The iconic Baurs building situated at Upper Chatham Street in Fort, one of Colombo’s strong and long-standing corporate buildings of colonial times, celebrates 80 years.
This elegant, imposing structure and a well-known architectural landmark houses the Head Office of one of Sri Lanka’s leading diversified business group A. Baur & Company Ltd. Since its humble beginnings in the year 1897 by Swiss national Alfred Baur, the company’s philosophy, value systems and culture are deeply rooted in its Swiss heritage till today.
The Baurs building, the first shock-proof building in Colombo completed in 1941 and securely located within the Navy Headquarters zone, has seen ten managing directors come and go, nine of whom were Swiss nationals with the most recent being a well-known Sri Lankan business personality, Lakshman Niyangoda who now serves as the company’s Non-Executive Chairman.
‘This year marks a historic event in the Baurs journey as our building at Fort marks its 80th anniversary. The walls of this building have heard and witnessed all our plans, prayers and passion and we have a very emotional connection to it. The refurbishment done to the front arenas of the building giving it a modern outlook resembles our ambitious intentions to embrace the future whilst living up to our century-old Swiss values,’ said Lakshman.
Baurs’ distinctive reputation stands for its trust and reliability, quality and innovation.
The company’s bold approach has resulted in initiating many industry’s firsts in Sri Lanka. Widely regarded as an industry pioneer, Baurs is the first company to focus on agriculture fertilizer since 1897.
Its fertilizer factory located in Kelaniya is one of South Asia’s most advanced, fully automated plant. The culture and values at Baurs are similar to that of its parent Genève-based Alfred et Eugénie Baurs foundation. Just like the foundation, Baurs continuously engages in numerous social responsible agendas in the infrastructure, knowledge, and training domains, with the view of uplifting communities and rural towns in Sri Lanka.
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