George Steuart & Company, Sri Lanka’s oldest commercial establishment founded in 1835, marked its entry into the milestone of 175 years in commercial operation with a multi-religious ceremony and unveiling of bronze cast busts of its founders at its head office, Steuart House in Fort recently.

Attended by the company’s directorate, management and team members, this highly diversified blue chip company, saw a historic chapter unfold in the company’s history with a sombre, yet brief ceremony that included invocations by the four religious clergy representing Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, followed by the unveiling of two sculptures of James Steuart and George Steuart.

Summarising the journey since it began when James Steuart stepped onto Sri Lankan soil at the Galle Port in 1818, spurring a series of events that saw him found the company on his seeing the immense potential for economic development and commerce in the then Ceylon, Group Chairman Jayantha Wimalagooneratne was quick to point out that the company has remained true to the time honoured tenets of maintaining integrity and an unblemished record after all these years.

"I don’t think however that James Steuart, even in his wildest dreams would have imagined that his company would survive 175 years, continuing as one of the leading companies in this country. I do believe we have served this nation well, being the oldest mercantile establishment and I’m sure, each of you Steuartians is proud to be a part of the history not only of the company but of corporate Sri Lanka." He added that in starting this historic year of commemoration and celebrations with multi-religious devotions and prayers, "There isn’t a better way to offer thanks and merit to our founder, his brothers, their successors and all those who contributed in no small measure to safeguard the reputation of the Company and to ensure its continuity."

He further clarified that when James Steuart secured the business to his brother George and named the firm after him as his substantive position as Master Attendant of the Colombo Port precluded him from engaging in any trade, the fundamentals of governance, ethics and values were already well founded. "With this he ensured that the company was well run, possessed high levels of integrity and secured an unblemished reputation. Our founder had sterling qualities. He was a courageous man who worked for the downtrodden, was forthright and had expansive vision. Reading from history, I know that he felt for the Sinhalese peasants and the Tamil workers in the plantations and was always trying to make their lot better."

The sculpture of James Steuart was unveiled by Jayantha Wimalagooneratne as Group Chairman and Group Deputy Chairman K Neelakandan, while that of George Steuart was unveiled by Group Joint Managing Directors Dubsy Kanagaratnam and Duleep Daluwatte.

George Steuart & Company currently operates a highly diversified portfolio of twelve subsidiaries involved in a plethora of business activities, from tea to pharmaceuticals, to travel and recruitment, to telecommunications and education, real estate, insurance, advertising and financial services, while also holding the GSA for two international airlines.

In addition, the Group also has an associated company in the Philippines, which is a distribution channel for Steuart Tea in the Philippines and the Far East.