Maliban facts for kids
 |
|
| Limited liability | |
| Industry | Biscuits Snack food |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Founder | Angulugha Gamage Hinni Appuhamy |
| Headquarters | Ratmalana, , |
|
Area served
|
International |
|
Key people
|
A. G. R. Samaraweera (Group Chairman) |
| Brands | Maliban Biscuits Maliban Milk (milk powder) Maliban Mineral Waters (mineral water) Zellers Chocolates Little Lion Bakeries |
Maliban Biscuit Manufactories is a big company in Sri Lanka. They make, sell, and deliver many tasty bakery products. Maliban is a private company, meaning it's owned by individuals, not the government.
Contents
How Maliban Started
Maliban Biscuit Manufactories was started in 1954. It was founded by a person named Angulugaha Gamage Hinni Appuhamy. He was born in 1902 in a village called Akmeemana.
When he was 17, in 1922, Hinni Appuhamy left home. He traveled to Colombo to find work and start a new life. In 1928, he opened his own small tea shop. It was on Maliban Street in Pettah.
From Tea Shop to Hotels
In 1935, Hinni Appuhamy changed his tea shop into a small hotel. He then opened more hotels in different parts of Colombo. He even asked his brothers, A. G. Wickramapala and A. G. Jinadasa, to help him. Together, they managed the growing business.
Making Biscuits
Later, Appuhamy opened a bakery. At first, they mostly sold bread. But soon, they started making biscuits by hand. One of the first biscuits they made was the Maliban Marie biscuit. To make more biscuits, he bought a special biscuit cutter from India.
Appuhamy also bought some land in Kirulapana. Here, they started a dairy farm. This farm later moved to Nawala. The Kirulapana land was then used to bottle Maliban Mineral Waters. He also got into the ice cream business. He opened the Maliban Cream House in Colpetty.
Growing the Business
After World War II in 1945, all the businesses run by the three brothers became one company. It was called Maliban Hotels Limited. This company included six hotels, a tearoom, an ice cream shop, a mineral water company, and a bakery.
In 1954, the company bought a new machine from Baker Perkins. On August 5, 1954, Maliban Biscuits started making biscuits on a large scale. The bakery part of Maliban Hotels Ltd then became its own company. It was named Maliban Biscuit Manufactories Ltd.
Modern Factories and Awards
In 1965, Maliban moved its operations to a new, bigger factory. This factory was built on a large piece of land in Ratmalana. Maliban was the first food company to win the National Quality Award in 1996. They won this award again in 2010 and 2015.
The company also received the 'Global Performance Excellence Award' in 2016 and 2018. This award came from the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation. In 2020, they won the 'Brand Excellence Award' at the Sri Lanka Best Brand Awards.
Maliban Today
Hinni Appuhamy passed away in 1970. His son, Rathnapala Samaraweera, took over the company. In the 1970s and 1980s, Maliban made most of the biscuits sold in Sri Lanka. In 1993, they installed a very modern machine. This machine cost a lot of money but helped them make many more biscuits each day.
Today, Maliban employs over 1,800 people. They work 24 hours a day to make biscuits. The company produces 36 million packs of biscuits every year. They also send their products to more than 35 countries around the world. Maliban still makes a big part of the biscuits sold in Sri Lanka.
In 2020, Maliban announced something new. They plan to start making medicines. This is part of a government plan. The goal is for Sri Lanka to make its own medicines.
See also
