Maliban Biscuit Manufactories, is one of the largest manufacturers, distributors and marketers of bakery products in Sri Lanka. Maliban is a privately owned limited liability company.

History

The company was founded in 1954 by Angulugaha Gamage Hinni Appuhamy. Appuhamy was born 2 December 1902 in the village of Akmeemana, the son of Angulugaha Gamage Cornelis Appuhamy and Kankanamgamage Kathirinahamy. He had his early education at St. Aloysius College, Galle. At the age of seventeen, in 1922, he left school and home and traveled to Colombo to seek his fortunes. After opening his own tea kiosk on Maliban Street,

Pettah Pettah may refer to: * Pettah of Ahmednagar, a fortified town outside the Fort of Ahmednagar stormed by British soldiers in 1803 during Second Anglo-Maratha War * Pettah, Colombo, a neighborhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located east of the City centr ...

in 1928, he converted the shop into a small hotel in 1935. Appuhamy opened his second hotel at First Cross Street and then moved it to a larger premises in Norris Road. He subsequently opened hotels at Baseline Road, another at Norris Road and at Chatham Street. He invited his brothers, A. G. Wickramapala and A. G. Jinadasa to join him in managing the expanding business. Appuhamy then opened a bakery, which initially sold bread but later added hand made biscuits to their range. One of the first biscuits produced was the Maliban Marie biscuit. In order to satisfy the demand he purchased a biscuit cutter from India to assist in the biscuit manufacturing. Appuhamy bought of land at

Kirulapana Kirulapone (Kirulapana) is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and offici ...

, where they established a

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

(which was later shifted to

Nawala Nawala is an up-market residential Suburb of Colombo, within the Kotte municipality in the western province of Sri Lanka and is approximately 6km south from Colombo City. Nawala lies between the Commercial Capital Colombo and the Administrativ ...

). The Kirulapana property was then used to commence the hand-operated bottling of Maliban Mineral Waters. He also entered into the

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

industry, opening the Maliban Cream House in

Colpetty Kollupitiya, also known as Colpetty is a major neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name Kollupitiya comes from the name of a chief from Kandy who had unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the last king of Kandy. During the period of British ...

. In 1945 after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the assets of the businesses carried out by the three brothers were incorporated into Maliban Hotels Limited. The business included six hotels, one tearoom, an ice cream parlour, a mineral water company and bakery. The company the purchased a plant from

Baker Perkins Baker Perkins Ltd is a British engineering company for food processing equipment headquartered in Peterborough, England. Its product portfolio offers different technologies and applications for the bread, biscuit, confectionery, snack, and break ...

and on 5 August 1954 Maliban Biscuits commenced full-scale production. In 1954 the bakery section of Maliban Hotels Ltd was subsequently converted into a limited liability company, Maliban Biscuit Manufactories Ltd. In 1965, the company's operations were shifted to a new factory complex, which was constructed on a site in

Ratmalana Ratmalana is a suburb in Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is inside the administration boundary of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. Ratmalana is situated 14.6 km south of Colombo city centre. Ratmalana Airport locat ...

. The company also has the distinction of being the first food company to achieve the National Quality Award in 1996. Winning the award again in 2010 and 2015. The company has also been awarded the 'Global Performance Excellence Award' in 2016 and 2018 by the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation. In 2020 they won the 'Brand Excellence Award' at the Sri Lanka Best Brand Awards. In 1970, Hinni Appuhamy died leaving his company to his son, Rathnapala Samaraweera. In the 1970s and 1980s the company had over 85% of the Sri Lankan biscuit market. In 1993 a modern plant was installed at a cost of Rs 350 million, increasing capacity by further /day. The company now employs over 1,800 people and works continuous 24-hour shifts, producing 36 million packs of biscuits per annum and exporting their products to over 35 countries. It has over 40% market share of the Sri Lankan biscuit market. In 2020 the company announced that it would be diversifying into the production of pharmaceuticals, as part of the government's plans to establish a self-sufficient local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

References

{{Reflist Food and drink companies of Sri Lanka Food and drink companies established in 1954 1954 establishments in Ceylon Sri Lankan brands Biscuit brands

History

See also

References