Vol 47, No 2 Autumn/Winter 2011 - Finlays

Autumn/Winter ’11 

Volume 47/No.2

Caught 

Napping 

An adult leopard caused consternation at Kingfisher 

Farm, Naivasha, on choosing a carnation greenhouse 

as a desirable spot in which to sleep. Safely 

tranquilised, he was removed to more suitable 

accommodation. Full story on page 28. 

Unease at Kingfisher Farm… 

…as an intruder is spotted… 

…looking for a place to sleep. 

Professional veterinary help… 

…ensures he sleeps soundly… 

…while being moved to a wildlife reserve. 

But will he be back? 

02 Autumn/Winter ’11

Contents 

Sustainability 

in Action 

Page 6 

Spearheading 

a new Season 

Page 8 

Premium and 

Prepared 

Page 12 

Endangered 

Species May 

Help Save 

the Mau 

Page 14 

Front Cover: Top of the hots – good news 

for chilli lovers (see page 26) 

Back Cover: A Kenyan bee gets busy on an 

AAA runner bean flower (see page 12) 

Finlays Magazine is published half yearly 

by James Finlay Limited, Swire House, 

59 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6AJ. 

Editor: Juliet McCracken 

www.finlays.net 

Printed by 21 Colour on Forest Stewardship 

Council Accredited paper. 

Designed by www.traffic-design.co.uk 

Articles 

View from the MD’s Desk 4 

Finlays squares up to the global economic downturn 

Sustainability in Action 6 

The dramatic rehabilitation on Sri Lankan estates 

Spearheading a new Season 8 

British asparagus now on autumn tables 

Crystal Gazing 10 

Caffeine recovery: a green boost for the health industry 

Premium and Prepared 12 

Finlays Fresh Produce preferred partners 

are the pick of the crop 

Endangered Species May Help 

Save the Mau 14 

Backing international watershed conservation projects 

Sustainability Report Highlights 17 

Progress and new initiatives in 2010 

My Life with Finlays 18 

Group Plantations Director Nev Davies has seen it all 

A Day in the Life 20 

From field and flight path: two Sri Lankan perspectives 

Strands of Memory 22 

Tea and cotton: unravelling threads that bind 

Chai Cup 23 

Two home teams battle it out 

News 

Head Office 24 

Horticulture 25 

Tea Estates 32 

Leaf Tea and Tea Extracts 38 

Beverages 40 

Sri Lanka 42 

Pakistan 44 

Announcements 

Births 45 

Marriages 46 

Deaths 47 

Volume 47/No.2 03

View from 

the MD’s Desk 

We must be prepared for a long period of 

deleveraging and low growth as the West is weaned 

off its addiction to debt, warns Ron Mathison. 

A damp summer has done 

nothing to lift soggy consumer 

sentiment in the UK and Europe. 

The UK Misery Index is at its 

highest level for 19 years as 

high inflation and rising 

unemployment take their toll. 

Spiralling energy and utility 

costs are outstripping wage 

growth, putting pressure on 

consumer spend in spite of 

exceptionally low interest rates. 

The UK Government has recently 

released figures showing that 

more than 2.6 million people are 

unemployed; one in five people 

in Britain between the ages of 

16 and 24 are not in education, 

employment or training. 

We can expect a winter of discontent, 

with unions warning of a wave of 

industrial action against public sector 

pensions reform and other cuts in 

Government spending; certainly more 

demonstrations but hopefully not more 

riots. UK manufacturing is now facing 

the fastest slide in new orders since 2008. 

Most worrying is the collapse in new 

export orders despite the depreciation 

of Sterling against the USD and Euro. 

As a group, Finlays is heavily exposed 

to an economic downturn in the UK as 

over 60% of our annual sales are made 

to UK retailers. This year the Group has 

faced a set of very difficult trading 

conditions. Oil prices have remained 

stubbornly high despite the slump in 

consumer confidence and other measures 

of business confidence. The oil price not 

only affects our transportation and energy 

costs, it also has a knock-on effect on 

plastics, fertilisers and other packaging 

costs. Coffee prices have shot up by more 

than 70% this year, and at one point, were 

nearly three times higher than they were 

three years ago. The weather has been 

erratic and this has hampered our 

horticultural business in Kenya. In Sri 

Lanka things are more serious: there we 

have lost significant volumes of our tea 

crop, a situation caused first by the floods 

in January and February and then by the 

failure of the monsoon which has parched 

the land, particularly up in Nuwara Eliya. 

The shortfall in crop volume has not 

been compensated by higher tea prices. 

On the contrary, tea prices at the 

Colombo auction have fallen due to 

credit problems in the Middle East and 

increased competition from lower cost 

orthodox teas in Vietnam and Indonesia. 

The massive hike in wages imposed on all 

tea estates by the unions has compounded 

the problem and there are now serious 

concerns about the long term viability 

of the tea industry in Sri Lanka if the 

government does not take the necessary 

action to enable much needed reform in 

work practices and wage structures. 

As an agribusiness, we are naturally 

highly dependent on the weather, 

particularly in our production sites. 

Although the rest of Kenya has had plenty 

of rain this year – if anything it has been 

too wet and too cold for our flowers and 

fresh produce – the Northern part of 

Kenya has been experiencing a severe, 

drought-induced famine. We have done 

our bit to help, with both Swire and 

Finlays making significant contributions 

to the Kenya Red Cross and to the 

‘Kenyans for Kenya’ emergency relief 

campaign. We also actively support 

FOMAWA and other charitable bodies 

such as the Rhino Ark Charitable Trust in 

their efforts to protect and regenerate the 

Mau Forest which acts as one of the most 

important water towers for Kenya and its 

neighbours. Our tea estates in Kericho act 

as a natural ‘green belt’ for those areas of 

the forest on our boundaries and we were 

very pleased and excited to hear about the 

recent sightings of the very rare Mountain 

Bongo in the forest close to our estates. 

Read more about the Bongo and our 

support for the Rhino Ark Charitable 

Trust on page 14. 

I should remind our readers that, 

although most of our horticultural 

products are grown overseas, we do 

source approximately 10% of our flowers 

and fresh produce from farmers in the 

UK and Ireland. We have invested in a UK 

Flower Trial ground which carries out 

research and development into what 

varieties are best suited to the notoriously 

unpredictable English weather. There are 

more than 400 different varieties on trial 

and we are hopeful that, out of these 

trials, we will increase the number of 

successful developments into full-scale 

commercial launch. We have also 

contributed to pioneering research work 

into the extension of the British asparagus 

season and other great British produce. 

See page 26 for a feature on the world’s 

hottest chilli which is grown by one of 

our British farmers in Bedfordshire. 


View from the MD’s Desk 

Ron Mathison 

Abdul Aziz Al Abdul Karim (Abu Assad) (c), founder of Alwazah Tea and Ron Mathison (r) assess a new 

advertisement for the launch of Alwazah’s Premium Green Tea with Jasmine. Seated left is Abdul Karim S. Al 

Abdul Karim, Managing Partner of Sulaiman Al Abdul Karim Brothers & Co WLL, the registered owners of Alwazah 

Tea in Kuwait. Alwazah Tea is the preferred choice amongst the Arab population across the globe. 

Horticulture captain Martin Hudson (l) accepts the 

Chai Cup from Ron Mathison on behalf of his 

victorious team (page 23) 

In June I had the pleasure of visiting the 

Karims in Kuwait, our business partners 

in Alwazah Tea (Swan brand) together 

with Kumar, Romesh and Nishan from 

our Finlays Colombo office. It was the 

first time I had been back to Kuwait since 

1991 when I had flown in shortly after 

the end of the first Gulf War to retrieve 

the ticket stock from the Cathay Pacific 

Airways office. Imagine the scene then: 

all the oil wells were still on fire; the 

bombed-out airport was accessible only 

by light aircraft with specially fitted 

engine filters; the streets were lined with 

crumpled luxury cars all stacked on top 

of each other; in short, the whole place 

was a terrible mess. Now Kuwait has been 

completely rebuilt, the population has 

doubled and there has been a tremendous 

amount of new development in office, 

residential and retail buildings. One thing 

hadn’t changed, and that was the heat: 

it was 52°C in the shade! Fortunately, 

we drank numerous cups of delicious 

Alwazah Tea to refresh ourselves in 

between visiting various retail outlets 

to see the local tea fixture. Alwazah has 

been an enormous success in a crowded 

market with lots of competition and has 

developed a loyal following as a result of 

its special Pure Ceylon blend. We believe 

it has great potential to grow in other 

parts of the Middle East, North Africa 

and other parts of the world where there 

is an Arabic tea drinking culture. 

Looking ahead to next year, we must be 

prepared for a long period of deleveraging 

and low growth as the West weans itself 

off its lethal addiction to debt. As I write, 

the markets continue to be roiled by the 

Euro crisis and concerns over sovereign 

debt default. Aside from the fear of a 

severe economic downturn in the UK our 

main concern is inflation. We are facing 

oil-fuelled, raw material inflation and 

rampant labour cost inflation in Kenya 

and Sri Lanka. Although we should benefit 

from the depreciation of the Kenyan 

Shilling, much of that benefit is being 

fast eroded by inflation and our margins 

have already been squeezed paper thin 

by the retailers we serve. Demand for 

tea extracts is expected to increase with 

the rising interest in health and wellness 

and the development of new beverage 

formulations containing tea extracts and 

tea aroma. Tea prices are also expected to 

remain high, given the growing imbalance 

between supply and demand, while 

natural rubber prices should move in 

tandem with oil prices. Whatever happens, 

we will stick to our focus on productivity, 

quality and sustainability which has 

served us well over the years. 

No article from me would now be 

complete without a mention of the latest 

Chai Cup. Finlays Horticulture fielded a 

very strong team which triumphed in the 

end after a promising start by the Finlays 

Tea division, spearheaded by a fine 

bowling attack from Michael Pennant- 

Jones. As always, it was a fun day with 

lots of banter and good sportsmanship 

on both sides. 

Lastly, we bid farewell in this issue to 

Nev Davies, Group Plantation Director, 

who retired after 13 years with Finlays 

on 1 July this year. Nev commanded 

enormous respect and affection, not only 

in Finlays but in the broader community 

where he was made an honorary Kipsigis 

elder in recognition of his contribution to 

the community. Nev was instrumental in 

setting up the Finlays Charitable Trust 

and the Chemamul land sale initiative, 

realising the importance of helping the 

communities in which we operate. He was 

an early advocate of conservationism and 

biodiversity, understanding the vital need 

to protect and regenerate the indigenous 

forest habitat. His towering achievement, 

however, was the great courage, resolve 

and leadership which he showed at the 

height of the post election troubles in 

2008 in managing to calm people down 

and hold them together in the face of a 

very difficult and potentially dangerous 

situation. Nev has made an enormous 

contribution to the success of Finlays 

during his time with the Group and we 

wish him a long and happy retirement. 



in Action 

From Principles to Practice 

Philippe Lacamp, Head of Sustainable Development John Swire 

& Sons, is impressed by his recent visit to Tea Estates Sri Lanka. 

Touching down amid the spectacular scenery of Passara 

Sustainability is a much overused 

term. From a Swire Group 

level, we have been seeking 

the best way to articulate the 

principle that sustainability is 

simply the way we have always 

managed and will continue to 

manage our businesses for the 

very long term. I have experienced 

no better demonstration of this 

principle than in my visit earlier 

this year to the Finlays operations 

in Sri Lanka. 

I was aware of the focus and attention 

that has been given to sustainability 

efforts from what I had read in Swire 

News, Finlays Magazine and in the 

detailed Finlays reports. They covered 

information about energy efficiency, 

future scenario planning and community 

impacts, inter-cropping experimentation 

and nursery improvements, but they 

did not prepare me for what I saw. 

Having spent two years in Sri Lanka in 

the days before domestic aviation (when 

I worked for Cathay Pacific in the late 

1990s), it was a real treat to kick off with 

a seaplane ride from the Kalani river, up 

and over the spectacular scenery of Sri 

Lanka’s last remaining rainforest, past 

Horton Plains and over Nuwara Eliya to 

a man-made lake near Passara. 

The itinerary was aimed at highlighting 

the work that had gone on to reduce 

the overall environmental footprint 

and towards positive re-generation, 

energy efficiencies and re-forestation, 

taking into account community impacts, 

carbon credit potential and the detailed 

requirements of Rainforest Alliance 

certification. 

I knew that Naresh Ratwatte and Ron 

Mathison have been focused on placing 

sustainability at the heart of the Finlays 

operations, efforts which have had a 

demonstrable impact. It was therefore 

no surprise that I learnt a great deal 

about the ongoing initiatives from the 

senior management team during my 

visits and while enjoying an excellent 

dinner hosted by Shamil Perera, 

Manager at Adawatte Estate. 

What struck me particularly, while 

talking to the new Assistant Managers 

during one memorable evening, was how 

well versed they all were in the basic 

principles of sustainability. This was 

clearly not something learnt by rote, 

to be repeated to visitors from head 

office. It came across, quite simply, as 

practical knowledge about the way in 

which the estates were to be run: an 

understanding of the value of stewarding 

water, resources, people and products. 

To have embedded such principles of 

sustainability in the future management 

of the estates is a real achievement and 

the Management team deserves great 

praise for having reached this point in 

a relatively short period. 

The first stop, at Dammeria B Estate, 

was an important one. Here I saw the 

tremendous work of Sudath Ariyathilake 

and his team in what is clearly the 

never-ending pursuit of the perfect mix 

of crops, legumes, soils and irrigation. 

It offered the first of many examples 

of the value of a sustainability basis 

for strategic planning and thinking 

ultimately making very sound 

commercial sense. 

Another revealing moment came at 

Shawlands factory and the nearby village 

where we made an unplanned visit to 

some of the houses. Having visitors 

straying off the prepared itinerary can 

create significant stress for any local 

management team. However, manager 

Lakkana Perera remained very relaxed 

and it was soon evident why he felt 

at ease. We were guided around with 

enormous pride by a team of community 

volunteers from village families, 

including two recent graduates. 

The village was clean and tidy; various 

community initiatives, including sewer 

repairs, were pointed out, as was the 

health clinic, which has its own 

pharmacy. A profound and unsurprising 

statistic is that the level of productivity 

has gone up in step with the reduction 

in health issues. 

Some of the community volunteers who, with enormous pride, showed their unexpected visitors round the 

Shawlands Estate village are seen here with Manager Lakkana Perera (r), Welfare Officer Nalini Fernando and (back 

row, l-r) Nev Davies, Michael Pennant-Jones and Philippe Lacamp. 


Sustainability in Action 

Philippe Lacamp 

Michael Pennant-Jones 

Among many other specific experiences, 

I will highlight two. The first was walking 

up through the secondary forest area in 

Bibile Estate, seeing the improvements 

in the watershed and the remarkable 

recovery of indigenous species that 

had been made possible through the 

deliberate decision to rehabilitate the 

land. The second was an introduction 

to the rubber tree inter-cropping that, 

according to the industry authorities, 

was destined for failure and which has, 

instead, resulted in improved soil, lower 

temperatures and increased rainfall in 

the micro-climate areas. The fact that it 

also provides for a better balanced 

portfolio offers another example of 

commercial pragmatism linked to smart 

sustainable practices. 

Spotlight on Passara 

When, in 1993, Finlays took over the tea estates Dammeria A, 

Dammeria B and Hopton there was little future for the majority 

of the tea: the bushes were old, the land degraded (above); given 

rising temperatures and intermittent water availability, the area 

was increasingly characterised by the exposed rocky landscape. 

Swire is a large conglomerate and we 

have many diverse businesses within 

the Group. I have the privilege and 

responsibility of looking across the 

public and private groups to see, from 

a sustainability perspective, how we 

should seek to leverage our various skills 

and expertise: how, for example, agribusinesses 

might interact with beverages, 

aviation with shipping, property with 

trade and industries, and so on. It makes 

sense that, in certain areas, we should 

be able to make a greater difference as 

a Group than through the sum of the 

unilateral actions undertaken by all the 

divisions. Our challenge, centrally, is to 

make that a value adding process and 

not a burden. 

Finlays has been on a steep learning 

curve and there is much to be proud 

of within the business and much, too, 

for Swire as a whole, to be proud of 

in Finlays’ industry-leading Sustainable 

Development initiatives in Kenya and 

Sri Lanka. I look forward to learning 

more, to seeking ways to make best 

use of the skills and knowledge within 

Finlays and, hopefully, to contributing 

in some way through enabling SD 

interactions with other Group companies 

and experts. My thanks go to Michael 

Pennant-Jones, Finlays Group Sustainable 

Business Manager, and the many people 

who helped make my visit such an 

eye-opening and valuable one. This 

truly was sustainability in action. 

A paradigm shift was required if we 

were to develop these unproductive 

estates which not only could not 

support the replanting of tea, but 

which also had a surplus workforce 

due to the poor yield tea. 

In 1995 estates trials were carried out 

into the viability of planting rubber. 

At the time, the prevailing theory 

was that the altitude of Passara was 

unsuitable for the growing of rubber. 

Finlays management team, long 

experienced in the crop, believed 

that the soil and temperature would 

sustain rubber and allow productive 

use of the fields. 

By 1997 rubber trials showed vigorous 

growth and high yields and a five-year 

programme of replanting tea into 

rubber was undertaken. Today we 

have over a 1000 ha of rubber with 

record yields. 

Initially the workforce, tea pickers for 

generations, were wary, unhappy and 

reluctant to change. Retraining was 

required to alleviate this situation; 

today, the community sees the 

importance of rubber not only in 

sustaining and diversifying estate 

agriculture, but in bringing in new 

skills and ensuring the future 

economic wellbeing of the community. 

An unforeseen consequence of the 

establishment of rubber trees and the 

extension of the watershed forest has 

been a fall in temperatures, creating 

a cooler climate with all-year-round 

availability of water; at the same time, 

the topsoil is being built up thanks 

to ground cover legumes (nitrogen 

fixing plants). Other crops such as 

cinnamon and cocoa are now being 

introduced. 

In 2008 work was initiated to bring 

the estates up to Rainforest Alliance 

standards on ecosystem and 

community management, covering 10 

key principles. The long-term solutions 

developed through this programme, 

without consultants and large budgets, 

have resulted in the creation of 

sustainable economic, environmental 

and social communities. 

Assistant Manager Kasun Dayaratne (l) and 

Manager Sudath Ariyatilake examining cinnamon 

at Dammeria B 


Spearheading 

a new Season: 

Asparagus in Autumn 

Ian Michell, GM Finlays Fresh Produce, introduces a 

welcome newcomer to the autumn table. 

British asparagus is the queen 

of vegetables, available for a 

limited season in spring and 

early summer; its unique flavour 

is not replicated by any other 

asparagus. This truism, one with 

which many foodies would agree, 

is now no longer accurate. 

Thanks to the work of John 

Chinn and the team at Cobrey 

farms, one of Finlays Fresh 

Produce preferred partners, you 

can now enjoy British asparagus 

in the autumn. 

Cobrey Farms is the family run business 

of John Chinn, his wife Gay and their 

sons Henry and Chris. They own 395ha 

near Ross-on-Wye and, in addition, rent 

another 600ha around Herefordshire, 

Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire and 

Suffolk. 

The main farm enterprises are asparagus, 

blueberries, potatoes and broiler 

chickens and the rotation also supports 

crops of cereals, oilseed rape and 

herbage seed. They have, on the main 

farm site, a pack-house for grading and 

packing asparagus and blueberries into 

customer-specific, retail-ready packaging. 

Cobrey Farms has a long history in 

the application of science, and continues 

to invest heavily in the research and 

development of new crops, varieties and 

growing techniques. This R&D activity 

leads to innovation on a commercial 

scale, delivering improved produce, 

quality and flavour, increased 

sustainability, reduced produce costs and 

increased season length. The asparagus 

project is one example of their innovative 

approach. 

Outlook bright: John (r) and son Chris Chinn with the new season’s crop. 


Spearheading a new Season: 

Ian Michell 

Frost on asparagus fern 

For John Chinn, extending the season 

for great-tasting British asparagus had 

always been a goal. Six years ago he 

visited Peru to see how they manage to 

produce asparagus all year round. Some 

of the secret lies with the climate but 

also in the way the growers manage their 

crop. The Peruvian model convinced John 

that, given the right variety, he could 

manage his crop differently and extend 

the British growing season. John then 

worked with plant breeders in trialing 

a number of varieties to find the one 

that would allow him to put his ideas 

into practice. The answer came in the 

shape of a variety normally grown in 

the Mediterranean, one similar to the 

asparagus first bought to Britain by the 

Romans. Talk about ‘back to the future’! 

After some small trials had proved the 

concept it was time to move into more 

scalable commercial trials. Cobrey, 

Finlays Fresh Produce and Marks & 

Spencer all invested in the project 

and it has now borne fruit or, rather, 

asparagus. Marks & Spencer sold fresh 

British asparagus from early September 

through to early November. 

So, what does late season British 

asparagus taste like? Well, Alex Renton, 

writing in The Times said: “I tried it on 

several friends and they were all fairly 

impressed. It looked lovely and its 

texture was perfect. The taste was sweet 

and delicate”. One of Alex’s friends did 

comment that “It does not have the 

complexity of the May asparagus” but, 

in Alex’s own words, they were getting 

a little ‘wine buffy’! The overall verdict? 

It’s a big step forward! 


Crystal Gazing 

Steve Robinson, Factory Manager at Finlay Hull, 

describes the process of caffeine recovery in 

producing a pure, natural ingredient of value 

to the health industry 

To recover caffeine, there must 

be a source available. This is 

supplied by the waste stream 

from our tea decaffeination 

plant, where we remove caffeine 

from black leaf tea to produce 

good decaffeinated tea. Caffeine 

is removed by washing the tea 

with a suitable liquid; the 

resulting liquid is then recovered 

for re-use, leaving the caffeine, 

dissolved in water at this stage, 

to be discharged to the 

municipal drains. 

Why recover caffeine? 

Making the best use of natural resources 

is critical to a sustainable future. We 

seek, wherever possible, to utilise 

renewable resources and to minimise 

waste streams by reusing and recycling 

waste water and spent leaf and through 

recovery of ‘actives’ such as caffeine. 

The discharge of this caffeine rich 

effluent carries with it a disposal cost, 

levied on us by the governing water 

authority. So, it makes sense to recover 

the caffeine for a number of reasons. 

Firstly it reduces the amount of effluent 

on which we are charged. Secondly, the 

quality of the effluent is improved by the 

removal of the caffeine; this, in turn, 

results in lower effluent charges. 

Tea and tea extracts have great health 

and wellness credentials; we are 

committed to ensuring that sustainability 

is built into our new product 

development processes. 

Lastly, and importantly, we can recover 

the caffeine as a saleable commodity. 

What is it? 

Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline 

alkaloid that acts as a stimulant. It is 

found naturally in varying quantities 

in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some 

plants, where it acts as a natural 

pesticide that paralyses and kills certain 

insects feeding on the plants. It is most 

commonly consumed by humans in 

infusions extracted from the bean of 

the coffee plant and the leaves of the 

tea bush. 

In humans, caffeine acts as a central 

nervous system stimulant, temporarily 

warding off drowsiness and restoring 

alertness; it is the world’s most widely 

consumed psychoactive drug. 

The role of caffeine as a stimulant in 

drinks is widely known. Perhaps less 

familiar is its use throughout history as 

medication. In the 1500’s, Europeans 

used caffeinated beverages to treat 

headaches, vertigo, lethargy, coughs, and 

even prevent plague and other illnesses. 

In more recent years caffeine has been 

used to relieve fatigue, increase motor 

skills such as typing or driving a car and, 

in combination with other drugs, to 

relieve migraine headaches. 

There is also now a caffeine shampoo 

(patent pending) which claims to 

promote hair growth. It has been proved 

to slow down hereditary hair loss: 

introducing the active ingredient to the 

hair roots during normal hair washing 

protects the hair from negative 

testosterone impacts and from 

premature loss. 

Unwanted solids being removed on a rotary 

vacuum drum 

Filtered liquor storage prior to crystal growth 

Filtered liquor going to the cryastalliser 


Crystal Gazing 

Steve Robinson 

How do we do it? 

Attention all process anoraks! The first 

step in the refining process is to remove 

most of the impurities from the feed 

stock. This is done by adding a suitable 

flocculation/precipitation agent, which 

causes the unwanted impurities to come 

out of solution/suspension in the liquor 

and clump together in the form of a ‘floc’ 

or cake. To achieve this condition we 

pump the feed stock into a mixing drum 

where we add the flocculent at a set 

concentration level. At this stage in order 

to keep the caffeine in solution, it is 

important to keep the liquor hot. 

Early investigations have demonstrated 

that the best results are achieved by 

agitating the liquor. 

We then separate the solids. The clean, 

caffeine-rich liquor is pumped to a 

holding drum ready for the next stage, 

whilst the unwanted solids are taken 

away and sent with other tea-related 

waste from the decaffeination process to 

be composted rather than sent for 

landfill waste. 

First stage complete, we go on to grow 

the crystals. The caffeine-rich liquor, now 

being held at a temperature which will 

not allow crystal growth, is then pumped 

to a crystalliser. During the cooling 

process, which takes several hours, the 

caffeine crystals begin to grow. 

Complete, they resemble floating cotton 

wool and are ready to be separated from 

the liquor. 

We recover the (caffeine) solids whilst 

sending the free liquor to be recycled 

back into the process. Testing has 

indicated that there could be some 

residual caffeine left in solution in the 

waste liquor; recycling will thus give an 

optimum yield. 

The caffeine now being harvested has a 

purity of 95-96% at around 25% moisture; 

it must now be dried to the correct 

moisture content of below 1%.Firstly, the 

caffeine passes through a rotating finger 

lump breaker which breaks the sheet 

down to small particles. 

Caffeine crystals grow in the screw crystalliser 

Once dried the caffeine crystals 

discharge from the dryer and are 

conveyed into the packing room and 

dropped into a holding bin. From there, 

they are fed into a vibrating sifter which 

breaks down the crystals into a fine white 

powder form. 

The powder undergoes quality 

assessment and is packaged into poly 

lined cartons and is now ready for the 

customer. 

Our finished product is natural caffeine, 

unlike that of the many suppliers of 

synthetic caffeine. We have a further 

advantage in that we are recovering a 

natural product which is already 

available within our process, rather than 

using resources to create a synthetic 

alternative. 

In manufacturing caffeine, we have a 

responsibility to maintain a working 

atmosphere which is environmentally 

friendly and we comply with COSHH 

(Control of Substances Hazardous to 

Health) regulations. These proactive 

measures are paramount in maintaining 

sustainable working conditions and 

protecting the environment. 

So, there we have it. If you’ve managed to 

get this far without falling asleep, then 

your caffeine intake may be a touch high! 

Goodnight. 

Caffeine being recovered on the vacuum drum 

Caffeine being conveyed from the vacuum drum to 

the dryer 

Finished product being sifted and packed 


Premium 

and Prepared 

Martin Hudson, CEO Finlays Horticultural Holdings, 

introduces some of the Preferred Partners whose 

expertise and geographic spread supply the Company 

with its year-round range of fresh produce. 

Finlays Horticultural Holdings 

subsidiary, Finlays Fresh Produce 

(FFP) sells premium and prepared 

vegetables to UK retailers. 

This produce comes from a 

number of growers around the 

world. Our own farms, our 

Kenyan smallholders and our 

preferred partners are the elite 

of these growers, supplying the 

majority of the vegetables that 

Finlays Fresh Produce sells to the 

market. The preferred partners 

allow FFP to have the geographic 

spread and product range needed 

to provide their customers with 

high quality fresh vegetables all 

year round. However, these elite 

growers do far more. 

Grupo SIESA, a leading exporter of vegetables from Guatemala, is expanding its business in the UK and Europe. 

The preferred partners, including Finlays 

Horticulture Kenya, work with us to 

collaboratively develop the FFP business 

and to assist in formulating our forward 

marketing strategy. The preferred 

partners are all committed to this system 

and understand that, by working together 

with us, they can add more value, be more 

innovative and provide more solutions 

than by relying on the traditionally 

organised middlemen who dominate 

fresh produce marketing. 

This diverse set of growers also shares a 

common philosophy, a commitment to 

sustainability and quality that allows their 

products to be sold under a shared set of 

brand values that meets the increasingly 

challenging and diverse demands of our 

customers and their consumers in the UK. 

The partners and Finlays Fresh Produce 

regularly share expertise and best 

practice. Finlays supports each of these 

partners in a number of varied ways. 

In some cases, Finlays have jointly 

invested to allow innovative new 

developments such as the reverse season 

asparagus product, about which an article 

appears on page 8. For others, Finlays 

provides access to finance, allowing 

them to develop their businesses faster. 

Above all, however, it is the collaborative 

way of working that adds the most value, 

both for the preferred partners and for 

our customers. 

AAA Growers, Kenya 

AAA Growers are a family-owned 

business, run by husband and wife Ariff 

and Farah Shamji. It started in 2000, 

growing tomatoes as a project microfinanced 

by the World Bank in seeking 

to provide reliable and sustainable rural 

employment. The Shamjis met that 

objective and have now evolved into one 

of the largest vegetable exporters in 

Kenya, producing over 30 tonnes of 

vegetables a day from 250 ha on their 

three farms and employing more than 

2000 people. AAA supply both premium 

and also the more convenient prepared 

vegetables, packed in their High Care 

vegetable processing facilities on their 

farm in Thika. 

The Group continues to expand and a 

new farm of 600ha near Rumuruti is being 

developed. AAA grows the widest range of 

vegetables of our prepared partners, with 

everything being retail packed on 

the farm. 


Premium and Prepared 

Martin Hudson 

Runner bean grown by AAA Growers, one of Kenya’s 

largest vegetable exporters. 

Siesa, Guatemala 

Grupo Siesa is a privately owned 

Guatemalan group of companies, 

founded in 1982 by Carlos and Willy 

Springmühl and still run by them. The 

company dedicated its first years to 

commercialising mange tout and sugar 

snap peas to the United States, making 

the best use of Guatemala’s ideal climatic 

conditions and privileged strategic 

location. These benefits have contributed 

to Guatemala’s position as the top 

exporter of peas worldwide. 

Alongside the US, Siesa has grown its 

activities in the UK and Europe, expanding 

its product offer while maintaining 

pre-eminence in mange tout and sugar 

snap. The Group now has over 800 

hectares in production and is one of 

the leading exporters of produce from 

Guatemala. It employs 800 people 

directly and supports more than 1,900 

small growers nationwide, actively 

promoting business opportunities and 

entrepreneurial development in rural 

areas. More recently Siesa has started 

growing vegetables in Colombia, allowing 

the group to extend the season for Central 

American grown products. 

Siesa supply FFP with runner beans, 

garden peas, mange tout, sugar snaps 

and broad beans, the latter, in particular, 

being a real area of expertise that has 

yet to be matched by others. These are 

supplied as premium vegetables and 

also as prepared products, packed in 

Siesa’s High Care processing facilities. 

A family affair: Gay (l) and John Chinn (r) and their sons Chris (c) and Henry, owners of Cobrey Farms (see page 8), 

take a particular interest in the development of new varieties and growing techniques. 

Cobrey Farms, UK 

Cobrey Farms UK (for full details see p8) 

have a history of investing heavily in the 

research and development of new crops, 

varieties and growing techniques. One 

particular area of expertise is season 

extension for traditional UK produce, 

which is being achieved in an increasingly 

environmentally sustainable manner 

whilst improving the taste, and 

consistency of the produce. 

Guernikako, Morocco 

Guernikako is a family-run business 

based in Morocco named after “Guernik” 

in Spain’s Basque country, where the 

family originated. Guernikako is run by 

father and son, Miguel Angel and Nestor 

Campo who grow and export produce to 

the UK and Europe. Guernikako has seven 

farms in Agadir with 120 ha of covered 

production and a pack-house. It provides 

housing and high worker welfare 

standards for its 1,200 staff. The key 

crops are Helda Beans and Dwarf Beans. 

Products are shipped to the UK by truck 

three times a week in their main growing 

season, October to June. 


Endangered Species 

May Help Save the Mau 

The Imarisha Project 

Efforts to protect the most important water catchment area 

in the Rift Valley are receiving a boost from the local efforts of 

two international conservation charities. Finlays supports both the 

Rhino Ark Charitable Trust and Bongo Surveillance Programmes 

(BSP) in their fight to save two species threatened with extinction. 

Hugo Douglas-Dufresne, Technical Director James Finlay Kenya 

(JFK), Richard Fox, Sustainability Director Finlays Horticulture 

Kenya, Jane Ndirangu, JFK Social Responsibility Liaison Manager, 

Oluoch Masika, JFK Social Responsibility Assistant and Juliette 

Shears, BSP UK coordinator, report. 

Rhino Ark 

Rhino Ark Charitable Trust 

was formed in 1988 by a group 

of Kenyan conservationists, 

alarmed by the wanton poaching 

in the Aberdare Mountains of 

Kenya’s black rhino, because 

of its prized horn. 

Mau Forest Complex 

Finlays is giving continuing support to Rhino Ark’s 

project which has already created the longest wildlife 

conservation fence in the world 

Conservation efforts to save the Mau Forest, a watershed of national importance which borders Finlays 

property, are critical to the supply of water and energy for a vast area. 

The Mau Complex is the largest, 

closed-canopy, forest ecosystem 

in Kenya, as large as Mt. Kenya 

and the Aberdare combined. 

It is the single most important water 

catchment in the Rift Valley and 

Western Kenya. Through the ecological 

services provided by its forests, the 

Mau Complex is a natural asset of 

national importance that supports 

key economic sectors including energy, 

tourism, agriculture and water supply. 

The South West Mau is of particular 

importance to Finlays: it borders 

Company property along the entire 

length of its eastern boundary and is 

the source of all five of the rivers which 

pass through it. We obtain all our water 

and a substantial amount of Hydro 

Electricity from these rivers; the Mau 

also provides a steady climate with 

ample rainfall for the cultivation of 

tea and other crops, such as eucalyptus. 

It was from the largest forest blocks in 

the Mau Complex, covering 83,843 

hectares, that 22,797 hectares were 

excised in 2001. 

For many years now Finlays has been 

supporting the conservation of the Mau 

Forest Complex through the funding 

of Friends of the Mau Watershed 

(FOMAWA). The achievements of this 

organisation in persuading farmers to 

plant trees and in educating children 

about tree planting and conservation 

have been substantial. However, it 

has been extremely difficult to make 

much impact on convincing various 

bodies to protect the Mau. 

However, the discovery of the critically 

endangered Eastern Mountain Bongo in 

the Mau Complex and the involvement 

of the world famous Rhino Ark 

Charitable Trust in widening its scope 

of activities have brought the 

conservation of the complex right 

to the forefront. 

They embarked on a mission to develop 

sustainable solutions to the challenges 

facing mountain forest ecosystems and 

threatened biodiversity areas. Rhino Ark 

has since raised vast amounts of money 

out of goodwill from individuals, 

companies and international 

organizations; fundraisings through 

rhino charge events organized in Kenya, 

UK and USA (the main fundraiser, with 

over 1 million USD raised each year); 

charities and support from the 

government of Kenya. 

The funds have been put to good use, 

leading to the realisation of Rhino Ark’s 

dream: to fence the entire Aberdare 

ecosystem by collaborating with Kenya 

Wildlife Service and the communities 

surrounding it. On 28 August 2009, the 

final fence post was placed around the 

Aberdare, thus completing a 21-year 

project and creating what is believed 

to be the longest wildlife conservation 

fence in the world. 


Endangered Species May Help Save the Mau 

Pole Position 

The efforts by Rhino Ark to save 

the water towers and their wildlife 

synchronise well with the sustainability 

initiatives already being implemented 

by Finlays. The Company has, therefore, 

decided to give continuing support and 

has already donated 5 million KShs in 

2011, with a further 5 million pledged 

for 2012. 

The projects will be implemented in close 

partnership with the Kenya Government 

through the ecosystem management 

authorities, the Kenya Wildlife Service 

(KWS) and the Kenya Forest Service (KFS). 

Both projects are in full collaboration 

with strongly established conservation 

bodies and forest adjacent communities 

who wish to work with Rhino Ark. 

It is hoped that, with Rhino Ark’s track 

record and international credibility, 

the fencing of the South Western Mau 

could become reality within the next 

20 – 30 years. 

A win-win situation: plastic posts made using recycled 

waste polythene from Finlays flower farms contribute 

to Rhino Ark’s vital environmental restoration project. 

Between 1990 and 2000 the 

Naivasha floriculture industry 

expanded rapidly, creating a 

large volume of waste plastic 

material. The Trustees of Rhino 

Ark recognised the potential 

of this as a source of raw 

material to make plastic fence 

posts, as an alternative to using 

timber posts. 

At that time their ambition was to erect 

a 400 km long fence to encircle the 

entire Aberdare Forest, to protect the 

wildlife and assist with the management 

of the forest reserves. The Rhino Ark 

project commenced in 1989 and, by 

2000, about one quarter of the fence 

was completed 

A plant to manufacture posts was set 

up in Naivasha on Kijabe Farm, owned 

by long-term supporters and Trustees 

of Rhino Ark, Mike and Sarah Higgins, 

who generously offered to meet all the 

running costs. Between 2000 and 2009 

when the fence was completed, 20,000 

plastic posts out of a total of 100,000 

were manufactured and incorporated 

in the fence. 

Sadly, in 2009 Mike Higgins passed 

away and the plant lay idle following 

completion of the fence. Finlays 

approached Rhino Ark in 2010 to 

see if there was an opportunity to 

revive it. An agreement was drawn 

up as a joint venture with Rhino Ark 

whereby the plant would be transferred 

to Kingfisher Farm. Finlays provide 

the facilities and waste material to 

operate the plant whilst Rhino Ark 

meet the running costs. All the posts 

produced belong to Rhino Ark and are 

used for their conservation activities. 

We thus have a win-win situation: 

a means to re-cycle our waste plastic, 

hitherto a major challenge, and “fix” 

it in the form of fence posts while, 

at the same time, contributing to very 

worthwhile environmental restoration 

and conservation projects. Rhino Ark 

now have a regular supply of durable 

plastic fence posts, thereby reducing 

their need to purchase less durable 

timber poles. 

The initial pilot production stage 

is aimed at understanding the 

productivity and cost of operating 

the plant. Thereafter production 

can be factored into Rhino Ark’s next 

project which is to erect fences around 

the Mau Eburu Forest, immediately 

north west of Lake Naivasha and the 

Mt Kenya Forest. It is very appropriate 

for us to be able to contribute to the 

restoration of the environment in an 

important watershed from which we 

derive our water supplies. 

Finlays currently generates in the region 

of 140 tonnes of plastic waste per 

annum; this represents approximately 

10,000 poles or 40 kms of fence. If the 

plant has the capacity to process more 

than Finlays’ waste stream then there 

will doubtless be other farms which 

will willingly donate plastic to this 

very worthwhile cause. 

Track record: ‘rhino charge’ events help raise over USD 

1 million a year. 


Endangered Species May Help Save the Mau 

Bongo Surveillance Project 

It was believed, until recently, 

that the last sighting of the 

Mountain Bongo (Tragelaphus 

eurycerus isaaci) in the wild 

was at the ‘Ark’ in the Aberdare 

Forest, in late 1988. 

The species has undergone a drastic 

decline over the last four decades. 

With loss of habitat and poaching it 

was thought Bongo were on the verge 

of extinction. In 2003, the Bongo 

Surveillance Project (BSP), led by Mike 

Prettejohn, was formed with the object 

of undertaking an intensive survey of 

the high Kenyan forests in all the known 

Bongo areas, in order to discover whether 

any of these rare and beautiful antelope 

still survived. 

With the use of modern technology, 

including camera traps, GPS and DNA 

analysis of the animals’ collected hair 

and dung, the BSP team believed that 

fewer than 100 individuals remained, 

with the last few remnant groups having 

been identified in the Aberdare, South 

East Mt Kenya and Eburu. 

In recent months the BSP team has 

established that potentially the biggest 

group of Bongo could now be located 

in the South West Mau Forest, close to 

Finlays tea estates. This is the only area 

of the Mau where pristine forest remains 

in any significant extent. However, this 

critically endangered species is at high 

risk due to serious poaching, aided by 

dogs. Last month the BSP team collected 

28 small animal snares and one ‘drop 

spear’ elephant trap. 

Could the extremely rare Mountain Bongo have found one of its last refuges in the South West Mau Forest, 

adjacent to Finlays tea estates? 

Twenty-six Bongo samples have been 

collected from the SW Mau forest for 

DNA testing. All Bongo in captivity are 

originally from the Aberdare, so the 

Mau herds are, potentially, very 

important to possible genetic recovery. 

All funding for the BSP operation 

comes from individual donors and 

grants. Although the Bongo is critically 

endangered it is relatively unknown and 

so does not attract donors on the scale 

of elephant or rhino. 

No conservation plans can be possible 

without the goodwill of the communities. 

To this end the BSP supports Wildlife 

Clubs in eleven schools on the forest 

edge of existing Bongo areas in the 

Aberdare, Mt Kenya and Eburu. 

In June, two of the Finlays primary 

schools (Flowers 2 and Tenduet) and 

two (Nyoikeno and Tuiyobei) from the 

forest edge east of Finlays property 

became part of the BSP education 

outreach programme. The BSP schools 

coordinator Peter Munene, supported by 

Jane Ndirangu, has already been involved 

in tree planting activities; there have also 

been conservation competitions as well 

as educational briefings from the BSP 

teams on the new technology used for 

tracking. Pupils were able to learn about 

the camera traps and how specimens 

are collected for DNA research on Bongo 

identification. 

We wish to thank all at Finlays who have 

supported the Bongo Project. 

‘No conservation can be possible without the goodwill of the communities’. A Bongo 

Surveillance Project team member shows Tuiyobei school pupils how a camera trap 

is used to record the animals’ presence. 

Finlay Flowers (2) and Tenduet Primary Schools Bongo Club members learn about the 

development of potted seedlings from Richard Rono, Supervisor at JFK’s Applied 

Research Department. 



Report Highlights 

Ash Kahrl, Group Head of Corporate 

Communications, examines progress made 

in 2010 in the all-important area of sustainability: 

‘the glue that binds the Group together’. 

Sustainability Report 2010 

Finlays’ second Sustainability 

Report, which measures progress 

against the sustainability targets 

set for 2010, was published 

in early September. The report, 

available online at www.finlays. 

net, highlights the achievements 

of 2010 and states the major 

activities and the targets set 

for 2011. 

All the main Finlays businesses report 

and record performance against two sets 

of objectives (Group and Business Unit 

Objectives) with the key areas of focus 

on water, carbon emissions, energy, 

waste and people, but with an increasing 

focus on biodiversity and community 

engagement. 

The report is rich in detail – and well 

worth a read! Key performance highlights 

include: 

Carbon: Overall there was an 8% 

reduction in total Group carbon 

emissions. Most of this was achieved by 

pursuing alternative transport options in 

the form of increased sea, road and rail 

freight, as opposed to air freight. 

Energy: Tea Estates saw direct nonrenewable 

energy use down by 13% 

and indirect non-renewable use down 

by 20%. Through design innovation they 

are making sizeable reductions in the 

energy requirements of the tea factories, 

resulting in significant progress towards 

energy independence. 

Water: Horticulture Africa increased 

recycled water by 30%. During the 

drought of 2009, Finlays Horticulture in 

Africa accelerated the farm development 

of closed-loop systems and continued 

to collaborate with stakeholders on 

developing Watershed Management plans 

for Lake Naivasha. The watershed work 

has gained international prominence and 

will continue to inform us in our use and 

management of water across the Group. 

Waste: Year-on-year performance 

shows the greatest progress in Waste 

to Landfill; 2010 saw a 51% decrease 

in waste to landfill, a reduction of 1,790 

tonnes of waste. 

Finlays has a long established reputation 

for integrity, for professionalism and for 

the quality of its products and services. 

The common thread that binds the Group 

into one is its enduring commitment to 

sustainability. The Sustainability Report 

shows how the company is implementing 

its commitments and gives an honest 

assessment of where we have fallen short 

of our objectives as well as where we 

have achieved them. 

Finlays is to be congratulated on its 

Sustainability Report for 2010. It’s a 

very thorough Report, with a proper 

emphasis on meeting targets and 

year-on-year comparative data. 

It’s the hard evidence of improved 

performance that confirms Finlays’ 

overall commitment to sustainable 

development. I was also delighted 

to see new initiatives being brought 

forward (such as switching from air 

to sea freight for some of their fresh 

produce, and the installation of a 

biogas plant in Kericho to reinforce 

the continued diversion of waste 

from landfill). I have no doubt that 

an equally dynamic approach will be 

adopted in terms of meeting future 

challenges – not least the “increasing 

focus on biodiversity and community 

engagement”, as highlighted in 

Ron Mathison’s Introduction. 

Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director, 

Forum for the Future. 

As Ron Mathison, Managing Director 

states: “We have a long heritage of taking 

good care of our people, of nurturing 

our land, husbanding resources and 

supporting the communities in which 

we operate. We understand that 

sustainability is the only future we have 

and our commitment to sustainability 

is central to our long term business 

strategy.” 


My Life 

with Finlays 

Group Plantation Director Nev Davies recalls some of 

the highs and lows of a colourful career with Finlays 

The outgoing general: “shrewd corporate player 

and friend to many”. 

During the early part of 1997, 

whilst languishing on a sugar 

estate about two hours’ drive 

to the south-west of Kericho, 

I was contacted by Bob Gray, 

an old friend from a former life, 

who asked if he and a colleague, 

Dr Bill Eyton, could visit, 

ostensibly so that Dr Eyton could 

get a first-hand appreciation of 

the workings of a sugar factory. 

By the end of that weekend 

my career had changed course, 

and I was about to embark on 

perhaps the most wonderful 

journey of my life, with Finlays. 

First impressions of what was then 

The African Highlands Produce Company 

Limited immediately dispelled any 

lingering concerns that I may have 

had about abandoning my 27-year 

career in the sugar industry. My overriding 

impressions were of beauty, 

tranquillity, professionalism and a 

very genuine concern for the wellbeing 

of the employees and the environment. 

After many years with the Company, 

those feelings have never changed 

and I feel privileged to have had the 

opportunity to contribute, in my own 

small way, to the development of this 

wonderful organisation. 

In those days all aspects of the business 

were managed centrally, with the various 

business/functional heads all reporting 

in to the Chief Executive’s office. Tea had 

been, and still was king, and made a far 

greater contribution to the consolidated 

profits of the Company than the rest of 

the businesses combined. 

Finlay Flowers, which had started as 

a 1 hectare trial plot of alstroemeria in 

1989, had steadily grown to about 27 

hectares. However, varieties tended to 

be selected on the basis of what we were 

good at growing, and were not always the 

most attractive commercially. Much to 

the consternation of all concerned, the 

sum of the projected individual profit 

streams always seemed to significantly 

outweigh the actual bottom line! So much 

so, in fact, that the possibility of closing 

down the flower growing operation was 

seriously considered. 

However I had faith that the excellent 

infrastructure and standards of employee 

welfare and environmental responsibility 

that existed elsewhere in the Company 

would appeal to the right market, and 

that it was really a case of re-evaluating 

our marketing strategy and becoming 

more customer focused. Finlay Flowers 

had rapidly emerged as one of the 

industry leaders in excellence of product, 

reliability of supply, and at the forefront 

of employee and environmental 

responsibility. So much so, in fact, 

that it was the first farm in Kenya 

to achieve the coveted Kenya Flower 

Council Gold Award. 

With the success of flower production 

now well established in Kericho, the 

concept of geographical diversification 

was becoming increasingly attractive. 

I had initiated flower trials on Mwenge 

Tea Estate in Uganda and we had 

already commenced the development 

of production facilities on the Company 

farm at Londiani. Ethiopia, however, 

had become the Klondike of the rose 

fraternity and we at Finlays were equally 

smitten. From the outset it was obvious 

that the Ethiopian Government had 

excellent intentions, but did not fully 

appreciate the need to create an enabling 

environment for new growers. 

Finlays Management had to first identify 

land that might be suitable for flower 

production, and then to begin a long, 

and mostly unsuccessful process of 

dealing with local authorities who tended 

to act entirely independently of the good 

intentions emanating from Central 

Government. During 2004 and 2005 

I undertook many trips to Ethiopia, 

mostly with our flower-growing expert 

Nev Harries, to secure the right parcel 

of land. Hotel accommodation was not 

always readily available; fortunately, 

as seasoned travellers, we adapted 

well to some of the local alternatives. 

On one such occasion I recall the need 

for some discussion by the team in 

order to understand how to operate 

the flushing mechanism of the toilet; 

another time, I found on my bedside 

table a choice of the Koran, a Gideon 

Bible, and a neat pile of condoms. A dire 

need for sleep outweighed any need for 

serious consideration of these options! 

After several disappointments, an 

excellent property was identified. It had 

been given by the Emperor Haile Selassie 

to a British Army officer who had 

apparently befriended him. The original 

mud-walled house still stood on the 

property, complete with a healthy 

colony of bats tucked under the ancient, 

thatched roof. Alas, at the point of 

signing the contract and handing over 

the deposit, the vendor absented himself 

and, despite a Hollywood-style stake-out 

of his office in Addis Ababa, lasting 

several hours, he failed to appear. It was 

only later that we discovered he had sold 

to a Dutch consortium for a higher price. 

After nearly two years, all I had to show 

for our efforts was an Ethiopian work 

permit as General Manager, Finlay 


My Life with Finlays 

Nev Davies 

Lush and green: looking out over tea estates in Kericho, Kenya 

Ethiopia: land of empty promise 

Flowers Ethiopia, but not one rose bush! 

Finlays decided to withdraw from 

Ethiopia soon after that incident. 

In the late 1990s and early 2000s the 

emphasis was on expanding the tea 

growing activities. With Finlays the 

second largest producer of leaf tea in 

Africa, I had always harboured a secret 

desire to take over from Brooke Bond 

(now known as Unilever Tea Kenya), as 

number one. As part of our expansion 

strategy we had acquired land in the 

Londiani area and successfully 

transferred some of our eucalyptus 

growing activities there, thus freeing up 

excellent tea and flowers growing land 

in Kericho. 

However, by the mid 2000s, the fortunes 

of tea had changed. With production 

costs escalating locally and an oversupply 

of tea in the international market, 

prices crashed; the returns from 

investment in tea planting/re-planting 

were not attractive. As so often happens 

in agriculture, the flip side of one 

depressed market proved to be an 

emerging opportunity in another, in 

our case forestry. The increase in the 

area under commercial forestry in 

Kericho fitted well with the projected 

requirements of the expanding tea 

extracts business. 

Finlays had earlier entered into a joint 

venture with CDC to rehabilitate a large, 

but mostly derelict group of tea estates 

in western Uganda. I well remember some 

of those visits by Finlays then Chairman, 

Richard Muir and myself, normally in 

the company of one or two senior CDC 

representatives. These were referred to 

by Ugandan Management as the Royal 

Tours. CDC had a slight majority in the 

shareholding structure but I never 

dreamt that this would extend to the 

pecking order in the very basic 

guesthouses that mostly existed in those 

days. Many was the night when I, as the 

junior representative of the minority 

shareholder, shivered under a cold 

shower. Fortunately the hospitality was 

always excellent, and the resultant inner 

glow more than compensated for the 

chilly exterior! 

With all the businesses growing and 

becoming more complex, a change was 

made to the organizational structure in 

Kenya with each business unit having its 

own Managing Director and dedicated 

resources. Sadly for me, this meant that 

the time had come to let go, and I was 

offered the role of Plantation Director, 

with responsibility for all the tea growing 

divisions within the Group, which also 

included Sri Lanka. I had already been 

responsible for Uganda for some time 

in my role as Director, East Africa. 

Thus began my last chapter with Finlays, 

without doubt one of the most rewarding 

and enjoyable. The teams that we had 

built up in Uganda had helped to turn 

around a raw, under-resourced group 

of estates into a very successful and 

profitable business. There were still 

many challenges, but these were being 

rapidly addressed as success begat 

further success. The development 

which gave me the most pleasure was 

not merely success in the fields and 

factories (and improvement in the 

guesthouses!) but for the people 

themselves. Many had been forced into 

positions of responsibility perhaps 

a little prematurely, but they had 

responded admirably and were, 

without doubt, a major factor in the 

success of James Finlay Uganda. 

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had an 

incredible resource in the form of highly 

experienced and competent staff; 

however, in contrast to Uganda, the 

productive potential of the land was 

limited. Tea had been grown on these 

estates for many decades and, 

unfortunately, had lost much of its 

viability. Again, the costs of replanting 

coupled with very high costs of 

production necessitated a complete 

review of the land use model. You can 

read on page 7 of the excellent work 

done in exploiting the potential of 

alternative crops such as rubber and 

spices. I have no doubt that despite 

the current challenges the enthusiasm, 

competence and professionalism of 

my former colleagues in Sri Lanka will 

provide the basis for the on-going 

successful operation of these estates. 

JFK continues to this day to be a model 

of excellence in the tea industry. 

It has been a wonderful journey and 

I take with me many fond memories 

of people I have met and places I have 

visited. It has been my great privilege 

to have had such an enjoyable and 

rewarding career with Finlays: 

Asantenii sana. 


A Day 

in the Life 

Darminee Wijayaratnam 

Darminee is a Corporate Sales 

Executive for the Airline Division 

of Finlays Colombo, General 

Sales Agents in Sri Lanka 

for Cathay Pacific Airways. 

She works at the Colombo 

Office of Finlays Colombo. 

Please describe a typical day 

My work, handling the Corporate Sales 

Channel for Cathay Pacific Airways in 

Sri Lanka and Maldives, revolves around 

negotiations, presentations, signing 

up contracts and focusing on meeting 

revenue targets. Most of our corporate 

contracts are drawn as tri-party 

agreements, involving the corporate 

client, the travel agent and Cathay 

Pacific. With 29 airlines operating out 

of Colombo, competition has increased 

dramatically in terms of price and 

in-flight products over the last two years. 

So, negotiations can be challenging! 

With a rapid growth in online sales 

worldwide, I have recently started 

working on Corporate Travel Solutions 

(‘COTS’), something new to Sri Lanka, 

providing personalized travel solutions 

to small and medium enterprises online: 

itineraries and tickets at the click of 

a button. 

I also handle the loyalty programme, 

interacting with a mixture of passengers 

to gain insights into their needs and 

expectations. Getting involved in some 

of the projects common to all of the 

various sub business units under Finlays 

Colombo gives me good practice in 

collaboration within the group; we are 

all striving towards a common goal. 

After such a roller-coaster ride at work, 

I enjoy my Zumba fitness session or a 

game of tennis with friends; my typical 

day becomes a perfect one given my 

mom’s food and a chat with my brother 

at dinner. 

Now and then my ‘typical day’ becomes 

an extraordinary one, as when I travelled 

254 km to the northern part of Sri Lanka 

with a group of my colleagues. This was 

to distribute educational materials, 

funded by Finlays, for more than 2,800 

internally displaced schoolchildren who 

had lost all their belongings and were 

living in camps. I was fortunate to be 

given such an opportunity to touch the 

lives of little children who were going 

through such trauma. 

What are your three best 

attributes? 

I’m often driven by numbers and 

immersion in Corporate Sales revenue 

has made me very analytical. My other 

two would be self-confidence and 

determination. 

What do you like most about 

your job? 

The best part of my job is meeting 

different types of people from various 

industries and sectors. There are some 

strong personalities out there who have 

inspired me both in my professional 

and my personal life; I have learnt so 

much from them. 

I also believe that performance is 

co-related to the people you work with 

and the type of environment you are in. 

Here at Finlays Colombo, we practise an 

open culture where we can approach the 

management at any time for a discussion 

or to voice an opinion on something. 

It is definitely the motivation and 

encouragement which I have received 

from my managers and colleagues that 

has paved the path to my performance. 

The exposure and the experience I have 

gained from the training programmes 

which I have attended locally at Finlays 

and at Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong have 

sharpened my skills and broadened my 

thinking. I consider myself very lucky to 

have the opportunity of being a part of 

three strong brands – Finlays, Cathay 

Pacific Airways and Swire – all at the 

same time. 

I love travelling around the world and 

celebrating my birthday in a different 

city every year. However, I am acutely 

aware of how privileged this is: few 

people are lucky enough to be able 

to share my sense of ownership when 

travelling with one of the world’s 

best airlines. 

What has been your proudest 

achievement at work? 

To have achieved a 90% growth in 

Corporate Sales revenue last year, 

despite the challenges of the market. 

What is your motto in life? 

To possess the four Es and a P, as 

stated by Jack Welch: to have Energy, 

to Energize others, to have the Edge 

amongst competition, to be able to 

Execute the plan and, most of all, 

to be Passionate about what you do. 

What is the most treasured 

possession in your office? 

My Cathay Pacific uniform: wearing it, 

I take joy and pride in being associated 

with such a great product, recognised 

worldwide. 

What one thing would you 

change about your job? 

With aviation being one of the major 

contributors towards carbon emissions, 

I would change all our printed corporate 

agreements to electronic documents, 

going completely paperless and 

committing to taking a leading role in 

terms of environmental responsibility. 


A Day in the Life 

Darminee Wijayaratnam and Nalini Fernando 

Nalini Fernando 

Nalini is the Welfare Officer 

of Shawlands Estate, in the 

Passara Group of Finlays Tea 

Estates in Sri Lanka. 

Please describe a typical day 

My day begins at around 4 o’clock in the 

morning, giving me time for my religious 

devotions as well as for the routine 

household duties of a wife and mother. 

As my house adjoins one of the estates, 

I have a short journey to the office – by 

public transport, followed by a brisk two 

kilometers walk. At work my day 

commences with discussions with 

colleagues on such matters as welfare 

and hygiene, health and safety, 

environmental safety, attending to 

community meetings, visiting crèches 

and worker housing. We will also discuss 

any issues that crop up with the 

management. My duties include liaising 

with local government health authorities 

and officials of NGOs etc on identified 

projects, with the aim of improving the 

interaction between the two different 

communities for the betterment of the 

estate. To achieve this, we undertake 

voluntary work outside and inside the 

estate to further the understanding 

between the estate and the village 

communities. On reviewing the events 

of the day I generally draw-up a work 

schedule for the next. 

I reach home around 5.30 in the evening 

and join my husband. It gives me a sense 

of relief and contentment to become 

immersed in family matters at the end 

of the day and energises me for the next 

day with Finlays. Most of our family visits 

and events are planned during the 

holiday periods when our two daughters, 

both keen students, are home from 

boarding school. I am happy that I have 

an understanding husband who values 

me being employed rather than as a 

housewife. His experience in community 

related activities had been of immense 

help to me, especially when I’m working 

on new objectives and methods aimed 

towards legislative compliance. 

What do you like most about 

your job? 

I consider it a great privilege to be 

associated with the estate as the officer 

in charge of the welfare and social 

activities not only of 516 employees 

but of the entire population of 2742 

residing on the estate. Finlays spends 

a considerable amount of time and 

money in improving the welfare of 

its employees, especially their living 

standards and their health and safety, 

a fact which greatly assists me and my 

colleagues in uplifting the social life of 

the community on our estate. It helps 

create a workplace ethos in which new 

challenges can be faced with a great deal 

of effectiveness, efficiency and courage. 

What has been your proudest 

achievement at work? 

The most satisfying experience of my 

career came last February when all of 

the Passara group estates, including 

Shawlands, were awarded Rain Forest 

Alliance certification. This goal, a 

challenge taken up by the management, 

was something completely new to us: 

a subject that entailed a lot of training, 

management time, effort, energy, money 

and, importantly, teamwork for all 

concerned. This was the first time that 

a Sri Lankan company or enterprise had 

gained RFA certification and I take pride 

in having been being a member of the 

team that achieved it. 

One special experience was the visit I 

made last year to the tea estates in 

South India with two of our senior 

managers and a team of our estate 

workers. I am grateful to the Company 

for this appreciation of our work and 

achievements. That was a memorable 

experience, in career terms 

as well as in my personal life. 

What are your three best 

attributes? 

I am a good listener, target-oriented, 

and a lover of the environment. 

What is your aim in life? 

Whatever I do and wherever I go, I hope 

to be accepted as a committed, 

worthwhile person. 

What would you have done, 

if not this job? 

I would have become a teacher, a noble 

profession which offers the opportunity 

of being with children. I like to share my 

experiences with the younger generation. 

What is the most treasured 

possession in your office? 

The most treasured possessions in my 

office are my colleagues. Living close 

to each other with our families, we trust 

each other and work as a team in every 

respect. 

What one thing would you 

change about your job? 

I would prefer to rearrange my work 

profile so that I could handle one subject 

per day, be it nutrition and welfare, 

environment protection, maternity 

clinics, construction projects etc. This 

would focus concentration on one issue 

of concern, enabling me to finalise 

proposals for the project in question. 

My fervent hope is to continue with the 

ongoing awareness programmes and 

training that are part of the sustainability 

programme identified by Finlays, all of 

which help in progressing my own career 

opportunities within the Company. 


Strands of Memory 

Two very different memoirs, fascinating reading for 

anyone with an interest in the Finlays past, are 

reviewed by Juliet McCracken. 

A Tiger’s Wedding: my childhood in exile by Isla Blair 

The celebrated 

British actress 

Isla Blair is the 

product of two 

generations 

of Finlay tea 

planters. Being 

obliged to 

exchange the 

sunny, spicescented 

warmth 

and security of 

a South Indian 

childhood for the chill embrace of a 

British boarding school and years of 

family separation was a fate not merely 

endured by successive generations of the 

children of the Raj and their parents but 

accepted as inevitable. 

The strength of Blair’s book is that, while 

ploughing this often lonely furrow, it 

never descends into mawkishness or 

self-pity, opening instead with a most 

joyous evocation of the Eden that was 

South India for a tea planter’s child and 

ending with a celebration of family ties 

unbroken by the strain of parting. 

This author has the gift of total recall 

for the sights, sounds and, above all, 

the scents of a golden childhood: the 

‘crushed sunshine’ of a marigold garland, 

the thrill of meeting a panther on an 

afternoon walk; parties and gymkhanas 

at the High Range Club; the reassuring 

presence of indulgent servants. But, lying 

in wait for not-quite-six-year-old Isla 

and her older sister is a bleak Perthshire 

boarding school, complete with all the 

agonies of homesickness, chilblains, 

tripe, liberty bodices, and cuddling a 

cooling hot water bottle ‘because it felt 

a bit like Ayah’. 

It was to be five years before Isla and 

Fiona saw their parents in India again 

and another long stretch of schooldays 

intervened before the family was 

permanently reunited. Blair casts an 

unflinching eye on the gulfs in 

understanding that open within the 

closest families as a result of long 

separation. Other difficult topics are 

tackled with similar insight and 

compassion: the impossible challenge 

that life in a jungle outpost posed for 

some city-bred expatriate wives; the gin 

and adultery that, for others, filled the 

gaps left by absent children; the caste 

system; the ambivalent relationships 

between sahibs and servants. 

Finlays readers, especially those 

with South Indian connections, will 

be intrigued by her pictures of an 

earlier era: days of tent pegging and 

thunderboxes, and when the company 

paid planters an allowance considerably 

greater for a horse than for a wife. 

Blair takes wing when writing about the 

trials and triumphs of establishing a 

career in acting in the London of the 

1960s, of marriage to the actor Julian 

Glover and about her beloved family 

which, today, includes two small 

granddaughters. If ever a memoir 

deserved the adjective ‘heartwarming’ 

this is it. 

A Tiger’s Wedding is available 

at £18, also as an ebook from 

www.amazon.co.uk and as an audio 

download, recorded by the author, 

from www.audible.co.uk. 

A Lot o Genuine Folks and a Wheen o Rogues by Richard Stenlake 

Richard Stenlake gathers up the many 

threads that make up the story of 

Catrine, to weave a compelling picture 

of a Scottish mill town in its heyday 

and its decline. The first section sets 

the scene: a model enterprise born of 

the 18th century Age of Improvement, 

built on the lines of Richard Arkwright’s 

revolutionary water frame mill and a 

foundation stone of the thriving new 

Scottish cotton industry. 

James Finlay & Company bought Catrine 

in 1801 and, for more than 160 years, 

their mill was to provide the raison d’être 

of an entire village. Its story is told in the 

Ayrshire voices of some of the now 

elderly people who once worked there. 

Their detailed, hands-on descriptions of 

every aspect of mid-20th century cotton 

processing – carding, roving, spinning, 

weaving, beetling, bleaching and dyeing 

– will be a boon to future historians of 

industry. Amid the technicalities are 

poignant images: children ducking under 

the clattering looms; spinning machinists 

working in bare feet because the oil on 

the floors made shoes fall apart; the 

sewing machine accidents that could 

leave a operator with a needle through 

her finger. 

Even more interesting is the picture they 

paint of a vanished community, one 

where everybody depended on everybody 

else in a village known as the Queen of 

the West. Away from the hard, dirty and 

sometimes dangerous work of the mill, 

these memories often take on an idyllic 

quality. This is a world of Clydesdale 

horses, of milk cans and penny caramels, 

where the children play street football, 

go birds nesting and swim in the mill 

lade and the mill girls queue to stand in 

the sinks after work on Fridays ‘getting 

ready for the dancing’. 

In 1970 harsh economic reality blew it 

all away and the mill was sold for £1. 

We should be grateful to The Catrine 

Community Trust whose Memories 

Project, financed by the Heritage Lottery 

Fund, has unearthed a goldmine. 

A Lot o Genuine Folks and a Wheen 

o Rogues is available from Stenlake 

Publishing Ltd. www.stenlake.co.uk. 

or from www.amazon.co.uk. Price £16 


Chai Cup 

The most recent Chai Cup tournament, held on 15 

July at Blunham Cricket Club, Bedfordshire, saw the 

Finlays tea division and Head Office take on Finlays 

Horticulture. Our reporter is cricketer Amy Stamp, 

Finlays Fresh Produce Business Insights Executive. 

Following threats of rain all week, the weather was on our side; the sun shone 

all afternoon, resulting in an enjoyable afternoon for all. The match was won 

convincingly by Finlays Horticulture who scored 191 runs for 8 wickets off 20 overs, 

whilst James Finlay scored 91 runs for 7 wickets. Trophies were awarded to Jonathan 

Ralling for Best All Rounder, Michael Pennant-Jones for Best Bowler and Mohammed 

Sageer for Best Batsman. The Golden Duck award went to Martin Hudson, who was 

bowled by Merlin Swire. The match was followed by a delicious BBQ and a chilli eating 

contest at the local Three Horseshoes pub. 

Michael Pennant-Jones (l), who took three 

wickets, receiving the Best Bowler award 

from Ron Mathison. 

The victorious Finlays Horticulture team (l-r): Ian Smith, Martin Hudson, Chris Foulds, 

Chris Hudson, Mark Forster, Tracey Ware-Lane, Mick Day, Aftab Ahmed, Jonathan 

Ralling, Shoukat Ali, Mohammed Arfan, Mohammed Sageer. 

Best All-Rounder Jonathan Ralling 

The tea team (l-r): Michael Pennant-Jones, Brett Sumner, John Whittaker, Richard 

Darlington, John Palfreyman, Ottilie Cunningham, Tom Blackwall, Ross Macdonald, 

Paul Iverson, Merlin Swire, Daniel Moore. 

Best Batsman Mohammed Sageer 


News 

Head Office 

Routes to Grow: Employee Development Programme. 

In June, delegates from across 

Finlays UK companies took 

part in a three-day leadership 

programme, held in Stevenage. 

Before the programme, the delegates 

had attended an externally facilitated 

development centre, for a rigorous 

two-day assessment of their potential 

and future personal development needs. 

They also completed a leadership 

questionnaire which will be repeated 

six months later to assess the personal 

growth and leadership development 

of each individual. 

The feedback from the programme, 

which centered on Franklin Covey’s 

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People 

and was followed by a further Leadership 

Foundations module, was highly positive, 

with the group now actively networking 

between businesses and sharing ideas. 

Left to right: Lloyd Besa (Divisional Financial Controller, Flowers), Lorraine Watts (Financial Controller, Produce), 

Sam Clarkson (Senior NPD Manager Flowers, Spalding), Jon Buxton (Production Manager, Beverages), Rebecca Coath 

(General Commercial Manager, Beverages), Angie Blofield (Group Business Systems Manager, FHH), Belinda Green 

(Senior National Accounts Manager, Flowers, Spalding), James Palling (Tea Executive, Tea Trading & Blending, Head 

Office), Martin de la Harpe (Technical Controller, Flowers, Sandy), Rebecca Dudley (Business Manager, Beverages), 

Rodney Jenkins (Financial Controller, Head Office), Chris Walker (Business Information Analyst, Beverages), 

Jonathan Ralling (Procurement Director, Flowers) 

Funding for Catrine 

Catrine Community Trust was, 

earlier this summer, awarded 

funding of £2.1m towards the 

conservation of the Ayrshire 

village, whose cotton mill was 

owned by Finlays for more 

than 170 years (see page 22). 

For the last six years the Trust has 

been engaged in putting together 

a £3m + funding package to carry 

out conservation works to the village 

infrastructure and to establish a visitor 

and education centre to aid interpretation 

of this important former industrial site. 

This funding is almost all now in place 

with money coming from East Ayrshire 

Council, Historic Scotland and Scottish 

Rural Development Priorities. 

Catrine Community Trust evolved from 

the old Catrine Voes Trust which was 

formed in 1994. The Trust bought the 

Catrine Voes (reservoirs) and other parts 

of the water supply system to the former 

works for a nominal £1 with the intention 

of saving them for future generations. 

The Trust’s landholdings are scheduled 

The former doctor’s house will become an interpretation centre. 

as an Ancient Monument and also 

designated as a Local Nature Reserve. 

Both the weir and the reservoirs are at 

risk of being lost and Applications which 

will complete the funding package are 

pending with the Heritage Lottery Fund 

and Ayrshire LEADER. The Trust remains 

tight-lipped about these last two but is 

hopeful of success. If so, the intention is 

that the works will begin in 2012. The 

visitor centre will be sited in the former 

St. Joseph’s Chapel, now de-consecrated 

and which the Trust bought in 2011 

following a successful community right 

to buy. Watch this space. 


Horticulture Update 

Martin Hudson CEO 

In the UK and Europe the 

market continues to polarise, 

with growth in the high quality 

sector and at the discount end, 

with traditional supermarkets 

feeling the squeeze. 

In September, Tesco announced that they 

were going to simplify their offers to 

customers and help them, through an 

extensive set of price reductions, to save 

money on their weekly shop. Others have 

followed this move which has shifted the 

UK market once again along the wellworn 

path of deep promotions followed 

by an everyday low price (EDLP) strategy. 

Other retailers have also refreshed their 

consumer price promises, thus creating 

an ever more fiercely competitive food 

industry as each chain fights to secure 

shopper loyalty and tempt in new 

customers. 

These trends combine with the changes 

to our competitive set which I mentioned 

in our last edition. Vegpro have 

commenced the marketing of their own 

products in the UK while the merger of 

Mavuno/Oserian with the Dutch Flower 

Group and the demise of World Flowers 

in the UK all ensure that we live in 

interesting times. 

Our response to the challenges that face 

us still lies in the delivery of great 

quality, value and service, supported by 

the insight, innovation and commitment 

to sustainability of the Finlays 

Horticulture teams. It is this creative 

talent which, I am confident, will enable 

us to tackle the changes in our trading 

landscape. There is no doubt that we will 

come under mounting price pressure and 

we must ensure that we are leading the 

way when it comes to factory efficiencies. 

Our sustainability agenda is also giving 

rise to improved resource efficiency and 

cost reduction. Protecting our future 

through using resources as efficiently 

as possible and nurturing our skilled 

and talented people has always been 

regarded by us as best practice and 

common sense. 

The teams in FvSeleQt in Holland and 

Omniflora in Germany are developing our 

vegetable business in Europe. The team 

in South Africa is developing not only the 

local markets but also selling products 

into Japan and Australia. Taikoo in China 

has recovered from the earthquake in its 

major market, Japan and continues to 

develop sales in Australia and Europe. 

The Omniflora business continues to do 

well, particularly with REWE whose Pro 

Planet initiative is completely in line with 

Finlays sustainability agenda. 

We need to continue to develop our 

product offer, introducing newness, 

extending seasons and introducing other 

complimentary product areas. You will 

be reading about chillies and reverse 

season asparagus in this edition; we are 

also entering the herb business from our 

farms in Kenya. Our African Operations 

are covered in more detail by Neil 

Willsher (below). In China, customer 

confidence in the quality of Taikoo 

Young Plants has given them confidence 

to root cuttings as well as produce them, 

thus adding further value. 

Looking forward, we are forging ever 

more strategic ways of working with our 

preferred partners in vegetables and 

flowers, maximising the synergies of 

working together in reducing costs and 

increasing efficiencies on both sides. 

The landscape is changing and the times 

are interesting, but they are also exciting, 

as we find new and innovative ways to 

meet customer needs sustainably. 

Neil Willsher MD Finlays 

Horticulture Africa 

This is the first report from a re-branded 

Finlays Horticulture Africa: it may be a 

new name but the team, our values and 

our passion to succeed and exceed 

customers’ expectations remain 

unchanged. 

The rebrand went very well, having been 

positively embraced by the entire team 

who now have a greater sense of 

belonging to the wider group. 

As we are primarily farmers, no report 

would be complete without mention of 

the weather. This has been a tale 

of two halves with better, drier 

conditions in July and early August and 

wetter conditions in late August and 

September. Although this did cause some 

minor supply issues, on a positive note, 

our rivers, dams and lakes are full. This 

may seem strange for overseas readers 

inundated with reports on the 

devastating drought in Northern Kenya. 

It only goes to highlight the fact that 

Kenya’s size and differing climatic 

regions can give rise to stark and, at 

times, alarming contrasts. I am proud to 

note that our employees and the 

company made large donations to the 

famine relief fund through the Red Cross 

as is detailed elsewhere in the magazine. 

continued on page 26 


News 

Horticulture Update continued… 

The drive for improved productivity 

has seen the rollout of Kaizen or Lean 

Manufacturing principles in Nairobi and 

Naivasha. Teams have enthusiastically 

engaged and delivered some excellent 

initiatives focused on the removal of 

waste, which may come in the form of 

wasted time, wasted product, wasted 

energy, wasted movement or lost 

productivity. In 2012 we will roll Kaizen 

out into Kericho and Timau: watch for a 

more detailed report in the next edition. 

Innovation and development are 

critical success factors for a sustainable 

business. In Timau, on the slopes of 

Mount Kenya, the eight hectare, high 

altitude, large-headed rose project for 

Omniflora has exceeded customers’ 

expectations. Vegetable trials growing 

mange tout and sugar snap peas under 

cover on hydroponics will enable us to 

avoid the devastating effects that rain 

has on this crop and to serve customers’ 

needs for year-round supply. Herbs 

have historically not been part of our 

portfolio, so the move into large scale 

production of 15 herbs for the UK and 

European market is another key project 

in developing the business and meeting 

customers’ needs. 

Dudutech, our Integrated Pest 

Management Company offering 

environmentally sustainable solutions 

to pest control, has already fully covered 

our own farms and reduced pesticide 

application. I am pleased to report that 

Ruth Vaughan has joined as General 

Manager to lead the team during an 

exciting time with growth opportunities 

in both Kenya and South Africa, a 

potential new market for Dudutech. 

In South Africa the business goes from 

strength to strength with improvements 

to our sea freight supply chain, increased 

sales to Japan, huge growth with 

Woolworths and opportunities to launch 

and develop Dudutech. 

UK News 

Senior Appointments 

Ian Michell 

Ian Michell GM Finlays 

Fresh Produce was 

promoted to the 

position of Managing 

Director Finlays Fresh 

Produce in September. 

Ian has previously 

worked for the group in Kenya and as 

head of Finlays Fresh Produce technical 

in the United Kingdom. 

Lloyd Besa 

Lloyd Besa, Finlay 

Flowers Sandy 

Divisional Finance 

Controller, was 

promoted to Finance 

Director Finlay Flowers 

UK as of 1 November. 

Jonathan Ralling 

Jonathan Ralling took 

up the new role 

of Director Finlay 

Flowers Procurement 

in July, having 

previously held the 

position of Finlay 

Flower Procurement Manager UK. 

Finlays Fresh Produce 

Starters 

Gavin Elliott 

Gavin joined Finlays 

Fresh Produce as M&S 

National Account 

Manager on 4 July, 

having spent the last 

four and half years 

with Berry World as 

National Account Manager to Tesco, M&S 

and Co-op. A hockey player for the past 

27 years, Gavin currently plays for 

Hertford Hockey Club. 

Bethan Jones 

Bethan joined Finlays 

Fresh Produce 

on 8 August as 

Technical Assistant. 

Her previous job was 

as Technical 

Administrator and 

Auditor at Allied Bakeries. Bethan is 

working towards an Open University 

degree in history; she is also training to 

be an army cadet instructor. 

Turning Up the Chilli Heat 

In July this year, Finlays launched the 

Bhut Jolokia chilli into Tesco stores 

nationwide. The variety was grown in 

Bedfordshire by Genovese Chillies, who 

supply Finlays with up to 15 tonnes of 

chillies a week during the UK season, 

which generally runs from July to 

October. With consumers being more 

adventurous and wanting hotter chillies, 

the Bhut Jolokia was an obvious choice 

to follow on from its predecessor, the 

Dorset Naga. The Bhut Jolokia previously 

held the world record as the hottest 

chilli, measuring in at over 1 million 

on the Scoville scale (for comparison, 

a normal Serenade measures about 

5,000-10,000!) The line was a success and 

plans are already in place to cultivate a 

still hotter variety for the 2012 season. 


Managing Safely 

Successful attendees on the Managing Safely course held for employees of Finlay Flowers UK by the Institute of 

Occupational Safety and Health received their certificates on 19 October. Seen (above) with Sandy Operations 

Manager Gary Sams (l) and David Hills (r) Produce Manager, Sandy, who presented the certificates, are holders 

(l-r): Matthew Sim, Mick Day, Mark Forster, Ary Osman and Matt Dockerty. 

Finlays Fresh Produce Operations staff (l-r) 

Fraser Calder, Tom Gray and Dan Smith received 

their IOSH certificates on 19 October. 

New Recruits to Finlay Flowers, Sandy 

Charity on Wheels 

Chris Harding 

Chris Harding joined 

the Company 

as Senior Account 

Manager (Tesco) 

on 3 May 

Keith Kamau 

Keith Kamau joined the 

Admin & Accounts 

Bought Ledger team at 

Sandy on 23 May 

James Bolm 

James Bolm took up his 

role as Buying Manager 

Roses & South America 

on 4 July 2011 

Rebecca Wallis 

Rebecca Wallis joined 

us as Trainee 

Accountant on 11 July 

2011 

Rebecca Coomber 

Rebecca Coomber 

joined the Tesco 

Account Team as 

Account Manager on 

11 July 2011 

Alison Leeming 

Alison Leeming 

transferred from 

FFSA to the role of 

Buying Manager 

Chrysanthemums on 

1 September 2011 

Gary Howard 

Gary Howard took up 

his role as Multi-Skilled 

Technician on 12 

September 2011 

Congratulations to Chris Ellis, Group 

Finance Director, Finlays Horticultural 

Holdings who, in completing a gruelling 

bike ride from Lands End to John o’ 

Groats in September, raised £5,300 for 

Bowel Cancer Research. The nine riders 

who took part completed the organised 

event in nine days, averaging more than 

100 miles per day over a total distance of 

915 miles. The longest day, 118 miles, 

spanned Ludlow and Chorley. The worst 

part of the ride, says Chris, was crossing 

Rannoch Moor in the Scottish Highlands 

through heavy rain and driving head 

winds. The best day was the last, which 

took the riders up through beautiful 

coastal scenery to John o’ Groats in warm 

and sunny weather. 


News 

Horticulture Africa News 

Appointments 

Philip Valentine 

Philip Valentine joined 

Finlays Horticulture 

Kenya on 3 October 

as the General Manager 

for Naivasha Region. 

In this role, he will 

have overall 

responsibility for the General 

Management of our Naivasha regional 

operations. Philip has more than 20 

years’ strategic and operational general 

management experience, gained in 

various agribusiness organisations 

in East Africa. 

Ruth Vaughan 

Ruth Vaughan joined 


Kenya on 2 June as 

the General Manager 

for Dudutech Division. 

Ruth brings to this 

role 19 years’ relevant 

experience including working for 

companies in the horticulture industry 

in Kenya such as Sulmac and Nini. 

Simon Welland 

Simon Welland joined 


Kenya on 3 October 

as the Engineering 

Services & Logistics 

Manager responsible 

for Mt Kenya Region. 

Simon joins us from Agrifresh where 

he was General Manager for its herb 

business, recently acquired by us. 

Farewell 

Nev Harries (below) retired on 31 July 

after 17 years’ service with Finlay 

Flowers. At his farewell party, held at 

the Mara Mara Club on 8 September, 

management colleagues presented Nev 

and Vanda with Kalenjin accoutrements. 

Red Cross Donation 

MBA for 

Brenda Achieng 

Brenda Achieng, Corporate Affairs & 

Compliance Manager, FHK, graduated in 

June with a MBA in Human Resources 

from Daystar University, Nairobi. 

Isaac Ndegwa 

Isaac Ndegwa joined 


Kenya on 2 September 

as the Post Harvest 

Herb and Veg Manager, 

following the 

acquisition of the herb 

business from Agrifresh. He brings six 

years of vital experience in herbs post 

harvest management, including 

packaging and assisting with logistics. 

Finlays staff contributed KShs 2,053,244 towards the Kenya famine initiative. The donation was handed 

over to the Kenya Red Cross by welfare representatives from FHK and JFK on 30 September. (l-r): Brenda 

Achieng, Dinah M. Nyabochwa, Pius Ambani, Rose Nangila, Moses Kathurima, Gibson Maingi, John Kosgei, 

Boniface Muthama, Alfred Nyarani, Jacob Dawo and Sammy Chepkwony. 


Naivasha 

To Hell in a Handcart 

Finlays fielded five teams to take part 

in a gruelling 7km wheelbarrow race 

which raised more than 10 million 

KShs.towards the construction of a 

Conservation Education Centre in 

Hell’s Gate National Park. 

Bordering Finlays Kingfisher Farm, 

overlooking the Rift Valley, the park 

covers an area of approximately 70sq 

kilometers and is famous for its natural 

hot springs, its belching volcanic gorges 

and its towering cliffs. This is one of very 

few parks in Kenya where walking and 

cycling is allowed and one of the best 

rock climbing venues in the country. 

Sports Day 

Naivasha Region held its very successful 

Sports Day on 12 October. Everyone 

enjoyed taking part in the races: from 

10km sprints and cycling to egg-andspoon 

and sack races. Other events 

included tug-of-war, football, traditional 

dancing, karate and Mr and Miss 

Naivasha competitions. The highlight was 

the ladies’ football team’s victory over a 

male management team: the ladies won 

in a penalty shootout, sudden death, 6-5! 

Operations director Peter Francombe (2nd from left) 

meets the women’s football team captain, General 

Worker Sylvia Lutomia. With him are the referee, 

General Worker Frederick Murunga (c) and the two 

linesmen (l) Calvin Odoyo, General Worker, and (r) 

Leonard Nyongesa, Administration Assistant, Finlays 

Medical Centre. 

Hell’s Gate National Park is home to 

an incredible variety of birds and more 

than 67,000 wild animals. However, fewer 

than 5% of these animals are permanently 

based in the protected area. There has 

been an increase in poaching for the 

illegal game meat trade and a loss of 

wildlife habitat through fencing and 

disputes over land use: issues which 

have led to increased human-wildlife 

conflict. To address the situation, 

the Kenya Wildlife Society works with 

the surrounding communities whose 

land is vital for the survival of wildlife. 

The Conservation Education Centre will 

play a key role in the mobilisation and 

sensitisation of more than a million 

members of local communities in the 

Naivasha area on the importance of 

protecting and conserving wildlife species. 

The five intrepid Finlays teams took part 

in this annual initiative with volunteers 

from across the region. The 7km course 

covered (participating wheelbarrows 

must always contain an occupant) is a 

mixture of torturous hills, thick dust and 

spine-crushing bumps, with two large 

water holes thrown in for good measure: 

fun for the spectators no doubt! 

Intrepid wheelbarrowists (l-r) “Mrs” Craig Oulton (in 

barrow) GM Production, Naivasha; “Miss” Mike 

Diesbecq, Production Manager Spray Carnations; 

Gilbert Wafula Masika, Dudutech; Moses Nderitu 

Kagunda, Dudutech; (standing) Eric Mutinda, Flamingo 

Farm; (seated) Stephen Njuguna, Flamingo Farm; Paul 

Kariuki, Hamerkop; Justus Odhiambo, Hamerkop; and 

Robert Odongo, Kingfisher. 

Chairman’s Visit 

Finlays Chairman Merlin Swire visited 

the Naivasha Region of Finlays 

Horticulture Kenya Ltd on 19 and 20 

October. The visit began with a 

commemorative Yellow Fever Tree 

planting at the new View Point Hut; 

the hut, built entirely from local 

by-product materials, is located within 

the Kingfisher Wildlife Conservancy, 

overlooking Kingfisher Farm with a 

view of Lake Naivasha and Hell’s Gate 

National Park beyond. The next 

morning, Merlin took a stroll to the 

lakeside at Flamingo Farm with 

Sustainability Director Richard Fox 

and Flower Production GM Craig 

Oulton. This was followed by a visit 

to the Papyrus Rehabilitation Project 

where work has begun, in conjunction 

with Leicester University, to 

rehabilitate and restore certain natural 

papyrus areas elsewhere on Lake 

Naivasha and to construct a scientific 

publication on the study. The morning 

tour continued back at Kingfisher 

Farm packhouse where the Chairman 

was shown the flower cutting waste 

being loaded for recycling into 

compost (above) and the Kingfisher 

Wetlands. 


News 

Horticulture Africa News continued… 

Catnapped! 

Spray carnation volumes were down 

on 18 November thanks to a leopard 

discovered sleeping in the greenhouse 

at Kingfisher Farm in Naivasha reports 

Philip Valentine, GM, FHK Naivasha. 

Most of the carnation farm was 

evacuated following an early morning 

report from the section supervisor that 

a grown leopard had been seen in the 

carnation tunnels. There followed a tense 

period: the workers assembled in a lower 

canteen area together with some 

justifiably concerned zebra, while the 

onsite team lead by Carnation Manager 

Mike Diesbecq tried to identify exactly 

where the intruder was. He was 

eventually spotted in the carnation beds 

where, after some initial uneasiness and 

roaming around, he lay down quietly 

under some substrate beds and rested. 

Coincidentally, the senior managers were 

all in a Business Continuity Plan session, 

so the drama, very conveniently, could be 

played out as a minor crisis! The Kenya 

Wildlife Service was notified and the local 

warden decided to call the KWS vet team 

down from HQ in Nairobi to dart the 

leopard and relocate it. They arrived at 

around 4pm to set up. 

Luckily, having killed a young zebra 

nearby early that morning, the leopard 

had decided to sleep the entire day in the 

carnation tunnels. It was, however, a 

conventional case for darting. We did not 

want to risk things going wrong and 

having to cope with an angry leopard 

trying to escape across the greenhouses. 

The whole carnation farm shut early 

while the vets went to work. The darting 

successfully accomplished, the Game 

Department placed the animal in a 

mobile trap in which it was taken, at 

dusk, to Kongoni Game Sanctuary around 

20kms away. This, however, may not 

prove far enough: a male leopard’s home 

range can be up to 80km, so we may well 

see him back, looking for his supper! 

See our inside cover for pictures of the 

drama! 

South Africa 

Appointments 

Stephen Simmons was appointed 

as Financial Manager on 1 August 

2011. Boesman Masilela was 

appointed as the IPM Supervisor 

on 23 May. Boesman holds a BSc 

degree in Plant Protection from the 

University of Pretoria while Stephen 

holds a BCompt degree from the 

University of South Africa. Both say 

they are delighted to be joining the 

motivated and effective FFSA team. 

Alison Moves On 

Alison Leeming has left Finlays 

South Africa after eight years of 

service to join Finlays UK (see page 

26). Alison worked in Planning, 

Sales and Logistics. 

Skills Development 

Fana Mokoena, Packhouse Manager, 

has successfully passed his 

certificate in Logistics Management 

with Damelin College. 

Mount Kenya 

Herbal Venture 

Finlays Mt Kenya have embarked on a 

new business, growing fresh herbs for 

UK and European customers. Products 

include dill, coriander, rosemary, chervil, 

parsley and chives. 

Farewell to Brian Allen 

Brian Allen has announced his 

resignation after 19 years with the 

company. Brian is off to do some 

projects for himself and will remain 

in the Mt Kenya region. His service, 

commitment and loyalty cannot be 

overvalued and we wish him every 

success. 

Sports Day 

The Mt Kenya sports day, a huge success, 

was held on 13 October with more than 

2000 people in attendance. All employees 

participated in events which included 

cycling, sprints, relays, sack race, 

tug-of-war, football (won by the Security 

Team), traditional dancing and ‘Mr and 

Miss Timau’ competitions. The athletics 

and men’s football events were once 

again dominated by the Security team. 

Siraji Packhouse continued their 

dominance in Volleyball by winning both 

the men’s and ladies’ events whilst their 

colleagues from Flowers won the 

women’s football. After their humiliation 

last year, the management tug-of-war 

team managed to turn the tables on the 

staff team and claim victory. 

Wilfred Murithi wins the men’s bike race for the 

second year running. 

The victorious Security football team (standing l-r): 

Isaac Kalenda, Robert Mutuma, Ramadhan Idd Mbwana, 

Francis Macharia; (front row l-r): Amos Wambani 

Wafula, Joseph Wachira. 


Horticulture Asia and Europe News 

Taikoo Expansion 

2011 has been a year of promise, 

reports Satish Nair, GM Taikoo 

Flowers and Yunnan Taikoo 

Young Plants. 

However, in March, the Tsunami hit 

our major market in Japan. Fortunately, 

although the market was devastated, 

all our customers were safe and so were 

their businesses, so we waited for the 

market to recover, which it did by July. 

We then took the opportunity to sea 

freight a container to the UK and these 

products were well received by Finlay 

Flowers and their customers. 

By September the Japanese market had 

further recovered and the Ohigan festival 

saw us sell twice our normal volume, 

picking up business that the Colombian 

growers were unable to supply. As I 

heard on my recent visit to Japan, this 

means that more Japanese customers 

are seeking out Taikoo flowers and 

gaining the opportunity to experience 

and appreciate our quality. This is a 

reward for all of the hard work the team 

at Taikoo have put in over the last four 

years to improve our quality. It bodes 

well for the future and for our threehectare 

expansion, due to come into 

production in April 2012. 

The future looks bright for Taikoo, with 

the HilverdaKooij BV company already 

in place after long delay and the Tissue 

Culture laboratory and Young Plants 

in full production. With more new 

products in plan, a busy year lies ahead 

for Taikoo Flowers. 

Women workers in the Tissue Culture Laboratory performed a colourful traditional dance during the 

2011 Sports Day meet. 

Omniflora News 

At his departure, on 4 October, from James Finlay Kenya, management 

colleagues presented Omniflora MD Klaus Voss with Kalenjin souvenirs to 

mark the end of his 15-year long relationship with Finlay Flowers. Klaus retires 

at the end of the year. See our next edition for more on his time with Omniflora. 

Omniflora was acquired by Finlays in 2006 but the company had been a 

customer since 1995, the days of the African Highlands Produce Co., and close 

co-operation has continued at various levels: the two companies’ combined 

interest in the international children’s home in Kericho is one example. Seeing 

Klaus off are (l) Omniflora’s representative in Kenya, Mohamed Mbarak and 

(r) Aggrey Simiyu, Chemirei Farm Manager, Finlay Flowers. 


News 

Tea Estates Kenya Update 

Tea Estates Kenya N 

Simeon Hutchinson MD 

How swiftly the business outlook 

can change! My last update was 

full of optimism, based on a strong 

market and reasonably stable 

exchange rate. Since that time, 

a combination of events have 

undermined the Kenyan economy 

and eliminated the optimistic mood. 

The most serious famine in 30 years 

saw many residents of northern Kenya 

heading for relief stations. The Kenya 

Red Cross swiftly stepped in, 

launching a public appeal which 

attracted huge support from all walks 

of life with our own employees making 

a voluntary contribution of KShs 1.5 

million. The Finlays group contributed 

KShs 3.5 million. 

Soon afterwards, the Kenya shilling 

commenced a worrying decline, losing 

16% of its value against the dollar in 

just two and half months. Many 

theories have been postulated for the 

rapid depreciation; suffice it 

to say that this added further to 

inflationary pressure, worsening an 

already difficult situation for many 

Kenyans. The recent military incursion 

into Somalia adds to the uncertainty. 

Turning to more domestic matters: 

as the season has progressed after 

the dry start, we have continued to 

meet our production targets; sales 

prices have remained ahead of budget 

and so the prospects are for a strong 

2011 performance (in spite of large 

increases in oil and electricity costs). 

The 110 ha of tea re-planted this year 

has taken off well and preparation of 

plants for next season is well in hand. 

Kitumbe’s new continuous withering 

unit has been commissioned, and is 

performing well. The ropeway has 

fallen behind schedule and will not 

be ready until the end of the year. 

The Central Services division has 

posted an erratic performance. 

The Hydros have operated at below 

capacity for much of the year, 

attaining full capacity only briefly 

in September in spite of reasonable 

rainfall since July 2011. In the forestry 

section, profits from logging have 

been constrained by high levels of 

existing stock in the factories while 

the sawmill has incurred considerable 

expense in extracting saw logs from 

Cheboswa, which has yet to be 

reflected as sales. It is anticipated 

that, by year-end, much of this stock 

will have been sold and profit margins 

restored. The new equipment in the 

sawmill has increased both recovery 

rates and throughput as expected. 

Finlays had a significant presence 

at the first African Tea Convention 

organised by the East Africa Tea 

Trading Association in July: as 

sponsor, exhibitor and presenter. 

Our special manufacture teas won 

silver and bronze medals at this 

year’s Tea Board competition: 

congratulations to all who 

participated in this success! 

In June we bade farewell to our 

Plantation Director, Nev Davies, who 

retired after 13 years of distinguished 

service. We wish him well in his future 

endeavours. 

On 17 October, the Group Chairman, 

Merlin Swire, broke the ground for 

the proposed Chepkembe water 

garden (see below). This project is 

being established on a fallow piece 

of land adjacent to our head office, 

and will encompass a number of small 

ponds and a natural spring, fed by 

the Mau forest. 

Appointments 

Peter Biwott 

Peter Biwott has been 

transferred to the newly 

created position of Human 

Resource Manager, Tea 

Extracts and Central 

Services Divisions. Peter 

has been the Human Resource manager 

in charge of the tea division since joining 

Finlays Kericho from Finlays Horticulture 

(formerly Homegrown) in 2009. 

Hesbon Limisi 

Hesbon Limisi, formerly 

Bondet Estate Manager, 

has been appointed Human 

Resource Manager, tea 

division. Hesbon, who 

joined Finlays in 1994 as 

a trainee assistant, holds a degree in Food 

Science and Technology, a post graduate 

Diploma in Human Resource Management 

and an Executive MBA in Strategic 

Management. Hesbon has rich experience in 

labour relations issues in the tea industry. 

Richard Mose 

Richard Mose has been 

promoted to Research 

Manager w.e.f July 2011. 

Richard takes over from Ken 

Kirui who left Finlays last 

year. Richard joined Finlays 

in 1998 as a technical assistant and has 

since taken part in many tea and eucalyptus 

agronomy R&D projects. He previously held 

the position of Plant Breeder. Richard is a 

trained forester from the Kenya Forestry 

Service College and a Certified Fraud 

Examiner (CFE). He holds a BSc. degree 

from Egerton University. 

Internal Audit Staff Changes 

To preserve its independence from the 

operations, JFK rotates its Group audit staff 

around Kericho, Naivasha and Mount Kenya 

regions every two years. Effective 1 January 

2012: James Walubengo, Senior Group 

Internal Auditor (Central Services), moves 

from Kericho to Horticulture Naivasha 

region while Richard Ng’eno, Senior Group 

Internal Auditor (Tea Extracts), will move 

to Horticulture Mt. Kenya. Martin Mwatu, 

Senior Group Internal Auditor (JFK Tea 

Estates) will now take charge of JFK Finlay 

Flowers and Tea Extracts, while Aaron Bett, 

Senior Group Internal Auditor (Finlay 

Flowers), moves to JFK Tea Estates. 


ews 

Top of the Teas African Tea Convention infrastructural development, investment 

Finlays Kericho factories: Chomogonday, 

Kymulot, Changana and Kitumbe, swept 

the board at the Tea Board of Kenya’s 

annual Tea Classes Competition (TCC), 

held on 30 September. This is an event 

that brings together tea industry players 

and partners, who this year converged 

on Nairobi to celebrate the sixth 

National Tea Drinking Day. The TCC 

is a contest for factories that process 

tea for consumption locally and in 

the international market. More than 

80 factories participated in this, the 

51st Tea Classes Competition, under 

Commercial, Special and Specialty 

categories, hoping to impress the judges 

with various quality attributes such 

as leaf appearance and liquor colour, 

aroma, briskness and strength. 

The company scored in the Special and 

Specialty Manufacture categories, with 

the following medals being awarded: 

Chomogonday Factory 

Gold Medal in Class No. 333 for their 

Kijani Mark 


Silver Medal in Class No. 325 BPI for their 

Tiluet Mark 

Kymulot Factory 

Silver medal in Class No. 326 PF1 for 

their Sisiba Mark 

Kitumbe Factory 

Silver Medal in Class No. 332 for the 

Black Orthodox Tea class 


Bronze Medal in Class No. 328 for best 

set of samples submitted for special 

manufacture 

Awards were also presented to Tea 

Buyers and Brokers, with James Finlay 

Mombasa winning several medals, most 

notably for buyer of the highest priced 

tea in auction. 

The award wining teas were displayed 

by the Tea Board at the 2011 Kenya 

Nairobi International Trade Fair, whose 

theme was Driving Agribusiness in 

Attaining Food Sufficiency and Vision 

2030. The Nairobi International Trade 

Fair is one of the major events on the 

Agricultural Society of Kenya calendar. 

The historic and hugely successful 1st 

African Tea Convention & Exhibition, 

organized by the East African Tea Trade 

Association (EATTA), took place on 20-22 

July. The event was held in Mombasa, 

focal point of African Teas and host to 

the second largest auction centre in the 

world. The convention was preceded by 

the FAO-IGG, a forum which focused on 

Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) in tea, 

the Tea Trade and Quality. 

The convention brought together 

members of the tea fraternity, tea 

machinery manufacturers and support 

service providers within the entire 

value chain. Each had the opportunity 

to learn about the latest research and 

technologies within the industry from 

top-rated international and local experts. 

Amongst the presenters was Dr Timothy 

Bond, Technical Director with Finlays, 

who gave a talk on the health benefits 

of tea. The convention also provided a 

forum where members of the global tea 

fraternity could share experiences with 

others seeking to enhance the quality 

of tea available to the consumer. 

In his keynote speech to the delegates, 

the chief guest of honour, H.E. Hon. Mwai 

Kibaki, highlighted the immense 

contribution of the tea industry to the 

economies of Africa’s producing 

countries, including foreign exchange 

earnings, employment opportunities, 

opportunities and technology transfer. 

Finlays is the leading employer in the 

agricultural sector. 

Finlays’ theme for the event was 

sustainability and we embraced this 

by showcasing some of our products 

which use sustainable material. 

Particularly eye-catching were display 

tables made from uprooted old tea 

stumps (below) that would normally 

be split to be used in our boilers. 

Each stump had a story to tell and one such stump 

of Seedling had given about 100kg of green leaf in 

its 50 years of existence! 

Finlays was a platinum sponsor and 

donated KSh 1,000,000 towards the 

organisation of the event. 

As part of the immensely successful 

exhibition, a competition was held for 

teas from various African producers. 

Finlays took pride of place in the 

Orthodox tea category. 

H.E. The President of Kenya visited Finlays exhibition stand during the official opening of EATTA’s first African 

Tea Convention and Exhibition. L-r (foreground): Hon. N. Balala, Minister for Tourism; Hon. Dr. S. Kosgei, Minister 

for Agriculture; His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki; Simeon Hutchinson, MD, JFK; Moses Karitu, General 

Manager, Tea Extracts, JFK; Nelson Orgut (partially hidden) Operations Director, JFK; Hilda Mugure, Sales and 

Marketing Manager; Christine Mutai, Research & Development Manager, JFK. 


Tea Estates Kenya News continued… 

Managing for Results 

‘Managing for Results’ has become a core course for 

management development programmes in Kenya. As earlier 

reported in the Spring/Summer edition, over the last two years, 

75 managers have been taken through the course and 25 

more followed in August. The programme addresses key 

managerial competencies relevant to current and future 

challenges. This helps to build an integrated management 

team as well as creating an opportunity for managers from 

Kericho, Horticulture Naivasha and Horticulture Mt. Kenya 

regions to interact. 

Kenyans for Kenya 

JFK employees responded swiftly to the humanitarian crisis 

resulting from the serious drought in the East African Region. 

James Finlay Kenya contributed KShs 1,509,450 to the United 

Nations ‘Kenyans for Kenya’ appeal. 

The appeal, for 1 billion KShs, arguably the single largest in 

the history of the country, is aimed at saving an estimated 3.5 

million people from starvation. Among many corporate donors, 

Finlays contributed a total of KShs 3.5 million in cash and two 

tonnes of black tea. The Company was represented at the 

corporate fundraising event, held in Nairobi on 5 August, by 

Simeon Hutchinson, MD JFK and Brenda Achieng, Corporate 

Affairs & Compliance Manager, Finlays Horticulture. 

Participants who attended the most recent Managing for Results course were drawn 

from each of the business units in Kenya: (sitting l-r) Facilitator Nancy Ngunyi 

(Inoorero University, Kenya), Richard Mwaga, George Shaaban, Purity Thigira, 

Everlyne Oalo, Maureen Motanya, Kirkland Kirui, Jayne Kilonzo-Ramogi. (Middle 

row, r-l): Facilitator Dr Ray Laferla (CEO Integrated Human Dynamics, University 

of Pretoria), Tony Eshutchi, Peter Biwott, Elijah Getiro, Geoffrey Chepkwony, Marcus 

Keane (guest at closing ceremony), Charles Njuki, Hilda Githahu, John Cheruiyot 

(Training Manager JFK, attending closing ceremony) and Dr Josephine Maende. 

(Back row (l-r): Joshua Kariuki, Jesse Kuria, Betty Kibaliach, Beatrice Choge, Josiah 

Othira, Andrew Maritim, Willard Sigey, Joash Korir, Augustine Mwebia, Eric Otieno, 

Anthony Kagua. 

Support for famine relief: handing over Finlays contribution to Abbas Gullet (c), 

Secretary General of Kenya Red Cross, are (l) Neil Willsher, MD FHK and (r) Simeon 

Hutchinson, MD JFK. 

Kericho Sports 

Ball Games 

Five company zones battled it out at 

Company Sports Day, held on 13 

November at Kaproret Stadium. For 

the fourth year running, Engineering 

won the coveted football trophy, 

beating Kitumbe 2-0. The Engineering 

volleyball team also triumphed, 

wresting victory from Chomogonday 3 

sets to 1. Kitumbe dethroned the 

defending netball champions 

Chomogonday 31-24 in a hotly 

contested match. 

The event was further enlivened by 

traditional songs, poems and dances 

performed by pupils from Chemasingi 

and Finlay Flowers 2 primary schools, 

medal winners at provincial and 

national competitions. 

Finlay Flowers (2) pupils entertain fans with a 

traditional dance 

Golf Finals 

The Scott Cup qualifier for JFK was held at Kericho 

Golf Club on 12 November. Daniel Sang (l), playing the 

tournament for the second time on a 22 handicap, 

emerged victor with 36 points. Daniel, a Senior 

Manager at Kapsongoi Estate, seen here with MD 

Simeon Hutchinson, will take part in the Scott Cup 

Finals, to be held in Hong Kong early in 2012. 

00 34 Autumn/Winter ’11

Farewell Nev 

Geoffrey Chepkwony and Arthur Rono show Nev some unfamiliar moves 

Mara Mara Club members held a grand bash on 19 June in 

honour of Plantation Director Nev Davies who retired on 30 

June. Club Chairman and Kymulot Factory Manager Job Kaibei 

describes an evening marked by good wishes, dance, drinks 

and general bonhomie, as Kericho fêted the career of a man 

variously termed a business leader, witty politician, shrewd 

corporate player, enigma and, above all, friend to many. 

“Head Office, together with the club team, paid meticulous 

attention to the details of food, drinks and entertainment. 

Even the weather played its part, amazingly, in the middle 

of rainy season, putting on a clear blue sky for the occasion. 

Laughter punctuated the toasts and ululations as various 

speakers recalled the honoured guest’s finest moments: 

Ron Mathison observed that the technologically savvy Nev 

struggled with his BlackBerry; Bob Gray remembered times 

spent with Nev in Papua Guinea, describing the ‘hook’ which 

had successfully fished him out of Sugar, landing him into 

the then African Highlands Produce Company. 

Hugo Douglas-Dufresne, Catherine Kivai and Nelson Orgut 

recalled various tours of duty around East Africa, each of them 

opportunities seized by Nev to promote gender equality across 

cadres and excellent community relations. 

A peace song and Maasai jig wrapped up the party before Nev 

gave his own parting shot. Mabel Kukubo of Head Office had 

pulled off a spectacular ‘warrior dance’ in just under 48 hours, 

assembling, kitting out and rehearsing seven senior managers 

for the task. Given added polish by Joseph Chepkwony, a singer 

from the neighbouring community, they saluted the outgoing 

‘general’ in memorable style.” 

Merit Awards 

The following employees, who have served Finlays in Kenya for 

25 years or more, were honoured with long service awards on 

15 May. The most outstanding tea plucker’s award went to 

Charles Tonui of Chemamul Estate who last year picked a total 

of 135,229.40 kilograms of green leaf. 

Fredrick Malel 

Engineering Department 

Sarah Awino Ongondo Engineering Department 

Walter Kiplangat Korir Engineering Department 

Joseph Bett Kiprono Yego Engineering Department 

Ephrahim Oguta Odhiambo Engineering Department 

Weldon Towett 

Tea Department 

Michael Osoro Moguche Finance Department 

Lucia Aoko Jairo 

Applied Research Department 

Joseph Kipngetich Langat Chemamul Estate 

Samwel Kipkorir Siele Chemasingi Estate 

Ezekiel Muchere 

Chemasingi Estate 

Elijah Kilel 

Chepgoiben Estate 

Hezron J Odongo 

Cheptabes Estate 

Joyce O Moraa 


Linet S Meroka 


John Kibet Rono 


Joseph Ooke Ogina 

Forestry Department 

Robert O Orenge 

Kaproret Estate 

John Sigei 

Kapsongoi Estate 

Isaih Mangwa Otachi 

Kapsongoi Estate 

David Nyangau Kerongo Kitumbe Factory 

Antiony Lubuka Shipuchi Kitumbe Factory 

Mary Kemunto James Kymulot Factory 

Mary Ingete Ndukuyu Medical Department 

Hellen Chepsat Too 

Medical Department 

Peter K Bett 

Simotwet Estate 

John Onyango Migori Tea Extracts Division 

Philip Bor 

Tenduet Estate 

John Songok 

Tenduet Estate 

Peter Owidi Ongoche Tiluet Estate 

Linus Okade Ekesa 

Tiluet Estate 

Volume 48/No.2 47/No.2 00 35

News 

Tea Estates Sri Lanka Update 

After the euphoria of 2010, one of the best years of the post 

privatisation era, our Tea Estates operations entered 2011 with 

optimism. However, given the economic turmoil across the world, 

extreme weather conditions playing havoc with agriculture and the 

unions imposing high wage increases our resilience has, once again, 

been tested. 

Naresh Ratwatte 

Chairman & MD 

Since April, tea prices have declined 

sharply due to the political instability 

of our main markets in the Middle East, 

the fact that CIS countries have been 

slowing down their purchases due to lack 

of demand following high temperatures, 

and the Sri Lankan rupee appreciating 

against the US$. Prices currently hover 

around Rupees 300. 

Tea production is lagging, due to the 

failure of the southwest monsoon. The 

unprecedented drought, compounded 

by a 27% increase in labour wages, has 

resulted in sky-rocketing production 

costs, making tea growing almost 

un-viable this year. In the past, 

depreciation of the Rupee has somewhat 

offset the cost escalation. However, of 

late the Rupee has been steady and we 

feel the cost pressure is here to stay. 

As I have often stated, diversification 

plays a pivotal role in our growth 

strategies. The planting of rubber in 

traditional tea areas has taken priority 

and, this year, the strategy has been 

vindicated with rubber reaching the 

all-time high price of US$6 per kg during 

May. This bonanza cushioned our cash 

flows when tea prices came down. With 

new rubber coming into bearing from 

this year, we plan to increase our crop 

from its current 1 million kg to 2 million 

by 2018. This trend should augur well for 

the company with demand for rubber 

from new consumers rising year on year. 

Similarly, our first large cinnamon 

block was harvested in Passara this 

year. Although the value of the crop 

looks small by comparison with others, 

the cinnamon, covering only five 

hectares, is in its third year since 

planting. In real terms, the value is 

more than any crop would give us in 

year three. With expansion to 375 

hectares of cinnamon planned, we 

believe we could be one of the leading 

players in the world market. 

With our land bank rationalised, and 

with tea, rubber, timber, coconut and 

cinnamon as major crops, we expect 

to achieve the desired land productivity 

in line with our business plan. It is 

also believed that labour productivity 

too will rise with land productivity. 

However, this year’s wage increase, 

made in excess of inflation and without 

any connection to productivity, is of 

concern. We believe we are tackling 

the problem in innovative ways. 

I’m proud to announce that two other 

groups of estates, namely Nuwara Eliya 

and Hali Ela achieved Rain Forest Alliance 

certification this year. In addition our 

Passara rubber fields were added to 

the Rain Forest Alliance certified areas 

in Passara during the follow-up audit. 

This makes us the premier organisation 

in Sri Lanka with RA certification. 

Finally I would like to take this 

opportunity to give Nev Davies, who 

retired in June, a big thank you for his 

co-operation, advice and the enormous 

contribution he made towards our 

business during his tenure as Plantations 

Director. We wish him all the best: 

“Ayubowan” Nev! 


Tea Estates Sri Lanka News 

Estate Awards 

Duckwari Estate received the award for Best Estate at Finlays Tea Estates annual 

awards ceremony held at Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo on 5 November. Duckwari 

carried off six awards out of 30, including highest profit per land area and highest 

increase in yield for Udapussellawa Plantations. Among the winners of multiple 

awards were the following estates: Hatherleigh, Bibile, Adawatte and Courtlodge. 

Maithree Gankande (l), Manager of Duckwari Estate and Group Manager for Nuwara Eliya, receives Best Estate 

award from Naresh Ratwatte, Chairman/MD of Finlays Tea Estates Sri Lanka. 

RA Certification for Nuwara Eliya and Hali Ela 

Nuwara Eliya and Hali Ela joined Passara as Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates 

in May. Achieving this status is a comprehensive and demanding process. Rainforest 

Alliance works to conserve bio-diversity and to ensure sustainable livelihoods by 

transforming land use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour. It 

indicates compliance with strict guidelines to protect the environment, wild life, 

workers and local communities. 


News 

Leaf Tea and Tea Extracts 

Update 

Richard Darlington MD 

After a quiet start to the year 

on the Leaf Tea side I am 

pleased to be able to report 

that business has picked up 

and we are heading towards 

a good end to the year. 

Trading conditions in the increasingly 

important Middle East region continue 

to be difficult but, thanks to the hard 

work put in by our traders in the 

offices that serve these countries, we 

have managed to achieve a satisfactory 

level of sales. Elsewhere the leaf tea 

businesses have done well. In the US, 

sales of tea from South America have 

surpassed our expectations and 

promising initiatives are in place 

that are expected to result in further 

progress next year. It is also pleasing 

to report that our office in Blantyre, 

Malawi, under Simon O’Neill, has had 

an exceptionally good year, picking up 

a number of new clients both in the 

region and elsewhere. Our Hanoi office 

did well in expanding its list of 

suppliers and, as a result, was able to 

exceed expectations in terms of total 

kilos exported from Vietnam. The 

businesses in the UK have performed 

well this year. The London sales office, 

amongst other initiatives, was able to 

help James Finlay Kenya find new 

homes for its tea. On the decaffeinated 

tea side, Finlay Hull and our Indian 

partners AVT have, between them, 

processed greater volumes of tea than 

we had envisaged at the start of the 

year and also continued to widen the 

range of teas available to our clients. 

Turning to our Tea Extracts business, 

2011 was the first full year when 

we operated with only one factory, 

Saosa, the older Mara Mara facility 

having been closed at the end of 2010. 

It would be fair to say that the move 

to a single factory has not been 

seamless. Some issues with the initial 

commissioning of a second line, 

coupled with equipment and grid 

power supply failures, resulted in 

Saosa struggling to keep up with 

orders for much of the year. All our 

staff, from the people in the factory 

itself to those in our sales offices, are 

working tirelessly to ensure that our 

very patient customers are supplied 

with product in as timely a way as 

possible. I hope that, by the time this 

edition goes to print, we will have 

caught up on the backlog of orders 

and can start to focus our efforts on 

making the most of what is, without 

question, a world class and unique 

facility. Elsewhere in the extracts 

division, business has been brisk 

with record quantities of powder 

being made for us for by our Chilean 

partners, Tresmontes Lucchetti. 

The relationship we have with our 

China partner, Damin Foodstuffs, 

has strengthened in 2011 and we 

will now start seeing real benefits 

from this association. 

News 

Long Service Award 

Steve Robinson, Factory Manager 

of Finlay Hull, was presented 

with his 25-year Long Service Award 

at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Hull 

on 7 September. Richard thanked 

Steve for his work at Finlays in 

promoting decaffeinated tea over 

the past 25 years. 

Twenty-five years down the line, Steve 

Robinson (l) receives his long service award 

from Richard Darlington 

Appointments 

Ross McDonald 

Ross McDonald has recently 

been recruited to the 

London office. He joins us 

as a trainee tea trader and 

taster. Ross is 23 and is a 

graduate of Oxford 

University where he read classics. 

Cingee Ip 

Cingee Ip has been 

appointed as Assistant 

Accountant in London. 

Cingee, who joined us in 

June, came to Finlays from 

Crossley & Davis, an 

accounting firm in Lytham St. Annes. 

Adebayo Olaiwon 

Adebayo Olaiwon (right) has joined Finlay 

Extracts in London as a Technical Specialist 

for Beverage Applications. ‘Ade’ previously 

worked with Diageo in the successful 

product development of both alcoholic and 

non-alcoholic beverages for many emerging 

markets. He will support Finlays customers 

in developing recipes for different types of 

drinks based on our own tea extracts, 

including RTD Iced Tea beverages, Milk Tea 

beverages (either RTD or powdered form) 

and Masala Chai type products. All of this 

will be done from the new lab in Swire 

House which is now capable of producing a 

widely diverse range of products. 

John O’Hanlon 

John O’Hanlon joined 

Finlays Extracts in October, 

as Head of Engineering for 

the Saosa Factory in Kenya. 

John will assist the 

management on a range of 

engineering issues and support the factory’s 

continuing focus on production quality and 

up-time. John brings seasoned engineering 

management experience, gained in a number 

of international food related businesses. 

Prior to joining Finlay’s, he held senior 

manufacturing and engineering positions in, 

amongst others, Leaf International, Cargill, 

Nabisco and United Biscuits. 

James Calberson 

James Calberson joins 

Finlays in the US as Vice 

President of Technical 

Development. James brings 

many years’ experience in 

beverage R&D and product 

development, most recently with Kerry 

Ingredients as Director of R&D, Beverages. 

He also has a background in tea, having 

worked for Lipton and Tetley in the US. 


Feeling Blue 

Recent visitors to the first floor at Swire 

House have seen some changes to the 

layout, writes Sales Manager Lovvie 

Bhabutta. The office space has been 

expanded and a new ‘Blue Room’ created 

behind it. 

The Blue Room, designated for product 

applications work, is a significant 

expansion of the old lab (or cupboard, as 

it really was). Adebayo Olaiwon manages 

it for the development of Tea beverage 

applications. We are now in a position to 

present our customers with concepts and 

ideas and demonstrate, in situ, what they 

can do with our tea extracts. 

Up to now, much of the work has been 

concentrated on formulations for 

powdered Iced Tea drinks and RTD Iced 

Tea drinks. However, with the market for 

Spiced Chai Latte products developing 

globally, we are experimenting with a 

range of recipes for both Hot and Cold 

Tea drinks that can be offered in 

different parts of the world. 

There is also a small but growing 

segment within the alcoholic beverage 

segment for products such as Long 

Island Iced Teas. With the equipment in 

place, or soon to installed, we will soon 

be able to make a very diverse range of 

products in a clean, safe and hygienic 

way that highlights the expertise that 

we have in tea and tea beverage 

formulations. Needless to say, there is 

Adebayo Olaiwon, Technical Specialist in Beverage Applications, in Head Office’s new 

‘Blue Room’ laboratory. 

a queue of people stepping up to taste 

some of the concepts being developed. 

There will be regular opportunities to 

sample some of these, although the 

vodka-based drinks will be somewhat 

restricted! 

Customers will benefit from being able 

to work with us in developing recipes to 

their exact requirements and at no cost. 

We are able to utilise our knowledge of 

tea and work alongside their chosen 

flavour suppliers to develop the most 

suitable recipes for them and their 

market. Our objective is to gain the 

respect of the customer and supply 

tea extract long term. 

As the Blue Room is a food grade 

laboratory, we can also use it for tastings 

and for analysing customers’ products. 

For this we use the “Insent” taste sensing 

machine, in effect an electronic tongue. 

The Blue Room is also open to the Leaf 

tea team to make up blends or 

experiment with flavours on leaf. 

Shipping Ajiri Tea 

On 30 June, Sara Holby and Ann 

Funkhouser of the Ajiri Tea Company 

joined a group representing Finlay Tea 

Solutions US and the public warehousing 

company RPM to watch a special 

consignment of tea unloaded into a large 

RPM warehouse in Edison, New Jersey. 

In our last edition Sara Holby described 

the work of the Ajiri Tea Foundation 

in creating a sustainable cycle of 

employment for women in remote 

villages in western Kenya. She paid 

tribute to Finlays’ support in shipping 

tea to the US for the charity (Shipping to 

Make a Difference). The Company’s help, 

she concluded, is ‘helping Ajiri Tea and 

the women to make a real and lasting 

difference in their rural communities’. 

Diane Semancik, Logistics Manager with 

Finlay Tea Solutions US writes that the 

Ajiri tea, consolidated with Finlays 

extract tea, arrived in perfect condition 

and without a hitch: “Their last US 

shipment took nine months; their 

recent shipment, with Finlays and RPM 

assistance, took a little over two months, 

from purchase to delivery”. 

Finlay Solutions US and RPM are old allies 

in handling special projects such as this 

and the team effort was amazing, adds 

Diane: ‘from Richard Darlington who 

started the ball rolling, through Charles 

Metet who masterminded the shipping 

from the Mombasa warehouse, to Finlay 

Tea Solutions US, which coordinated the 

US import requirements and the RPM 

Warehouse & Trucking team who lent 

their expertise. RPM kindly offered to 

receive the tea and deliver it, at no 

charge, to their co-packer in Philadelphia, 

near where the charity is based. Sara and 

Ann presented examples of their tea 

packages, beautifully handcrafted in 

Kenya, ‘in appreciation 

of our assistance and generosity’. 

For more information on Ajiri Tea see 

www.ajirifoundation.org 

Special reception for a special tea consignment 

(l-r): Sarah Holby and Ann Funkhouser, 

co-founders of the Ajiri Tea Foundation with 

RPM Warehouse’s Louis Senatore, Senior Vice 

President, and Dominick Mariano, Account 

Executive; Diane Semancik, Logistics Manager 

of Finlay Tea Solutions US; Matt Aiello, RPM 

Warehouse Manager and Donna Kaps, Assistant 

Logistics Manager, Finlay Tea Solutions US. 


News 

Beverages Update 

Beverages News 

Caroline des Forges MD 

The business has gone 

through what has probably 

been its toughest time for 

many years with the summer 

months seeing difficult trading 

in both the high street and 

foodservice sector. 

Notwithstanding, we continue to seek 

and win new business from existing 

and new customers wanting a variety 

of packaging formats for black tea, fruit 

and herbals or roast and ground coffee. 

Sadly, we have lost the contract to 

supply black tea to Sainsbury’s in a 

recent supply chain review and tender 

process; however, we still continue our 

relationship by supplying the company’s 

award winning roast and ground coffee. 

Our focus on delivering the Food 

Industry Retail Challenge Fund (FRICH) 

project has continued. The consortium 

made up of The Co-operative, Africa 

Now and Finlay Beverages is funded 

by The Department of International 

Development. FRICH’s support to 

thousands of smallholders in Kericho 

has helped farmers achieve Fairtrade 

accreditation in November and their 

hand-plucked leaf is now proudly 

included in The Co-operative’s 99 tea 

blend. As a result of this work we were 

awarded The Co-operative’s Ethical 

Supplier of the Year award for 2011, for 

which I would like to extend my thanks 

to our Finlay colleagues in Kericho and 

to Michael Pennant-Jones, the Group’s 

Sustainability Manager. 

On the trading front, back in March 

New York coffee traded above 300.00 

c/lb for the first time in 14 years and 

for the remainder of the year has 

shown great volatility. The market 

instability is primarily due to the 

uncertainty surrounding the Eurozone 

and the weak commodity market. 

Putting that aside, the total coffee 

market has seen a year of innovation 

on our shelves. Brands continue to 

drive creative thinking with the launch 

of more premium, single origin, 

instant coffees and the expansion 

of coffee pods and refill pouches. 

The latter have been launched by 

most brands, providing a reduction 

in packaging and weight which is 

more environmentally friendly. 

Our focus as a business will be 

to continue to deliver high quality 

tea and coffee consistently well. 

We will need to get even closer to our 

shoppers as they become increasingly 

less convinced by deep promotional 

prices and are influenced more and 

more by technology application 

through on-line shopping, social 

networking and the use of smart 

phones and apps. We are already 

in a trading environment where 

our speed in responding to changing 

shopping behaviour and habits will 

be important. Already brands in other 

food categories are inviting customers 

to generate ideas on-line, vote for new 

products, build up their own 

provenance shopping lists and track 

out-of-stock products from alternative 

outlets. There is a stronger need for 

a culture of creativity to capture the 

attention of shoppers. Some of these 

initiatives will require us to develop 

new channels of communication with 

our customers and we are conducting 

market research into more sustainable 

packaging formats which we feel will 

become increasingly important. 

Appointments 

Harriet Jones 

Harriet Jones joined Finlay Beverages 

Commercial Team on 18 July as a 

National Account Manager for the 

Co-Operative Account. She comes to us 

from Cadbury Trebor Bassett, Sheffield, 

where she worked as an Account 

Executive. 

Nigel Weston 

Nigel Weston joined Finlay Beverages 

on 27 June as a Food Services Manager 

within the Commercial Team. Nigel joins 

us from Ministry of Cake, where he was a 

National Account Manager. Nigel has also 

worked for a variety of FMCG companies 

including Douwe Egberts Coffee Systems; 

in his early career he worked for George 

Payne as a Sales Executive. 


New Business 

Tea and Coffee 

We have been successful in securing 

the Morrisons Roast & Ground Coffee 

Business. The first three out of a total 

of 21 products were launched in 

November. The remaining products will 

follow early in 2012. We have also been 

successful in securing the Tesco Finest 

leaf tea business. Lines awarded are 

Fairtrade Leaf Tea, Earl Grey Leaf Tea 

and Assam Leaf Tea. All products will 

be packed in our current format. 

Co-operative Group Visit Kenya 

In August, Finlay Beverages hosted a 

successful visit by the UK Co-operative 

Group to Kenya. Present from the 

Co-operative were Bryan Davies, 

Category Trading Manager and Debbie 

Clarke, Hot Beverages Buyer. The trip 

included an introduction to tea 

production at our estates in Kericho, 

with visits to both field and factory, 

the Central Hospital, primary schools, 

estate villages and our out-grower 

communities. The team met with the 

Finteaflo committee who were keen to 

demonstrate the good work being 

Packing 

We have been successful in securing 

the contract for supplying the packing 

requirements for the Punjana ‘speciality 

tea’ foodservice range of products. 

There are nine product lines in the range, 

packed in envelope string and tag, ideal 

for the hotel and out-of-home market. 

Punjana, based in Northern Ireland, 

is a family business started, more 

than 100 years ago, by joint MDs Ross 

and David Thompson’s grandfather. 

The company is renowned for its quality: 

awards include Gold Great Taste Awards 

and Guild of Fine Foods. Punjana has a 

strong brand following in Northern 

Ireland, UK and the US. 

done with their Fairtrade premiums 

and a visit was also made to the newly 

constructed IT suite and library at 

Marinyn Secondary School. 

The group was eager to see the 

progress being made in the FRICH 

Kibagenge project, which is co-funded 

by the Co-operative, and visits to all 

five of the out-grower co-operatives 

were on the itinerary. Productive 

discussions were held with the board 

members of the various co-operatives 

and tours made to some of the tea 

farms in the catchment. 

Finlay Beverages have also recently 

secured the contract packing operation 

for Newby Teas (above), supplying loose 

leaf tea and envelope string and tag 

product range. Newby Teas is a quality 

tea company which has recently 

celebrated winning no fewer than 21 

Guild of Fine Foods and 18 Great Taste 

Awards. They supply a number of 

five-star London hotels and high profile 

retail operators including Selfridges; 

they also have a large export business 

supplying Russia. 

Ethical Supplier of the Year 

Finlay Beverages is delighted to have 

received the Co-operative Retail Trading 

Group’s Ethical Supplier of the Year 

Award 2011. This is the second time 

Finlay Beverages has won this accolade; 

the last occasion was in 2008 when the 

Co-operative switched its tea products 

to Fairtrade. The presentation was made 

in Manchester on 8 September. 

The Co-op delegation and their Finlay Beverages hosts are seen here with representatives of JFK and Board 

Members of the Kapkap Outgrowers Co-operative Society: (l-r) Simon Hotchkin, Harriet Jones, Michael 

Maumo, Anne Omam, Stanley Ruttoh, Patrick Chepkwony, Willy Ngetich, Russ Fowlks, Debbie Clarke, Nelly 

Chepkwony, Samual Kapketuony, Stephen Togom, Fredrick Chemibei, Alexander Bett, Bryan Davies. 

Left to Right – Roger Black (Athlete), Harriet Jones, 

The Co-operative National Account Manager Finlay 

Beverages, Simon Hotchkin, Sustainable Business 

Manager Finlay Beverages and Kate Jones, Head of 

Commercial Food Product Offer - The Co-operative 

Food. 

Charity Events 

Jon Buxton, Department Manager Tea, 

and Steve Nightingale, Coffee Production 

Operative, took part in a charity bike 

ride from Wetherby to Filey in Yorkshire. 

They completed the 70-mile route in 

4.5 hours, together raising £500 for five 

different charities. Jon also took part 

in the Leicester Marathon, which he 

completed in three hours and 23 

minutes, raising £900 for the Weston 

Park Cancer Hospital. It was Jon’s second 

Marathon and, according to him, his last! 


News 

Sri Lanka Update 

Kumar Jayasuriya 

Chairman 

We have had an interesting nine 

months, when we have had to sharpen 

our focus and our responsiveness in 

dealing with the vast economic and 

political changes that have swept the 

world since the beginning of this year. 

These have inevitably had an impact 

on our business in general and on our 

Tea Export business in particular. 

In the light of the Arab Spring, we 

have been obliged to be mindful of 

the enhanced risks of doing business in 

the Middle East and have had to devise 

strategies to mitigate them. Japan, 

another important tea market, has not 

been the same since their devastating 

earthquake and tsunami, and we have 

had to carefully monitor our market 

position and to maintain a close dialogue 

with our customers. 

However, the biggest challenge our 

Tea Export business has had to face is 

with respect to the exchange rate. Over 

the nine month period the Sri Lankan 

Rupee has strengthened by 1.3%, while 

the currencies of our competing 

producing countries, namely Kenya and 

India, have depreciated by 21.3% and 

4.3% respectively. Compounding this 

problem is the fact that most Middle 

Eastern countries have seen a similar 

depreciation of their currencies. All this 

has made Ceylon tea significantly more 

expensive at the point of consumption. 

In these circumstances it is a credit 

that we have maintained our volume 

of exports, but our margins have borne 

the brunt. 

On the positive side, the Sri Lankan 

economy has been strong and this 

has helped our domestic businesses. 

Insurance has forged ahead and is 

in expansion mode with several new 

branches being opened including 

one in the Maldive Islands where, 

to conform with local regulations, 

we have set up a wholly owned 

subsidiary. 

Environmental Services, especially 

Pest Control and Sterifirst, have had 

an excellent nine months. There have 

been some management changes: 

Nishantha Mohotti, the former General 

Manager of our Pest Control Division 

who has taken over as the CEO of the 

whole sector, has streamlined procedures 

and strengthened the total quality 

management systems. 

In Temperature Controlled Logistics we 

have decided to discontinue the storage 

of commodities such as potatoes and 

garlic in bulk, a move which we hope will 

be temporary as the increase in capacity 

with the Stage III expansion will again 

allow us to service this segment. 

There is good news on the horizon. 

Cathay is in the final stages of 

confirming a weekly freighter between 

Hong Kong, Bangalore and Colombo; this 

will operate from December to cater to 

the significant demand for 

air cargo space out of Colombo. 

We have continued our focus on Health & 

Safety and sustainable development 

through the responsible management of 

water, energy and waste and the 

minimising of our carbon footprint. We 

have used our monthly team briefings to 

highlight the importance the Company 

attaches to these initiatives. 

The second Routes to Grow programme 

has been well received by the participants 

from the Middle Management grades. 

Sri Lanka News 

Alwazah Tea Talks 

Ron Mathison and a team from Finlays Colombo comprising 

Kumar Jayasuriya, Romesh Croos Moraes and Nishan 

Wickramaratna visited Kuwait on 7 – 8 June. Kuwait is the 

home of Alwazah Tea, one of the premium brands targeting 

the Arabic community throughout the tea-drinking world. 

Discussions were held with the family of M/s. Sulaiman Al 

Abdul Karim & Bros. on how we might increase our market 

share for the Alwazah brand which is now available across 

the globe from Australia to the US. 

The Abdul Karim family with the Finlay team: (l-r) Abdul Karim S. Al Abdul Karim, 

Romesh Croos Moraes, Abdul Aziz Al Abdul Karim (Abu Assad), Ron Mathison, 

Dawood S. Al Abdul Karim, Kumar Jayasuriya, Omar S. Al Abdul Karim and Nishan 

Wickramaratna. 


Sri Lanka News 

Local Triumph at Airline Cricket Sixes 

Softball Cricket 

Tournament 

Sri Lanka emerged champions at 

the Cathay Pacific and Dragon Air 

International Cricket Sixes held on 

12 and 13 November in Colombo. 

The tournament, hosted each year 

by Cathay Pacific Airways, saw eight 

countries from the South Asia, Middle 

East and African regions converge to 

represent the sister airlines. 

Great sportsmanship was displayed 

by all 10 men’s and four ladies’ teams 

but Sri Lanka remained unbeatable 

in both categories. The Lanka Lions 

secured the trophy this year by 

beating South Africa in the quarter 

finals, India in the semi-finals and UAE 

in the finals. Both Man of the Match 

and the Player of the Tournament 

titles went to the Lions’ Thilina Perera. 

Guest Lecture 

Executives of Finlays Colombo attended 

the fifth annual Guest Lecture held on 28 

October at the Skills Development Centre 

of the Royal College, Colombo. Captain 

Elmo Jayawardena, former Chief Pilot of 

Sri Lankan Airlines and Instructor Captain 

on 747s for Singapore Airlines, is the 

Founder/President of CandleAid Lanka, 

a humanitarian organisation working to 

alleviate poverty. He is also the author 

of two award-winning books. Captain 

Jayawardena, who is currently involved in 

training pilots for Boeing, spoke movingly 

about the work done by CandleAid Lanka, 

encouraging his listeners to take the 

initiative in helping the less privileged. 

The Peacocks from Sri Lanka won 

the tournament for the ladies, ousting 

South Africa in the first round and 

India in the finals. Darminee 

Wijeyaratnam (see p20) was awarded 

the Best Bowler and the Best 

Batswoman trophy was awarded to 

Pippa Tregear (India). The player of 

the tournament was Kathleen 

Puvirajasinghe of Sri Lanka. Among 

the enthusiastic onlookers were 

Kumar Jayasuriya, Chairman, Finlays 

Colombo PLC; Tom Wright, GM Cathay 

Pacific Airways, South Asia, Middle 

East and Africa; and Nick Rhodes, 

Director Cargo, Cathay Pacific 

Airways. 

Man of the Series Sumedha Hettige (r) accepting the 

winning team’s trophy from Romesh Croos Moraes. 

The guest lecture was followed by the 

second Finlays F5 (five overs a side) 

softball cricket tournament, held at the 

Bloomfield Grounds. 

Twelve teams took part, the winners 

being ‘Cold Blues’, from Finlays Cold 

Storage: Sumedha Hettige (Captain), 

M S M Fawmy, Saveen Guneratne, A S 

Jayaratne, Sunimal Wijesinghe, Geeth 

Pallewela, Romain Rodrigo and Thilini 

Perera. 

The following awards were made. 

Best Bowler (Ladies): Ganga Senadhira 

Best Bowler (Men): Joseph Juderaj 

Best Batswoman: Romain Rodrigo 

Best Batsman: Sudheera Senadhira 

Man of the Match and Man of the Series: 

Sumedha Hettige 

Runners up: Linex/Insurance Team 

Best Cheering Squad: Cathay Pacific 

A DJ kept the crowd entertained, while 

dancing, a sumptuous buffet and general 

camaraderie marked the end of a highly 

enjoyable day. 


News 

Pakistan Update 

Irfan Vazeer 

Chief Executive 

As we come to the end of 2011 

I am able to report that Finlays 

operations have been relatively 

unscathed by the problems 

being experienced by Pakistan. 

The Shipping division’s import business 

remains on a par with recent years. Next 

year we are hoping for growth in the 

amount of exports handled, especially to 

the Papua New Guinea Sector, one of the 

trade lanes that Swire Shipping offers in 

Pakistan. That said, our income largely 

depends on the revenue generated by the 

PNI and the Survey and Tally divisions. 

Efforts are being made to increase our 

share of these markets by approaching 

ship owners and clubs as we feel we have 

a very attractive proposition to offer. 

We continue to look for tenants to 

occupy the vacant units within Finlay 

House but understandably, given the 

current challenging times, this is proving 

difficult. 

An already unstable political situation 

has become even more precarious in 

recent months, amid growing domestic 

insecurity and an increasingly strained 

relationship with the US. 

Violence across Pakistan has continued 

to mount on account of militant attacks, 

as well as sectarian and ethno political 

violence. 

Pakistan’s power crisis has become 

critical and is now hurting national 

economic growth, industrial production 

and social life. Sadly there seems little 

hope that power cuts will end in the 

near future. 

Pakistan has been severely affected by 

floods for a second consecutive year. 

International aid groups, including the 

United Nations, have warned that a 

disappointing response to the floods has 

left millions displaced and vulnerable, 

particularly in the South and notably in 

Sindh province. Prices of vegetables and 

other food items are soaring, as much 

farmland remains under water. 

The economy meanwhile looks dire 

with the IMF having refused to release 

a final tranche of this year’s funding 

for Pakistan because of repeated failures 

to carry out much-needed tax and 

other reforms. A substantial increase in 

inward remittances during the year has, 

however, helped maintain the country’s 

reserves. 


Announcements 

Births 

Boraya 

On 28 July 2011 to Linet Kemunto and 

Josiah Boraya, Nurse, Central Hospital 

JFK, a son Nathan. 

Gunawardena 

On 12 April 2011 to Devika Kumudini 

and Nuwan Gunawardena, Crew Member, 

Finlay Cold Storage, a son, Sanuk 

Denuwan. 

Hanif 

On 1 August 2011 to Bushra, wife of 

Abdul Hanif, Trainee Officer in the 

Survey Department at Finlays Pakistan, 

a daughter, Romaisa. 

Kannenje 

On 28 March 2011, to Amina Kannenje, 

Tea Sales Assistant, JFK, and J. 

Nyamwero, a son, Adam G Kannenje. 

Kirui 

On 25 April 2011, to Joyce, wife of Daniel 

Kirui, Human Resource Executive JFK, a 

son, Emmanuel Kiplagat. 

Kurera 

On 16 July 2011 to Tharangani Kumari 

and Krishan Kurera, Staff Officer, Finlay 

Insurance Brokers, a daughter, Neshali 

Lourdes Kiyoshi. 

Maina 

On 19 July 2011 to Loice Koech and 

Maina Ndirangu, Deputy Accountant, Tea 

Estates, JFK, a daughter, Rachael Maina. 

Mutai 

On 6 July 2011, to Dorcas Mutai, Personal 

Assistant to the General Manager, Finlay 

Flowers, a daughter, Cheryl Chelangat. 

Pule 

On 8 May 2011, to John Pule, Supervisor 

and Lizzy Keagilenyane, Harvesting, both 

with Finlays Horticulture South Africa, 

twin daughters, Lesego and Masego 

(above). 

Sang 

On 3 June 2011, to Janet, wife of Daniel 

Sang, Senior Manager Kapsongoi Estate, 

JFK, a son Ian. 

Sudaraka 

On 6 June 2011 to Chamodhi Nimesha 

and Damith Sudaraka, Crew Member, 

Finlay Cold Storage, a son, Devsara Yasith 

Manulka. 

Thisera 

On 22 July 2011 to G H Anne Dinesha 

and Riyansi Thisera, Staff Officer, Finlay 

Insurance Brokers, Katunayake Branch, 

a daughter, Yelee. 


Announcements 

Marriages 

Anthony – Fernando 

On 7 May 2011, Gayan Sanjeewa 

Anthony, Manual Worker with Finlay 

Properties, to Niluka Surangi Fernando. 

Kigen – Chepkoech 

On 27 August 2011 in Eldoret, Kenya, 

Thomas Kigen, Technical Liaison Officer, 

Dudutech, to Winnie Chepkoech. 

Madushani – Priyantha 

On 12 May 2011, Kaushani Madushani, 

Accounts Clerk of Finlay Rentokil Ceylon, 

to Danushka Priyantha. 

Mocheko – Mosia 

On 18 September 2011, at Kagiso West 

Rand, Kelebogile Mocheko, Harvesting, 

Finlays Horticulture South Africa, to 

Paul Mosia. 

Moore – Walker 

On 13 August 2011, at Christ Church, 

Morton, Wirral, Daniel Moore, Tea Buyer 

and Blender with Finlay Beverages, to 

Michelle Walker. 

O’Neill – Bale 

On 8 October 2011, in Dorset, Simon 

O’Neill, GM James Finlay (Blantyre), 

to Lucy Bale 

Pathirannehe – Fonseka 

On 8 August 2011, at Hilton Residence, 

Colombo, Manoj Pathirannehe, Assistant 

Manager Adawatte Estate, Finlays Tea 

Estates Sri Lanka, to Shehanthi Fonseka 


Deaths 

Cottle 

On 31 October 2011, in Surrey, Marie 

Ellen Cottle, aged 101 years. Mrs Cottle 

was the widow of Albert Charles Cottle 

(d. 1991), a tea taster at Finlays and 

saleroom manager at P.R. Buchanan. 

Sutherland 

On 19 June 2011, William Sutherland, 

aged 86. Bill joined Finlays in 1950, in 

what was then East Pakistan, and worked 

in shipping and jute in Chittagong, 

Khulna and Narayanganj. In 1970 he was 

appointed to run the Chittagong office 

and retired 10 years later after 30 years’ 

service. He is survived by his widow 

Elizabeth and an extended family. 

Taggart 

On 4 March 2008, Norman John Taggart, 

aged 93. He joined P.R. Buchanan & Co 

in 1929/30 as a clerk in the companies 

department, later becoming chief cashier 

and, finally, personnel manager. Norman 

retired in 1972. He is survived by his 

widow Joyce, his four children and five 

grandchildren. 

Verghese 

On 22 November 2011, in Cochin, 

Kerala, Thandaneth Verghese Verghese, 

aged 83, husband of Molly and father 

of Liz and Georgie. Starting life as a tea 

planter with Finlay’s in Assam, he rose 

to become General Manager, North India 

Plantations Division of Tata Tea before 

retiring in 1986. 

In addition, the Company has received 

notification of the deaths of the 

following pensioners. We should like 

to extend our condolences to their 

families. 

Tea Companies 

Mrs Louise Dickson 25 June 2011 

Finlay Beverages 

Mr Terence Cheetham 16 August 2011 

Mr Robert Rogers 29 August 2011 

Mr Albert Baker 14 September 2011 

James Finlay Chittagong 

Mrs Mollie Johnson 15 September 2011 

Obituary 

George Corse 

It was with sadness that friends 

and former colleagues learned of the 

death of George Corse on 19 May 2011. 

Born in Glasgow in 1933, George joined 

the Company as a trainee in the Glasgow 

office, after schooling in Orkney and a 

stint as a naval cadet on HMS Conway in 

the Menai Straits. According to George, 

his first job involved filling inkwells 

where his proficiency was such that he 

was offered a post as an Assistant 

Manager in Kericho in 1953. In addition 

to mastering the techniques of planting, 

he quickly involved himself in the rural 

life of Kenya whether it was fishing for 

trout, shooting or walking. He climbed 

three of the highest mountains in East 

Africa, an extraordinary feat for someone 

who, at an early age, had been left 

partially disabled as a result of 

complications during a knee operation. 

George eventually rose through the ranks 

to become the Company’s senior in 

Kenya in 1980. He had an excellent 

understanding of the technical issues 

around the growing and making of tea 

which, coupled to an ear finely-attuned 

to the political nuances of running 

a business in Kenya, made him an 

outstanding Company leader. Together 

with Richard Muir, he was responsible 

for setting up the Company’s successful 

flower growing operation in Kericho. 

During his time with the Group, George 

sat on several company boards as well as 

being involved with numerous industryrelated 

organisations where his 

contributions were invariably wise, 

pithy and amusing. 

Throughout his life George was ably 

supported by Philippa, whom he had met 

in Kericho, and by his family, of which he 

was immensely proud. On retiring in1988 

George and Philippa built a house in Kilifi 

where they indulged their enthusiasm for 

planting indigenous trees and George’s 

passion for sailing. 

Anecdotes concerning George were 

many; some of these were recalled at a 

celebration of his life, held in Karen in 

July, which was attended by his family 

and many friends. 

Nick Paterson 

Volume 47/No.2 47

Vol 47, No 2 Autumn/Winter 2011 - Finlays

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