British High Commissioner and HSBC CEO visit Unilever factory

British High Commissioner John Rankin and HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives CEONick Nicolaou last week visited Unilever Sri Lanka’s newly built factory in Horana.

They were accompanied on their visit by senior members of their teams.  

Unilever has been in the country for over 75 years, and 95% of the products marketed by Unilever in Sri Lanka are manufactured locally. The Horana factory is one of Unilever’s largest investments in Sri Lanka.

According to Unilever Sri Lanka Chairman Amal Cabraal, “The investment of US$ 50 million in setting up this state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will further cement Unilever’s 75 year manufacturing history in Sri Lanka.”

This factory was built in order to meet the growing and increasingly diversified needs of the Sri Lankan consumer.

“This new factory is a part of Unilever’s ambition to double the size of its business while halving its environmental footprint,” Cabraal said adding “we are happy to be able to share our ambition and plans with Rankin, Nicolaou and their teams.”

During his visit to the factory Rankin said: “This factory is a further testament to the strong commercial relationship between the UK and Sri Lanka. I am pleased to see British companies like Unilever increasing their investments in Sri Lanka.”

Nicolaou commented, “It is always a pleasure to visit clients’ manufacturing facilities to see how investment can contribute to the economic prosperity of the country. We hope this plant will help meet the growing demand in consumer goods, especially when they are of such high quality as Unilever.”

Unilever Sri Lanka is one of the biggest FMCG companies in Sri Lanka with a diverse portfolio in the categories of home care, oral care, personal care and foods. With a 75 year long manufacturing presence in the country, Unilever Sri Lanka produces 95% of its products locally, starting with Sunlight, Lux and Pears Rose. Today we have a portfolio of 30 brands including Surf, Signal, Laojee, Ceylonta, Knorr, Sunsilk, and Astra, which are household names and market leaders in their respective categories. Unilever Sri Lanka was ranked the fourth most respected entity in Sri Lanka by LMD in 2011. The Company was also ranked number one employer of choice by in a survey done by TNS Lanka.