- Business
- Maskeliya Plantations PLC is a Sri Lanka-based agribusiness enterprise engaged primarily in the cultivation, processing, manufacture, and marketing of black tea and associated agricultural produce. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Nawinna, Maharagama, Sri Lanka, the company operates as a subsidiary of RPC Plantation Management Services (Pvt) Ltd under the ultimate parentage of Richard Pieris & Company PLC. The company manages extensive tea estates situated across prime high-grown agro-climatic planting regions in Sri Lanka, including Maskeliya, Upcot, Talawakelle, and Bandarawela. Its core product and service offerings comprise high-grown orthodox and CTC black tea across various commercial grades, including Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP), Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings (BOPF), Orange Pekoe (OP), Pekoe, Dust, and specialty leafy teas; green tea; commercial timber harvesting, including Eucalyptus, Albizia, and Pinus species; and diversified agricultural crops such as cinnamon, coffee, cardamom, and tropical fruits. The company sells its manufactured teas primarily through the Colombo Tea Auction, supplying domestic exporters, international tea blenders, and global tea brands across key export markets in Europe, the Middle East, the CIS region, North America, and Asia. In recent operational developments, Maskeliya Plantations PLC has implemented a strategic crop diversification program to expand high-value commercial cultivation of cinnamon, coffee, and fruit crops across underutilized land parcels to reduce revenue exposure to tea commodity price cycles. In addition, the company has advanced environmental sustainability initiatives through investments in renewable green energy, deploying rooftop solar photovoltaic systems across its processing factories and exploring mini-hydro power generation. The company has also pursued comprehensive factory modernization, upgrading leaf withering, rolling, and automated color-sorting machinery to improve energy efficiency, lower processing costs, and maintain compliance with global standards, including Rainforest Alliance, ISO 22000, and HACCP certifications.