ANNIVERSARY ISSUE WINTER 2014

a long &
distinguished
heritage
Camellia celebrates 125 years

A distinctly Growing The path

different company through time ahead
The Camellia ethos Tracing our rich past Camellias vision for the future
 Over the years, many books, letters, articles and photographs
have painstakingly chronicled various aspects of the Camellia
Group - our history and heritage, our philosophy and people,
our businesses and buildings. In this very special edition of the
Camellia Journal, published to mark our 125th anniversary year,

Charles Handy by Liz Handy

we have tried to capture a little of their essence.

We start with long-standing friend of Camellia, Charles Handy.

Charles is an independent writer, broadcaster and teacher; he
has also been an oil executive, an economist and a professor at
the London Business School. He offers an independent view of
Camellia - although one we proudly recognise.
CAMELLIA AS I SEE IT
It is a distinguished and sometimes complicated history which
has unfolded over the past 125 years. Growing through time
traces the progress from our first tea garden, through our change of name to Camellia - Camellia

C
Sinensis being the botanical name of the tea plant - right up to the present day. Over the years,
it is arguably the humble tea plant that has had the biggest impact on the Group, as our latest ould a conglomerate be
a community? Never,
sell the business would be a failure.
So it is with Camellia. Because its
Camellia is, in
agricultural output shows.

An important aspect of our evolution has been the development of our quite unique culture,
most people would say, majority shareholder is the Camellia fact, a family
shaped by Gordon Fox - we definitely see ourselves as A distinctly different company. This
for conglomerates are collections
of diverse and unrelated businesses
Foundation and the Foundation is not
allowed to sell its shares, Camellia is
business without
article describes our philosophy and the ways in which it is manifested through our behaviours
and approach. The two inspiring case studies which follow bring our ethos to life, showing
only held together by their potentially immortal. When things go the family.
shareholdings. But then they wrong its managers cannot sell the
what a real difference can be made when a business is run sustainably and with a human face
would not have met Camellia. business and slink away with their it has to think long term and
over the long term.
private pots of gold. needs to cherish its people while
It is the ability and willingness to take the long-term view which is one of our defining A conglomerate is a stool with many still demanding much from them,
characteristics. We have looked back over the past 125 years - with a spotlight on tea cultivation, legs. The variety of its businesses That is not the blessing it might but it avoids the potential snares
engineering and banking - to see how things have changed in our different businesses. From gives it security, but its heart is just a seem. To survive beyond the grave of the family connection since the
those early pioneers to todays innovators, it is pleasing to see that commitment to quality calculating machine and its soul, if it means that you have to deserve it, leadership is open to all.
and professional expertise have remained constant. has one, is purely selfish. Camellia is you have to remain ever vigilant,

Looking forward, I have outlined the future as I see it for Camellia. As Charles says, Camellia is most definitely a conglomerate, with competitive and creative. Quality and Camellia is an organisational oddity,

potentially immortal and I foresee no reason why it should not continue to exist for very many tea and agricultural companies in reputation have to be maintained. but a very special one. I have walked

years to come. I am sure the next 125 years will be as colourful and challenging as the past, in three continents, a food storage and Family businesses therefore have to its tea gardens, its orchards and its

ways we can only imagine. I am immensely proud of Camellia, its businesses and culture - and I distribution business in a fourth, along be tough but tender; tough because offices. You can almost smell its

am delighted that we have such a strong legacy to pass on to the next generation. with a hi-tech engineering business
and, to top it all, a private bank. You
cant get much more diverse than that.
Yet Camellia also manages to be the
Malcolm Perkins
nearest thing to a family business
Chairman that any publicly-owned company
could be. Camellia is, in fact, a family
business without the family. A family
business thinks beyond the grave,
as one of them once put it to me. To
only the best will do, tender because
their people are precious and must
be nurtured. But there is a rub. In the
end the family is on top which puts
a ceiling on the career ambitions of
its staff, and families can deteriorate
down the generations leaving the
business bereft of leadership.
Camellia therefore has the best of
both worlds, as a family-type business
ethos, one that treats its workers
as individuals not human resources,
one that reveres quality in its buildings,
its products and in everything it does,
one where profit is its lifeblood
but not its soul.
Charles Handy
3
 GROWING THROUGH TIME
An amalgam of once quoted public
companies, the history of the Camellia Group
is long, winding and distinguished.
T
he roots of Camellia were
established 125 years ago.
High in the hills of north-east
India, in the remote Cachar District
of Bengal, pioneering Victorian
planters established a small and
seemingly insignificant tea garden
called Sephinjuri Bheel. Its owner,
the Sephinjuri Bheel Tea Company
(SBTC), was traded on the London
Stock Exchange, but never widened its
interests beyond that one tea garden.
For the next 60 years its existence was
quite unremarkable; it traded quietly
but steadily, never once missing a
dividend payment.
4
And so it might have remained had
it not been for Gordon Fox - an
accountant who also happened to be
a student of Zen and the Japanese
Tea Ceremony. Gifted with a flair
for investment analysis he was, by
his own admission, enthralled by
the sheer romance of India and its
tea industry. Having recognised the
investment potential of Sephinjuri
Bheel, he took a small stake in the
company in the early 1950s.
At the same time, he was introduced
to Alex Lawrie & Co., SBTCs managing
agents in Calcutta. This was the start
of a relationship that grew and thrived
for almost half a century - and which
would ultimately become a major part
of the Camellia story.
All change to Camellia
50 years ago - the Camellia Group we
see today started to flourish. In 1964,
the Sephinjuri Bheel tea garden itself
was sold, but SBTC was retained as a
Alex Lawrie
vehicle for holding an ever growing Founded
portfolio of Indian tea companies. Balmer Lawrie & Co.
in Calcutta, 1866,
Significantly, it changed its name to
and Alex Lawrie & Co.
Camellia - Camellia Sinensis being 12 years later in
the botanical name of the tea plant. London.
 Camellia Investments establishes significant stakes in various tea plantation and managing WDG and Camellias
companies, including Alex Lawrie & Co. Ltd and WDG other associated tea
Walter Charles interests in India and
Duncan Goodricke Bangladesh are merged
under the banner of
Lawrie Group Plc
Walter Duncan Alex Lawrie Walter Duncan & Alex Lawrie & Walter Duncan & The Sephinjuri Bheel Duncan Lawrie Eastern Produce
leaves Glasgow leaves Edinburgh Co. is established in Co. is formed Co. merges with C A tea estate is sold and Private Bank opens (Holdings) Ltd acquires Eastern Produce
for Calcutta for Calcutta Glasgow by Walter in London by Goodricke to form the company changes Unochrome Industries (Holdings) Ltd
Duncan and his Alex Lawrie and Walter Duncan & name to Camellia changes its
brother William Edward Wahab Goodricke Ltd (WDG) Investments Ltd name to Linton
Park Plc

1859 1862 1875 1878 1949 1964 1971 1981 1990

1862 1866 1875 1889 1962 1967 1978 1985 2005

Alex Lawrie & Co.

The Ceylon Tea
Company is formed,
later to become
Eastern Produce
(Holdings) Ltd
Ltd merges with
Balmer Lawrie The Sephinjuri Bheel Alex Lawrie Factors WDG and the Alex Lawrie Group Plc
is established in Duncan Brothers Tea Company Ltd is is set up as a joint Lawrie company WDG acquires a and Linton Park Plc
Calcutta by Stephen & Co. is set up in incorporated to own a venture between name disappears. minority interest are, by now, wholly
Balmer and Alex Calcutta by Walter single tea estate of the Gordon Fox and Alex Alex Lawrie Factors in Eastern Produce Linton Park, Kent owned subsidiaries
Lawrie and William Duncan same name Lawrie & Co. Ltd continues (Holdings) Ltd is acquired of Camellia Plc

Balmer Lawrie
head office
Alex Lawrie in Clive Street,
Badamtam
and Stephen Calcutta, rebuilt
tea estate
Balmer in 1909

The next few decades saw Camellia
establish significant stakes in two
doyens of the Indian tea industry, Alex
Lawrie & Co. and Walter Duncan &
Goodricke. Both were distinguished
managing agents, founded quite
independently in the 19th century by
emigrant Scotsmen, Alex Lawrie and
Walter Duncan. By 1967, they had
merged under the Walter Duncan &
Goodricke (WDG) name - and Camellia,
in conjunction with the newly enlarged
to India - in the 1970s it acquired a
significant stake in Eastern Produce
(Holdings) Ltd, giving Camellia a
foothold in Africa.
Like the Indian tea companies,
Eastern Produce could trace its heritage
back to the mid-19th century, when it
was known as The Ceylon Company.
Shortly after the Second World War,
Eastern Produce had embarked on
a programme of diversification,
Food storage was a 34% shareholding in a company
called Associated Fisheries. Having
An interesting, and some might started life in 1889, on a fishmongers
even say unlikely, by-product of this stall in Londons Billingsgate fish
association with Eastern Produce market, the business went on to
amass Europes largest trawler
fishing fleet; and, by the 1930s, had
created the first low temperature cold
store in Britain. Today, food storage
and distribution are a key part of
Camellias operations, thanks to
that original East End fishmonger,
The London Metropolitan Archive
realms such as aerospace and
applications for the North Sea oil
and gas industry.
Banking returns
If agriculture is at the heart of the
Camellia Group, then finance and
investment management is in the
blood. Back in the 19th century,
banking services accounted for a
substantial part of Alex Lawries
offices in London, Bristol and Kent, as
well as providing international services
from the Isle of Man.
A remarkable journey
Looking back over the past
125 years, there can be few
companies still in existence with a
history so diverse and a story so rich.
But perhaps the most remarkable
aspect is the way in which Camellia

WDG and numerous affiliated tea
companies, continued a programme
of steady Indian expansion. By 1999,
those companies became wholly
owned subsidiaries of Camellia Plc.
Into Africa
Under Gordon Foxs watchful eye,
6 Camellia did not restrict its investments
expanding into East Africa, initially John Bennett. business - 72% of capital employed has reached the position it has today.
establishing an estate on the Nandi Hills. in 1900. Banking continued to play a That first small tea company had a
The rise of engineering prominent role in India up until 1963, market capitalisation of less than
Over the years, Eastern Produce when changes in Indian legislation 100,000. Now, 125 years later in
expanded further, investing in various The 1980s saw a quite different meant it had to be discontinued. 2014, Camellia employs over 70,000
listed and unlisted companies in market open up for Camellia. The people worldwide, it is capitalised
Kenya and Malawi, which together acquisition of Unochrome Industries It didnt disappear for long though. at almost 250 million, and last year
with Eastern Produce itself (re-named - a collection of small and highly In 1971, Duncan Lawrie Private Bank generated revenues in excess of 250
Linton Park Plc in 1990), are now specialised UK engineering companies opened its doors for business in the million. A long way indeed from that
all part of the Camellia Group. - took the Group into new, hi-tech UK. Today the bank has three UK first, small garden in Cachar. 7
 A DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT COMPANY
A
s Charles Handy suggests,
Camellia is quite unlike most
other companies. Our culture
and character are unique, our ethos
distinctive. But putting principles
into practice can be challenging,
particularly when the organisation
employs more than 70,000 people
around the world.
Yet Camellia balances the often
disparate requirements of
employees, shareholders and
society at large to great effect.
Assets of quality
Practically, Camellias culture
manifests itself in several ways. The
Group only invests in assets of the
highest quality. Consequently, its
companies operate from inspiring,
often historic, offices, while its
manufacturing operations are
equipped with state-of-the-art
machinery and facilities. Camellia also
owns impressive collections of art,
philately and manuscripts. But these
assets are no wealthy indulgence, they
are secure investments whose value
will stand the test of time.
A human face
Another equally important aspect of
Camellias ethos is the deeply held
principle that it should operate with
a human face. In part, Camellias
management structure reinforces
this view. Managers of each Group
company are given a high degree of
8 autonomy and encouraged to view that
business as if they were the owner.
Camellia, in turn, provides support,
guidance and encouragement - and
also acknowledges responsibility
for the welfare of its employees
through the provision of healthcare,
educational and other social facilities.
And so Camellia is rewarded with the
loyalty of secure and enthusiastic
employees, without whom the Group
would not be what it is today.
The long view
This approach does not embrace
a get rich quick culture. Quite the
opposite. Camellia is predicated on
a long-term investment philosophy,
which Gordon Fox explained
quite clearly in 1990, in his Annual
Chairmans Statement.
Almost 25 years later, and as
Camellia celebrates 125 years since
its origins were first established,
this approach still holds true - and
is intended to continue indefinitely.
The Camellia Foundation was
established to be, and will remain,
the ultimate controlling shareholder
of Camellia Plc. This ownership
structure has been put in place to
ensure the security and stability of
the Group and its employees, as well
as the retention and promotion of its
distinctive culture by its management.
In addition, The Camellia Foundation is
able to provide support for education,
health and welfare initiatives,
and other philanthropic causes,
particularly in the communities
where the Group operates.
So, although it may have managers
and shareholders, buildings and
land, products and services, staff
and customers, Camellia is a living
entity. A flourishing community of
individuals, these people matter above
all else. Working with and for each
other, they continue to care for and
grow the assets which have been so
painstakingly built to last.
Our entire emphasis is
towards the development of a
worldwide group of businesses
which, by their very nature,
require their managements to
take a long view.
Many companies in the Group
are in excess of 100 years
old. These enterprises have
acquired particular skills,
traditions and ethos - and
we see ourselves more in
the nature of custodians or
trustees, than as owners. That
is, we do not see these assets
as objects or bits of paper that
can be traded; but rather as
Nothing I have seen in all
living entities from which, if the years of my working
properly managed, we might life has led me to alter my
earn an attractive return view that a business can
on our investment; but also, be run with a human face,
and indeed primarily, towards for the benefit not only of
which as individual enterprises shareholders but equally
we have a responsibility for its employees, as well as
of ensuring continuity, the general benefit of the
development and
societies and environments
progressive growth.
in which it works.
Gordon Fox
Chairmans Statement, 1990
Gordon Fox 1990
 A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Camellias geographical
spread extends across four
continents, encompassing
GERMANY
agriculture, engineering,
THE NETHERLANDS
financial services and food
Engineering SWITZERLAND distribution.
Fish Import
& Export
Catalysts
UNITED STATES

Edible nuts UNITED KINGDOM

Citrus
Banking &
Financial Services BANGLADESH
Cold Storage
& Distribution
Tea
Engineering & Rubber
Manufacturing
Mineral water
Insurance
Leasing
BERMUDA

Insurance INDIA

Tea
Instant tea
KENYA

Tea
Pineapples
Macadamia nuts
MALAWI
BRAZIL Avocados
Livestock
Tea
Forestry Macadamia nuts
Maize
SOUTH AFRICA
Soya
Barley
Wine grapes
Wine
Macadamia nuts

10 11
The community
bee-keeping
project established
by Kakuzi Ltd
(our agricultural
business in Kenya)
OUR PHILOSOPHY
IN ACTION
R
ecent years have
seen Corporate Social
Responsibility move up
the agenda in the business world,
although for Camellia, this is
nothing new. As we have outlined,
a commitment to caring for the
people who work within our
organisation, together with a respect
and concern for the environment
and wider communities where we
operate, are a fundamental aspect
of our corporate philosophy.
The following articles are just two
examples of our principles put
into practice.
We will always In How does your garden grow?
we visit our Kenyan Kitchen Garden
aim to make sure Project, first established ten years
ago in 2004. It started in a small way
on our own estates, but its success
we are doing the has meant we have now rolled it out
to surrounding villages, where it has
right thing by our proved just as popular.
people and our By contrast, Prashantos progress
is the inspiring story of a young
environment. man who joined the Goodricke
School for Special Education in
Siliguri, India, as one of its very
first students. Established by the
Camellia Foundation and supported
by Goodricke (our tea company in
India), the school opened its doors
in the late 1990s. Since that time
it has helped numerous children
from families within the Camellia
Group and the wider community -
children who would have otherwise
struggled to receive the education and
therapies which their very personal
circumstances demanded.
Around the world, there are many
more projects which businesses in
the Camellia Group, or the Camellia
Foundation, have established
and supported over the years.
Environmental initiatives, such as
the monkey highway in Kenya or
the salamander lake on the
Margarets Hope tea garden in
India, provide protected habitats
for endangered wildlife.
As Camellia moves forward,
we will always aim to make sure
we are doing the right thing by our
people and our environment. 13
 Our Kenyan kitchen gardens
project - winner of an EU-Africa
Chamber of Commerce CSR
award this year

HOW DOES YOUR

GARDEN GROW?
In 2004, we introduced the Kitchen Garden Project
to our Kenyan estates, which support some 6,500
people, including employees and their dependants.
The aim of the programme was to make much
better use of the land available to our people and
so enable them to grow enough food for a family
of six - all in the gardens around their house. The
success of the programme has meant it is now
being rolled out to surrounding communities.

A
s a leading agriculturalist,
we are very familiar
with the concept of food
security; but realise that while
security might be said to exist at
a national level, this isnt always
the case for individual Kenyan
households - many can be left
hungry, without the resources to
buy or grow enough food. Yet the
country actually has plenty of land
that is suitable for cultivation - its
just not always used to its best
advantage. Given that we provide
our communities with housing,
water, healthcare and educational
support, it was only natural that
we would want to guarantee their
food security as well.
Growing wisely
We brought in Grete Davey, a
permaculture trainer, who educated
local villagers on the huge diversity
of fruit and vegetables they could
grow themselves - demonstrating
14 the use of vertical as well as
horizontal space to make the most
of a confined area. She showed them
how to plan their garden layout,
prepare the soil and plant seedlings,
along with the benefits of organic
manure to feed the soil.
Janes story
Like Ernest Shamola, who featured
in our 2004 edition of the Camellia
Journal, another person to sign
up for a Kitchen Garden was Jane,
who we first met in 2012. Like
many others, Janes family bought
vegetables they could ill-afford.
She realised she could easily grow
them herself but, surrounded by
bare earth, she simply did not
know where to start.
Jane followed the kitchen garden
demonstrations attentively -
memorising every procedure, which
she then implemented on the little
patch of land her father had allowed
her to develop. Within three months,
she had planted out the vegetable
seedlings from the nursery into her
metre-wide beds and added a good
mulch. She remembered to mix
up the plants and plant marigolds
in between the vegetables, and
although she had problems with cut
worms she was able to control these
pests by digging marigold leaves
into the soil. Before long, Jane was
harvesting her own vegetables.
The effects of the
scheme have extended far
beyond Janes immediate
family. She has been
instrumental in instructing
local women and farmers
about the kitchen garden
concept - so now she is
improving the lives of her
neighbours and bringing
prosperity to the wider
community as well.
Reaping the returns
> The vegetables from > Jane opened a kiosk
one small plot feed a to sell any excess
family of seven people vegetables, which
- they dont need to buy added to their income.
any extra supplies It was so successful she
> By eating a constant
opened a second one
at the top of the farm
supply of mixed,
track, which she runs,
indigenous vegetables,
while her mother looks
fresh from their
after the original one
organic garden,
the whole familys > The extra income from
health has improved the second kiosk helped
resulting in fewer her 21 year old brother
visits to the doctor return to education.
 PRASHANTOS PROGRESS
W
hen we opened the
Goodricke School for
Special Education at the
end of the 1990s, one of the very first
students to come through our doors,
and one of the earliest we treated
with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD),
was Prashanto Ghosh. His is a story
which goes well beyond the 12 years
he spent at our school.
Prashanto in the
family shop In those days our teaching strategies
were limited, but during Prashantos
time with us we had ample scope
to intervene and identify the most
suitable therapies for him. Widely
regarded as being beyond help
and presenting us with some very
particular challenges at the time,
16 Prashantos ultimate success has
formed the basis of several seminars
and workshops.
During his early years Prashanto,
known as Papu, vocalised his
response to any discomfort. His
sensory issues were highly prominent:
certain smells unsettled him; noise
and bright colours irritated him - he
couldnt bear the sound of raindrops
or motorbikes; confined spaces
made him feel claustrophobic - he
was always opening doors, trying
to escape. All characteristic traits
of ASD - and as he had no means
of communication, we faced an
uphill task. On the plus side, in an
organised set-up, he followed routine
tasks meticulously and was deeply
motivated by a reward of any type,
be it food or even something as
insignificant as a piece of thread.
Food was the breakthrough for
Papu. At the age of 12, he said his
first word singara - the Indian word
for snack. From there he learned to
communicate by repeating his name
I am Prashanto Ghosh, quickly
followed by shop is closed. From that
point on, there was no looking back.
Papus family have a dairy business
- they keep a few cows and sell milk
locally. To be successfully rehabilitated
back into his family unit, it was
important Papu could address some
basic daily living activities - mopping,
washing clothes and serving water.
Then, working closely with his family,
and bearing in mind he could follow a
structured schedule, Papu gradually
learned a few small tasks, such as
feeding the cattle. He would also
accompany his mother on her rounds
as she delivered milk locally.
In 2007, at the age of 20, Papu
successfully graduated from our
school - today he is a productive
member of his household.
A recent home visit revealed Papu has
learned several new skills. As well as
caring for the family cattle, he also
lends a hand in his brothers makeshift
shop by arranging goods in their
proper place when the shop is open
and putting them away at closing time.
According to Papu, thing has to be in
The Goodricke School
for Special Education
its place - whether its shoes on
a rack or a scarf on a shoulder - a
typical trait of ASD which he has
learned to use constructively.
Considering his level of cognitive
function and the intensity of the
behavioural therapy programme he
has gone through, Papus adaptability
is far greater than we could ever
have imagined all those years ago.
Our Papu has redefined the
meaning of rehabilitation.
For Papu, and children like him, it is
the long-term help and investment
which a school like ours can give that
truly makes a difference to their lives,
and those of their families.
17
Plucking leaves on the
slopes of the Thurbo tea
garden, Darjeeling, India

GROWING FROM STRONG ROOTS

A
s we saw from our opening
article, Camellias roots
lie firmly in the 19th
century. The intervening years
have witnessed some astonishing
developments - ones of which
our forefathers could only have
dreamt - while modern technology
has introduced ways of operating
which they would have found
incomprehensible. So we thought
it would be interesting to look back
to those early beginnings and see
what has changed, but also what
principles have remained and
are still reflected in our businesses
today. We have chosen three areas
which were just as important to
the Group in the early 1900s as
they are in 2014 - tea cultivation,
engineering and banking.
 An early river boat
transporting tea down
the Brahmaputra

small, shallow draught boats carried
the tea down tributaries to the
Brahmaputra, with the very earliest
journeys from Assam to Calcutta
typically taking three months. By 1860,
the introduction of the river steamer
reduced the timeframe to three weeks.
Jumping forward 125 years, what
Computers may have replaced
handwritten ledgers, but todays
manager has financial audits, factory
inspections, Rainforest and Fairtrade
certifications, numerous Government
returns, gratuity statements and
more to tackle.
One piece of paperwork the modern
now boasting their own hospitals,
staffed by fully qualified doctors,
nurses, welfare officers and support
staff. Incidences of malaria and dysentry
have now been considerably reduced.
But if theres one thing which those
early planters would surely envy,
its the living conditions on our 21st

Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library

would those early planters make of
garden life today?
Help is at hand
The first thing theyd notice is that
much of the dense jungle has gone.
Theyd be pleased to see planting
and developing the gardens is now
supported by JCBs and tractors.
The arduous journey to and from
the Dooars and Darjeeling to Kolkata
has been replaced by a flight via
Bagdogra, and where wild animals
once roamed, there are now three
manager doesnt have to contend
with though is the weekly d/o or
demi-official letter between Calcutta
and London. Reporting on business
matters, these letters took three
months to reach their destination;
today, the garden manager has read
and responded to all e-mail messages
from Head Office by 10.30am.
Health standards too have risen
beyond measure. Quinine and castor
oil have been consigned to history,
with Camellias Indian tea gardens
century tea gardens. Come the
evening, as silence falls on the estate,
garden workers are often found
relaxing, catching up with friends and
relatives on Facebook, or watching the
latest serials on satellite TV. The garden
manager likes to unwind in front of the
football, with Manchester United vs.
Chelsea beamed live from Old Trafford,
a particular favourite. Unwind, that is,
until his mobile rings, Quick, theres a
fire in the labour line. The indomitable
spirit of self-sufficiency - thats never
going to disappear.

THIS PLANTING LIFE game sanctuaries, each protecting

increasingly endangered species.
Crude earth tracks have been replaced
by smooth tarmac roads, all bordered
by lush green gardens.

T
he image of a 19th century
tea planter has always
had a certain romance
attached to it - cocktails on the
verandah or whiling away sultry
monsoon days in the club. But those
images belong firmly on the pages
of the storybooks - the reality
couldnt be further removed.
Pioneering planters
Some of the Indian tea gardens
owned by Camellia today were first
established in the mid-1800s, such
as Margarets Hope, planted in 1864.
At that time, much of the Dooars
was covered with dense jungle,
20 inhabited by wild beasts such as
tigers, elephants and rhinoceros and
the malarial mosquito was rife. Even
if the early planters survived malaria,
cholera, typhoid and dysentry would
be next. As they ventured into the
inhospitable terrain with little or no
agricultural experience, it was hardly
surprising that many of their early
sites proved quite unsuited to tea
cultivation. Despite heroic efforts, the
planter was often left with little more
than a sickly assortment of bushes
and a handful of bedraggled leaves,
with only a primitive mix of quinine
and castor oil to treat his ailments.
Self-sufficiency was his by-word.
Planters quarters were basic, usually
a large mud hut roofed with thatch,
providing basic sleeping and living Technology takes hold
areas. One planter advised that when
taking a bath one should: Once on the garden, managers are
supported by an extensive team
take a tennis racket and technology is used to its full
down with you to the advantage - smartphones provide the
bathroom to keep the bats garden manager with access to all
from sharing the bath, as the information he needs, wherever
they seem to delight in he is on the estate. In the factories,
splashing into the water as all processes from cutting to drying
they fly around your head. are automated nothing is done
manually. However, the manager
Plucking leaves has always been, and still has to taste the tea personally
remains, labour intensive, especially as it comes off the production line -
on the steep slopes of Darjeeling - but something that will never change.
125 years ago, the leaves would be
withered and rolled by hand as well. Regulation and administration are
The finished tea was then transported far more onerous than 19th century Badamtam tea garden, Darjeeling
to Calcutta. Elephant howdahs and planters could ever have imagined. 21
 An early electrical
appliance manufactured
by The British India
Electric Company

Yet another trade which
the firm were pioneers
in introducing, and in
which they are the largest
importers, is corrugated
iron. Mechanical
engineering and electrical
installation is another
progressive industry
controlled by Messrs
engineering did not play a significant
role again until the early 1980s, when
the Unochrome Group of engineering
companies was acquired.
Today, the Camellia Group boasts
nine engineering companies and one
joint venture; and like Alex Lawrie &
Co. at the turn of the century, many of
our companies are at the forefront of
Galvanising is still carried out today
by British Metal Treatments in Great
Yarmouth; while AKD Engineering,
a little further down the coast in
Lowestoft, is a key player in the
North Sea oil industry. A more recent
acquisition is Norfolk-based Loddon
Engineering who manufacture
high quality stabling and livestock
equipment, for which they are

Lawrie & Co.; they have their particular fields. proud to hold the Royal Warrant.

installations all over India

and the trade is rapidly
increasing. It is scarcely
possible to over-estimate
the important part that
A CENTURY OF INNOVATION mechanical engineering is
destined to play in India.
The British Library After the First World War, business
interests were established in
structural engineering and galvanising,
alongside shares in the British India
Electric Company and the Bridge &
Roof Company. The electrical venture
In Switzerland, XiMo focuses on
the development and application
of highly advanced catalysts for the
speciality chemical, agro-chemical
and pharmaceutical sectors. Their
work is based on ground-breaking
research conducted by their founders,
including Richard Schrock who
was awarded the Nobel Prize for
chemistry in 2005.
The fastest car in history
Specialist metal finishers based

A
t the time that the Sephinjuri
Bheel tea garden was being
planted, Alex Lawrie & Co.
were busy diversifying their managing
agency interests to take advantage of
the many opportunities presented by
Indias growing economy.
Seizing opportunities
One of Alex Lawries earliest forays
22 was into the supply of machinery.
They had an almost captive market
in the tea gardens, so it was a
natural progression to supply vital
and innovative equipment for tea
cultivation and manufacture. By
1883, they had 28 agencies relating to
machinery and engineering, supplying
the gardens with steam engines, tea
machinery, portable railway rolling
stock, oil, steel - as well as an agency
for Laphroaig whisky - essential for
successful tea production!
The turn of the century saw a
British business journal, called
Commerce, publish a lengthy
article dedicated to Alex Lawrie &
Co. The piece ran over two pages
and described their many business
interests with fulsome praise.
As the article highlighted, at that
time the firm was operating
at the cutting edge of Indian
industrialisation, with the
journalist reporting:
lent itself to the advancement of new
technologies, many of which turned
out to be necessary to meet the
demands of the military during the
interwar years. And so the Groups
engineering heritage was set.
Returning to our roots
In the period after the Second World
War, various company reorganisations
and different opportunities meant
in central England, Abbey Metal
Finishing (Amfin) are currently
involved in Project Bloodhound, a
unique, hi-tech venture to design and
build the fastest car in history. Amfins
role is specialist non-destructive
testing and the subsequent anodising
of the cars wheels. With an existing
client base that includes giants of
the aerospace industry such as Rolls
Royce and Goodrich, they are certainly
well qualified for the task.
Those early partners in Alex
Lawrie & Co. could not possibly
have imagined some of the
engineering applications with
which Camellia is involved today -
cars travelling at 1,000 mph,
aerospace, deep-sea oil rigs or
advanced chemical engineering;
but they would surely admire
the diversity, commitment
to quality and innovation. 23

BANKING ON CHANGE
C
amellias Indian roots tend
to be associated almost
exclusively with tea, but
Alex Lawrie & Co. were involved with
a wide variety of ventures, including
banking - a highly successful offshoot.
Early success
As early as 1878, Alex Lawrie & Co.
included banking services in their
advertisements. Looking back through
old company records, it is clear that
Alex Lawrie himself came to be
regarded as quite a significant player
in Indias burgeoning financial services
industry - as well as heading his
own banking operation, he was also
invited to join the boards of several
other banks. The banking operations
were so successful that Alex Lawrie
24
& Co. were listed in the UK Bankers
Almanac right up to the 1920s, while
in India, banking continued until 1963.
Back in England, Alex Lawrie Factors
was set up in the early 1960s. It
was out of that company - and its
Managing Director at the time, Nick
Grant - that Duncan Lawrie Private
Bank was born.
What bankers and regulators today
would make of the way new banks
were formed all those years ago would
be nothing short of astonishment.
When Alex Lawrie & Co. set
themselves up as bankers they were
accountable to nobody other than
themselves. And even by the time
Duncan Lawrie started business in
1971, regulation had barely moved on.
Nick Grant recalled a most informal
meeting with the Banking Supervisor
at the Bank of England who:
...seemed not the least bit
surprised that we were starting
a bank from scratch... We had
a very laid back meeting in
which I was asked no searching
questions as to why on earth I
would want to start a bank. In
fact, he seemed to treat it as the
most natural thing in the world.
And, up to that point, this approach
seemed to work because most people
played by the rules and followed an
unwritten code of conduct.
From small beginnings
The early years for Duncan Lawrie
were quite remarkable. Starting with
only four members of staff and share
capital of just 100,000, it seems
impossible now to imagine how the
bank got going.
Securing the future
Just two years into Duncan Lawries
existence, disaster struck in the shape
of the Secondary Banking Crisis.
A collapse in the property market
forced one small bank into liquidation,
precipitating a domino effect that
sent some 31 small banks under.
Although Duncan Lawrie survived,
this dramatic event was to change
its future; and so at that time, it was
agreed the bank would lend only its
free capital and reserves - a somewhat
draconian restriction but one which
meant Duncan Lawrie would not be
threatened by reckless lending.
Today, as well as a desire to focus on
what is right for its clients, Duncan
Lawrie still takes a cautious approach
to lending - a stance which Alex Lawrie
would undoubtedly have approved.
Old letter books, now held at Duncan
Lawries Kent office, reveal lengthy
dispatches from Alex Lawrie to an
Indian tea planter who, he fears, is in
danger of over-extending himself. As
his banker, he urges him to take stock
of his affairs:
I am writing strong but I
should be wanting in duty to
do anything else and I have
purpose in doing so. Sell
something!! Let it be your
LM & Co shares, your Hattigan
share or parts of them or your
Bougong estate - clear yourself.
Whether the beleaguered planter ever
took that advice we shall never know,
although what we do know from the
dates on the letter is that it took the cards are becoming contactless and Chief Executive, Byron Coombs, takes
best part of two months for a set of mobile phones ping money in a on this heritage, he has reflected that
correspondence, all carefully written couple of seconds. the changes currently taking place in
in copperplate script, to change hands. the banking sector are the most far
And of course, the Secondary Banking reaching since the 1980s (let alone
Brave new world Crisis, Lehman Brothers collapse and a the 19th century).
whole host of other banking scandals,
In 2014, individuals can make have quite rightly changed the regulatory Undoubtedly, more regulation,
transactions at the touch of a fingertip, landscape beyond recognition. technology and challenges lie ahead
emails have replaced copperplate as Duncan Lawrie continues to meet
script and cheques are all but extinct. While Duncan Lawrie remains client client needs with high degrees of
focused and risk averse, nowadays transparency and expertise.
Today it is almost impossible to it is a very different bank in a very
function without online banking different world, with 150 employees
and payment technology - plastic and four offices. As recently appointed 25
A PICTURE OF CAMELLIA Pineapple
48 ha
Citrus
178 ha
Pistachio
130 ha
Avocado
414 ha
Wine
Camellia Plc is a richly grapes
diverse group of companies. 72 ha
These statistics illustrate
just some aspects of
Macadamia Rubber
2,956 ha
1,901 ha
that diversity.

Arable
3,530 ha Timber
6,498 ha

Tea
34,591 ha

BANKING AGRICULTURE (HECTARES)

4,000 bank accounts

745m assets under management

FOOD STORAGE
& DISTRIBUTION

Revenue 30.8m
NO. OF EMPLOYEES

ENGINEERING
3 2 7 4 0 4 2 2 5 0
Revenue 29.6m

WOMEN MEN
THE PATH AHEAD
This summer has seen a number of changes at Camellia.
We spoke to Malcolm Perkins, Chairman of Camellia Plc,
to hear his views about what lies ahead.
In July, you announced
several senior Head
Office appointments.
In a company as unique
as Camellia, how do you
go about filling such key
positions?
Camellia has made the
decision to cancel its
listing on the Official List
of the main market of the
London Stock Exchange
and join AIM. What do
you see as the primary
benefits for Camellia and
its investors?
A
s we go into the future, and as we have always done in the past, our key
consideration is to protect the Groups philosophy and operating principles
while adapting for the next generation. Careful management succession is
paramount. We need to ensure new leadership teams have the necessary business skills
and experience, and that they understand and embrace the Camellia ethos, so they can
pass those guiding principles on to the generation which follows them, securing our
future success and culture.
Choosing the right staff is crucial. For the recent Head Office appointments, it was
also important to select people with a strong working knowledge of the Group. Where
possible, we promote internally. Graham McLean, Managing Director - Agriculture, and
Jane Parry, Group Marketing Executive, are good examples. Grahams entire career has
been spent with the Group, while Jane was previously Marketing Director of Duncan
Lawrie Private Bank. Tom Franks, who has joined us as Deputy Chief Executive, and
Susan Walker, Finance Director Designate, are no strangers to Camellia either, having
both worked with us for over 20 years in their roles as corporate finance advisers to the
Group at KPMG.
Im looking forward to working with the new team - they will bring drive, enthusiasm,
fresh ideas and experiences to their roles. My task is to offer guidance and support,
while remaining open to new ways of working - preserving the best of our heritage yet
still maximising the opportunities of the future.
W
e have built up an excellent reputation with our shareholders,
customers and staff; however, as a relatively small business on the
main market, we are not well known among the wider investment
community. We believe the move will allow us to enjoy a higher profile as one of the
larger and more established companies on the market, with AIM providing a better
platform through which we can encourage investment and trading in Camellia shares.
It also offers a number of tax advantages for private investors, which should widen the
appeal of Camellia as an investment option.
We expect the AIM listing will help improve liquidity in our shares as more investors
become aware of the Group. It should also minimise some of the previous volatility
in the share price, caused largely by automated institutional trading when our shares
moved in and out of the FTSE All Share Index.
We are delighted that existing shareholders, who have been so loyal to Camellia over
the years, are continuing to support us and would like to think a new generation of retail
investors will join them, bringing greater diversity to our shareholder base. 29
 T WHAT MAKES US PROUD?
These are clearly exciting he Camellia Foundation, our major shareholder, is a great strength.
times, with a wealth of Its constitution stipulates that the Foundation can never dispose of its
new opportunities ahead. shareholding. This stability and support has helped protect Camellia from the
We asked Malcolm vagaries of the stock market and the pressure to generate short-term profits. I, therefore,
I am immensely proud that Kakuzi won the 2014 Be Inspired Award, in the Distinguished
Perkins what, in his view, see no reason why Camellia should not continue to exist for generations to come.
Projects category of the first ever EU-Africa Chamber of Commerce CSR competition.
are thekey attractions
A conservative approach Awarded for our Kitchen Garden programme, the judges decided our entry represented the
for those people investing
Our conservative investment approach will remain. Camellia is well managed, asset rich, most ingenious project and best sustainable practice. This award comes hot on the heels of
in, working for or doing
business with Camellia? and commited to investing only in real assets of the highest order, rather than intangibles, our Global GAP award for sustainable water use, again, presented to Kakuzi, who
which, in my experience, have a habit of walking out of the door - often at the most were up against more than 40 other applicants.
inopportune time! We have had a succesful policy of organic growth for the past five
Simon Odhiambo - CSR Manager, Linton Park Regional Office
decades and I expect this, rather than raising new capital, to continue.

Strength in diversity
A diverse and quality asset base - agriculture, engineering applications, financial services
and food distribution, combined with geographical diversification, has protected
Camellia well against market fluctuations. We are arguably one of the last conglomerates
in the true sense of the word. And while the investment community may not currently
see conglomerates as fashionable, we regard our diversification as a core strength and
Our company has had its ups and downs and we have experienced both exciting and
disappointing moments. We have worked with clients big and small all over the world
and are proud to boast an enviable list of prestigious clients from the New York Police
Department, The British Army, Martha Stewart and the Japanese Racing Authority.
We had previously held the Royal Warrant but our proudest moment was the
BY APPOINTMENT

feel it is important we retain this approach. re-instatement of this honourable achievement after the company had been TO HER MAJEST Y QUEEN ELIZABETH II
SUPPLY & MAINTENANCE OF EQUESTRIAN EQUIPMENT
LODDON ENGINEERING LTD
placed under the tenure of Camellia Plc.
Doing the right thing
With a quality product, an acclaimed reputation and the support of the Camellia family
Camellia has never felt the need to be fashionable or populist. We do what we believe is
behind us, it was at that moment that we knew we could tackle the international market and
the right thing. Our commitment to running businesses sustainably and protecting the
environments within which we live and work was made long before it became a legal put Loddon Engineering on the world stage.
requirement, business trend or device to get positive publicity. Our policy of investing Roger Buck - Managing Director, Loddon Engineering
only in the very highest quality assets reflects this commitment - our assets are designed
to last and this will not change.
I have spent 33 years with the Group 26 of those have been in Malawi. My proudest
Ive already alluded to the business skills of our senior leadership and their grounding in moments were probably the completion of the Kepchomo factory in Kenya and the brand
the Camellia ethos, but the same is true of many others within the Group. Generations
new Makwasa factory in Malawi.Ive also been incredibly proud to see how the tea and
of the same family work with us on our tea gardens; their children are educated at our
schools and then come back to apply their skills and knowledge within our businesses, macadamia crops have increased during those 33 years.
knowing our philosophy and standards. Rick Tilley Retiring Managing Director, Eastern Produce
Biding our time
I was involved in the merger of a number of group companies quoted on the London Stock
We believe that encouraging a long-term view allows a business to succeed. And we are
supremely comfortable with that. Agriculture is about investing for the long term - crops Exchange. The most satisfying moments were the merger of Lawrie Group and finally in
such as the macadamia nut can take up to eight years before we see any harvest - let 2005 of Linton Park into Camellia Plc, a unique group that I am proud to be part of today.
alone a positive financial return. Anil Mathur - Finance Director, Camellia Plc
As with our crops, we are happy to wait patiently and reap the returns when they come.
And they do - last year, we generated revenues of over 250 million - something of
which we are rightly proud. In terms of tea production, which is where it all started, we
are on the verge of producing 100m kg of tea worldwide.
The Directors of Camellia Plc would like to thank Charles Handy, Dr Nayak, Rana Jung and all who have
As we move forward, I am confident that the core values which have served us so well contributed to this edition of the Camellia Journal. Photography by Biresh Paul, Liz Handy and David Merewether.
- patience, integrity and humanity - will continue to guide us and assure the continued
growth and success of Camellia Plc. Camellia Plc, Linton Park, Linton, Maidstone, Kent ME17 4AB