Graceland Tea Estate Australia

Situated in the Southern province of Sri-Lanka Graceland Estate is a family owned business that was established by late Mr. U Kodithuwakku in 1954. We employ over 100 employees in our factory. We currently hold 5-S Start rating awarded by the Sri-Lankan Tea Board and process over 100000kg of green tea leafs and produce over 25000kg of Black tea per month. Our current turnover is over 1 million us dollars annually. About UsOur CompanyGraceland Estate was established in 1954 by late Mr. U Kodithuwakku producing around 2000kg of black tea per month. Since the commencement in 1954 late Mr. Kodithuwakku has grown the business from strength to strength with dedication and hard work. After the passing away of our proprietor in 1990 his children has been managing the factory producing high quality black tea that is exported all over the world through our brokers. We also grow our own green leaf tea on our family own land producing over 6000kg over green tea leafs per month. In 2008 the factory was re-furbished with an investment of over12 million rupees and we have obtained the prestigious 5-S Start rating awarded by the Sri-Lankan Tea Board. Our VisionTo be the number 1 low grown tea producer in Sri-LankaOur MissionTo produced the best quality low grown tea everyday by using our resources the most effective way. Our FactoryThe Graceland Tea factory is situated in a small village called Akmeemana in the Galle district of Sri-Lanka. Situated about 10km from the famous costal town of Galle, Akmeemana is a town with population of around 15000 people and growing green leaf tee is a major income source for the people of the village. Since starting the business in1954 in the past 50 years the factory has gone through a number of improvements to increase production by continuous upgrade of the factory size and by installing new machinery. Currently we process over 100, 000kg of green tea per month using state of the art machinery, producing over 25, 000kg of black tea. We produce over 10 different varieties of high quality black tea which is sold in the Colombo tea auction through our brokers. We produce some of the best low grown teas in Sri-Lanka and has been awarded various certificates and been recognized in the past for our quality tea. In 2008 we reached a major achievement in our factory by being awarded the 5-S Star rating by the Ceylon Tea Board. 5-S which has been adopted based on the Japanese 5-S system has been designed for tea factories in Sri Lanka. It was designed to educate the tea manufactures of Sri Lanka in the correct methodology of manufacturing tea productively, hygienically and ethically, keeping there workforces disciplined, educated and motivated. To achieve this prestigious rating the factory was completely re-furbished with an investment of over 12 million rupees under the supervision of the tea board. 5-S rating has also given us the quality approval to directly export our tea. Our staff is also a valuable part of our business and we currently employ over 100 staff from factory staff, admin staff, drivers and tea pickers all of whom comes from vicinity of our factory. Some of our staff has been with us for over 30 years and has immensely contributed to the success of our business. All our staff are provided with uniforms, lunchroom, rest rooms and proper sanitation. We also provide financial assistance and pay advances to our staff for special needs. Late Mr. Kodithuwakku and his Children have also helped the Akmeemana community in various ways in the past 50 years by providing financial support to local schools, community organizations and the Buddhist temples and we continue to do so. Green Leaf SuppliersWe buy our green leaf from over 100 individual suppliers from the village and the surrounding areas. Green leaf is supplied on a daily basis direct to our factory and all green leaf is checked before we accept. Any green leaf we reject is returned back to the supplier and, we advice