| The business was founded in 1900 by late Mr. C. W. Mackie, a Scotsman, who carried on the enterprise as Merchants and Commission Agents under the name of “C. W. Mackie & Company.” In 1922, the business was incorporated as a private limited company. In 1946, a consortium of Ceylonese and Indian Businessmen bought over the shares of the Company and converted it to a public company.
The year 1971 marked a significant change when Ceylon Trading Company Limited, the Sri Lanka based subsidiary of Aarhus United A/S of Denmark, bought a part of the Indian shareholding and took over the management of the Company.
In late 1994, shares equivalent to 25% of the total shares in the Company were issued to the public so as to broadbase ownership and give the Company greater access to the capital market of Sri Lanka to raise capital funds for its future diversification and expansion. The Company’s shares are quoted on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
January 2010 marked another significant change when the principal shareholders, Aarhus United A/S, Denmark (AU) and Ceylon Trading Company Limited (CTC) divested their entire shareholding of 56.56% of the stated capital of the Company and relinquished control of the affairs of the C.W. Mackie PLC Group of Companies. The AU/CTC shares were acquired by Lankem Ceylon PLC and a connected party, Kotagala Plantations PLC.
Lankem Ceylon PLC (Lankem) was established in 1964 in Sri Lanka as a private limited liability company and since 1970 its shares are listed on the trading floor of the Colombo Stock Exchange.
The Lankem Group of Companies has a diversified business portfolio comprising manufacturing (paints, agro/industrial chemicals and bituminous products), distribution of consumer products, rubber and tea plantation management and owning and operating resort hotels. Lankem is a subsidiary of the fully diversified conglomerate, The Colombo Fort Land & Building Company PLC. This acquisition by Lankem greatly strengthens the overall management capabilities of C. W. Mackie PLC Group in the conduct of its affairs and enhances business opportunities availing of synergies.
The C. W. Mackie PLC Group presently consists of C. W. Mackie PLC and several subsidiary companies engaged in a diversity of activities such as export of natural rubber and desiccated coconut; rubber-based products for export and sale locally; import, manufacture and distribution of branded consumer products; import and distribution of sugar; import and resale of branded marine paints and protective coatings, welding equipment and consumables, refrigeration and air conditioning components and light engineering products. |
