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| Sunday, 18 April 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Centenary of Bartleet's by Elmo Leonard On May 1, Bartleet and Company Ltd (Bartleet's) initially, a household name in tea broking, and now, a vibrant and diversifying conglomerate, marks 100 years in existence. The group is looking forward to the next 100 years, Chairman, Eraj Wijesinghe, said. The company has gone through a century of time in the face of various types of governments. It would not look back, in its, dynamic approach into the future. Bartleet projects, to enter the next higher levels of major business lines and restructure itself to meet new goals. The company wishes to consolidate its knowledge gained, muster its human resources and work with integrity and strength, diversifying with value into the services sector. "With such design, we shall take the group forward," Wijesinghe said. History May, 1 1904, Englishman, Wilton Bartleet, a prominent figure in the China tea trade (China was then the hub of tea exports) went into partnership with George White and Co. of London, establishing itself at 16, Queen Street, then the hub of commerce in the island. The company was then known as Bartleet and Co, and was actively involved in tea broking. With volumes of exports growing steadily, the firm moved to 16, Bailie Street (now, Mudalige Mawatha). In the 1930's, Bartleet shifted to the spacious second floor of the Chartered Bank building. The firm was now actively engaged in broking, tea, rubber, coconut and spices. In 1989, with the purchase of its own property, the entire group was re-located at its present position, 65, Braybrook Place, Colombo 2. In the early days, Bartleet grew into a vital link between buyer and seller of plantation produce as tea, rubber, coconut and spices. John Parsons, who was later knighted for his extensive social service activities, took over as chairman from Wilton Bartleet, who had decided to return to England. It was in 1963 that the company had a fully Ceylonese board of directors, comprising Mallory Wijesinghe, M. J. Wijesekera, F. B. De Silva, J. Abeywickrema and K. Rambukwella. Today, Bartleete's activity includes: Produce broking - they sell tea at the weekly Colombo tea auctions, by far the largest tea auction centre in the world, with the aim of obtaining the highest price for tea, for the producer or seller in keeping with prevailing market conditions. Additional services are provided by way of warehousing facilities and short-term financial assistance. BC Agro-Tronics (Pvt) Ltd: Tea, rubber and coconut are agricultural industries that have played a pivotal role in the lives of the people of Sri Lanka. However, due to a gap in communication, the country has been slow to attune to new technologies, and BC Agro-Tronics is expected to help fill in the void by introducing high technology mechanisation into the plantation sector. Bartleet Financial Services Ltd, licensed as a specialist financial company by Central Bank, provides a wide range of fund based financial services encompassing leasing, hire purchase, financing import/export, consumer durable financing and other ancillary services. The company is also actively engaged in real estate development having undertaken many large-scale projects both through mobilisation of public deposits, and the deposit base of the company has shown significant growth over the last decade. Its branch expansion is presently pursued vigorously having established its presence in the key cities of Matara, Embilipitiya and Kalutara. The company is expanding its network into other major cities outside Colombo. Bartleet Agencies Ltd, since 1986, is a distributor for canned fish, garlic, coriander, chick peas, sprats, dried fish, cumming seed, lentils and dates. With a firmly established market infrastructure, Bartleet, has projections of widening its line of distribution to include variety of other products. Ceylon Quartz Industries (Pvt) Ltd, a pioneer in producing high quality Silica Quarts filler, was formed in 1991. This company's present collaborators (under BOI) are Tatsumori Ltd, Japan and Singapore. With rock quartz produced here, and fused quartz from China (the company exports to Malaysia and Japan) a powder, used as filler for epoxy/resin, used in the manufacture of silicon chips and electronic components. Bartleet Technologies, incorporated in 1987, comes under the IT arm of the group. The company is a leading distributor for a wide range of computer printers, representing world renowned products, manufactured by Seiko Precision Inc of Japan; Genicom Pty Ltd - USA; Jafalla International AB - Sweden. Bartleet Electronics Ltd, founded in 1979 is one of Sri Lanka's leading distributors of computer systems, peripherals and accessories, date and voice communication systems and fund switching solutions and electronic delivery channels. The company is one of five subsidiaries within the strategic business unit of IT of the Bartleet Group. The company acts as an authorised distributor for Hewlett-Packard Co, Gateway, Inc; The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc; Wyse Technology, Nortel Networks, Perle Systems Asia Pacific (Pte) Ltd and Consolidated Systems of Florida Inc. Bartleet, Macklai and Roy Ltd, in 1981, the group, pioneered the setting up of international money broking in Sri Lanka, being a joint venture with Macklai and Macklai of Bombay, one of the most reputed money brokers in India. The company acts as brokers in the local inter-bank call money market, trading of treasury bills in the secondary market as well as the foreign exchange market and has established extensive contacts with the local and overseas banking sector. Bartleet Mallory Stockbrokers Ltd, one of the founder members of the Colombo Stock Exchange and established in 1989. The company is the first broking firm to introduce the concept of field investment advisors. The company has a large client base due to its commitment to IT and added services, as high quality client specific information and research and investment advice. The company is well geared to cater to the exacting demands of the in sector and is in the process of implementing an effective strategy to enable it to establish a leading position in the Securities Business in the country. BC Computers, is a trusted IT partner with 20 years experience in helping organisations streamline business processes and systems. The company has a proven track record in implementing projects of national importance, giving the company an in-depth knowledge in banking, financial and trade sectors, with large scale enterprise-wide integrated solutions. With Sri Lanka joining the global trend of making eCommerce an integral part of business activities, the company has positioned itself as the major eCommerce technology partner by pioneering e-commerce solutions. The company is in partnership with global eCommerce, which is transforming traditional businesses to compete in the Internet world. The company also helps clients to compete in the new emerging market in cyberspace. BC Computers has also made a major investment in eService Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, a major joint venture with the government of Sri Lanka and the Maharajah Organisation. This company is currently implementing an automated cargo clearance system to improve the efficiency of import and export clearance. Enterprise Technology (Pvt) Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of BC Computers, it specialises in design and implementation of intelligence network systems infrastructure and enterprise applications that enable businesses to achieve success in the Internet economy. Staffed by qualified, trained and certified professionals, the company has implemented several network systems and integration projects for some of the largest corporate customers in Sri Lanka during the past seven years. Their clientele include, Telecom Network Operators, financial institutions, manufacturing organisations, and universities. Exploiting the best business management and engineering practices along with a partnership approach adopted with customers, it has made Enterprise Technology, the leaders in the computer networking industry in Sri Lanka. The company has partnership with world's renown manufacturers such as Cisco, Nortel Networks, Molex, Computer Associates, IBM, HP and Compaq, to provide customers with the best of technology. Enterprise Technology is the only organisation in Sri Lanka who have been awarded the Premier Certified partner status by Cosco, in recognition of their skills base. |
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