A. Baur & Co. (Pvt) Ltd, also widely known as Baurs, marks a milestone as it celebrates 125 years of growth and progress.
Since its humble beginnings in 1897 as the first fertiliser company, Baurs today is a diversified business group with a distinctive reputation not just in its core agriculture business but also healthcare, consumer, airlines, machinery, and education segments.
From pioneering manure and fertiliser since its inception, building the country’s first ever industrial rail in 1901, deploying the first tractor used in agriculture in 1919, setting the first fully electrified tea factory in 1936 through to ending the malaria epidemic in Sri Lanka during 1946, bringing Swiss Air to Sri Lanka, producing the nation’s first basmati rice in 1975, registering the first biopesticide in 2020 to eradicate and control fall armyworm, and last year launching the first Swiss apprenticeship model in the hospitality sector with one of the world’s top hospitality management school, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne.
CEO of A. Baur & Co. (Pvt) Ltd, Rolf Blaser said, “We pay tribute to each and every individual for making Baurs a success over the past 125 years, especially to our prescient founder Alfred Baur who had a visionary leadership with core beliefs centered around the benefit of this nation and these are deeply rooted in our foundation and values today. We have strengthened our resilience and responsiveness and look forward to taking on the many challenges and possibilities to continuously expand our horizons.”
The company stands strong in its founding agri business, and undoubtedly possesses one of the most advanced high-tech fertiliser factories probably in the South Asia region. Digital transformation efforts are also underway for its Consumer Division to bring increased efficiency and transparency across its entire supply chain including business partners, he said.