EASTERN MERCHANTS PLC

Company Description

Eastern Merchants PLC was founded in 1945 through the endeavors of two brothers, Sumane and Winton Karunaratne, with an initial working capital of USD 50 accompanied by an incredible will to succeed. The first modest office of this export business was located in Fort, within the Central Business District of Colombo. Their primary export was cinnamon bark oil, a commodity that was traditionally traded by their father and grandfather.From its humble beginnings, Eastern Merchants has now developed into a major trading house. The level of integrity and dedication that the founders instilled is the standard of excellence still maintained by its employees today. The aspirations and ambitions of the founders have been realized through the Company&＃39;s growing success, and in 1981, Eastern Merchants became a Public Quoted Company trading on the Colombo Stock Exchange.Though the main export of the Company today is natural rubber, EASTERN MERCHANTS PLClso involved in the export of coco fibre, desiccated coconut and spices. As one of the major commodity exporters in Sri Lanka, Eastern Merchants caters to a broad international market spanning the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. We are arguably the largest exporter of natural rubber from Sri Lanka and we supply our material to many rubber-related sectors such as the tyre, conveyor belt, automotive parts, flooring and pharmaceuticals industries. With regards to the food-related commodities that we trade in, the confectionary, flavour and fragrance industries are our main focus. We also service the brush/broom industry with our coco fibre products.Apart from Sri Lanka, the extensive international network of the Company enables us to source the commodities that we deal in from many other origins such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and India. We have handpicked all our international suppliers after having done extensive research and having personally visited their manufacturing facilities to ensure best quality and practices.Presently, Eastern Merchants operates from its own premises in a prime location within the Central Business District of Colombo, with the Company&＃39;s warehouse complex located within an industrial estate in the Colombo suburb of Sapugaskanda. Leveraging our core values of integrity, responsibility, quality and teamwork, Eastern Merchants has built up an impressive customer base across multiple industries and geographies over the last 70 years. Our customers vary from global giants to small and medium enterprises located across all continents.In what is a new era in the development of Eastern Merchants, the grandsons of the Karunaratne brothers have now joined the Company to continue the legacy left by their grandfathers. Proud of its past and its commitment to loyalty and integrity, Eastern Merchants looks forward to continued expansion and progress in the years to come.