent to some of the world’s leading passenger and cargo airlines for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Similarly, the Group also manages separate businesses, supplying Sri Lanka’s booming construction industry, providing design, mechanical, electrical and plumbing solutions to a diverse and growing portfolio of local and international clientele. Additionally, the Hayleys Investments and Services Division overlooks and manages financial, legal, tax, information technology, business development, corporate affairs, human resource management, corporate communications, auditing and risk control, group security and export shipping services.
Sustainability – both social and environmental – are also fundamental to the Hayleys approach to business, which has been recognised as Sri Lanka’s Best Corporate Citizen on multiple occasions.
Community engagement and rural empowerment have similarly been ensconced within the business model of the Hayleys Group. To date, the Group has invested $ 2.3 million towards corporate social responsibility, including its flagship CSR project ‘Sath Diyawara’ – a vital program aimed at delivering safe, clean drinking water to communities in Sri Lanka’s dry zone that have been harshly impacted by the outbreak of Chronic Kidney Disease of uncertain aetiology (CKDu).
“Over the past decade, and even more so over the recent past, Hayleys has been making cautious yet ambitious investments and driving group synergies such as the acquisition of Sri Lanka’s biggest retailer Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC, another 140-year-old company in Sri Lanka, thereby laying the foundation for a new growth paradigm in the country. In addition, Hayleys has exclusive representation of world-class brands – Philips, Proctor and Gamble, Fuji, etc., which has enhanced the lifestyle of Sri Lankans. As individuals, as a company, and as a Nation, there is always more that we can do to secure prosperity for ourselves.
“Our challenge now is to unlock new methods of capturing opportunity, enhancing it and preserving it for future generations. That is the challenge that we have set for ourselves, and in future, we assure all our valued stakeholders that we will constantly strive to new heights. We thank our employees – past and present - for their continuous resolve, and we look forward to their commitment and dedication to better serve our Nation for centuries to come. Moving forward, we will strive to be true to our vision of ensuring that Hayleys serves as Sri Lanka’s corporate inspiration at all times,” Pandithage said.
A recap of Hayleys’ 140-year history
Chas. P. Hayley & Co (C.P.H & Co) commenced its entrepreneurial adventure on January 10th 1878, firm in the belief that the coir yarn trade represented a lucrative business opportunity. He purchased several properties surrounding the Pedlar Street office and converted them into a single warehouse and began importing a small range of goods from Britain, such as clarets while exporting Ceylon produce such as cinnamon and citronella oil, which didn’t require much space within the restricted area of his first warehouse. The original ledgers lying in the archives of Hayleys PLC suggests that the start-up made steady progress.
Charles Pickering Hayley ran the firm single-handedly for fifteen years following which his son Alec joined him in 1893. Charles and Alec operated in tandem for eight years, until his other son Steuart left school in England and joined them in Ceylon to continue his father’s entrepreneurial legacy.
By 1909 the organization had evolved into Hayley and Kenny – by then, a partnership between W.W. Kenny and Chas P. Hayley – established its first presence in Colombo and by 1913, had established its historic presence at Thurburn Stores, 400, Deans Road, where the company is still headquartered today.
In 1936, the partnership officially became a private limited liability company while the original company Chas P. Hayley & Co became a private limited liability company and fully owned subsidiary of Hayley and Kenny Ltd before ultimately listing as a Public Company in 1954.
By this time, Hayleys was already an economic force to be reckoned with and by 1958, the company’s shipping agency department was reconstituted as Maritime Agencies Ltd, the forerunner to Hayleys Advantis. Within the next decade, the company collaborated with Bayer of Germany to formulate agrochemicals through Haychem Ltd.
Hayleys thereafter entered a period of intensive innovation and aggressive expansion with the formation of Haycarb Ltd as part of a pioneering initiative to manufacture and export activated carbon manufactured from locally sourced coconut shell charcoal. This ground-breaking approach to value addition was followed over the next two years with the acquisition of Ravi Industries Ltd – a leading manufacturer of coir-based brushes – and the incorporation of Dipped Products Ltd to manufacture rubber gloves.
By 1983, the company had set up its first ever overseas venture in the United States of America with a company which is today known as Haymark Inc. Over the following decade, Hayleys accelerated diversification with the launch of multiple new ventures into the hotel, plantations and textiles industries and by 2001 made its first foray into the power generation as part of a collaboration with AES Corp of the USA.
Within the next three years, Hayleys had launched its first mini-hydro plant while simultaneously entering the ship owning business with its maiden investment in the container vessel: ‘Orient Stride’ while Dipped Products expanded beyond Sri Lanka’s borders with the establishment of its first overseas plant.
By 2010, the company had completed two more major acquisitions with Alumex and Ceylon Continental Hotel, which was later redeveloped by 2012 into the flagship property of Hayleys Leisure: The Kingsbury. Within the same year, the company further expanded its presence into Sri Lanka’s rapidly developing tourism sector with the acquisition of a majority stake in Amaya Hotels & Spas.
The group subsequently consolidated its presence in plantations and renewable energy with the acquisition of a larger stake in Hayleys Plantation service while also commissioning its first wind power plant in Kalpitiya, sparking off a new era in Sri Lanka’s renewable energy sector in 2013. Over the next three years the group increased its expansionary momentum with the acquisition of Alufab, Fentons Ltd, Amaya Passikudah, and Amaya Kuda Rah Resort in the Maldives, while rebranding Hayleys Knitting Mills MGT to Hayleys Fabric and strengthening its transportation and logistics sector with the commissioning of the Advantis Free Zone.
140 years from its founding, the small business established by Chas. P. Hayley has grown into one of Sri Lanka’s largest, most respected and iconic multinational business conglomerates, operating across 16 sectors and 5 regions globally. The coir business introduced by Charles is now a major sector of the Hayleys Group which has diversified into a host of other sectors centered on innovation, value addition, while retaining its historic export orientation.
Hayleys continues to make history in Sri Lanka, recently becoming the first listed company in the country to cross the US$ 1 Billion mark in revenue. The world of Hayleys has consistently delivered value to its people, shareholders, the country and society as a whole by embracing innovation and entrepreneurship.
Having being awarded the prestigious Best Corporate Citizen title by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, multiple times, the Group also stands out as a leader in Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. Consolidating its reputation as one of Sri Lanka’s most respected corporates, Hayleys has remained in the LMD most respected companies list for the past many years and has also a attained the No. 1 rank in the LMD Top 100 listed entities, the most recent being in 2017.
At present, Hayleys social engagement programmes have gathered over 250,000 CSR beneficiaries, including Hayleys’ flagship CSR project: Puritas Sath Diyawara – a groundbreaking initiative to provide clean drinking water to people with chronic kidney disease through the establishment of reverse osmosis water purification systems coupled with comprehensive village strategies to uplift the country’s most severely affected and vulnerable communities.
To date Puritas Sathdiyawara has provided 160,000 litres of clean drinking water daily to over 33,000 men, women and children across 19 villages in the North and North Central provinces since 2014. Each project is sponsored by a Group Company, and to date, the Hayleys Group has invested more than Rs.63 million in this initiative. It consists of a formalised water distribution network through a bowser and multiple docking stations throughout the village to ensure all villagers have equal access to purified water.
This legacy of innovative solutions and bold strategies and diversifications into new market segments with pioneering products and with and services is bolstered by the group’s underlying commitment to ethical business resulting in a rich corporate heritage that is set to reach even greater heights in the coming decades in keeping with its role as one of Sri Lanka’s most respected corporates.
