Founded in 1920 at the midst of the British regime, our story began with the vision of one man, Don A Wanigasekara Mohotti alongside 15 employees. This humble beginning led to many achievements for the family-owned business over the century and is now spreaded over 171 acres of land with 75 acres of tea gardens producing the finest, premium quality ceylon black tea. We specialize in low-country, single-origin estate grown teas and pride ourselves in utmost transparency and traceability of our leaves. Providing employment to over 2000 in the nearby communities, we believe that our employees are the beating heart of what makes our tea so special. We value the icons who have led to the success of our business today. Passing down three generations, they have contributed immensely for the growth and sustainability of a century-old venture.
Late D A Wanigasekara (“මහ කඩේ රාළහාමි/màhàkàde raalahàmy”), the founder of Uruwala Tea Factory began his tea journey in the Ruhuna in 1920. Initially commencing with 15 to 20 employees, the old tea factory still located within the estate mainly concentrated only on the estate leaves producing 24,000 kilos of tea annually.The work he has done over the period until his demise in 1951 is still celebrated and enriches the surrounding communities.
Following the demise of his father, late Don Charles Wanigasekara continued the business from 1951 to 1992, improving it to unprecedented standards. The new factory with a capacity of 600,000 kgs of made tea per annum was constructed in 1970 during his time. In the year 1992, the Uruwala tea factory was awarded as the best low grown tea factory. Locally known as මහ කඩේ පොඩි මහත්තයා, D C Wanigasekara not only contributed immensely to the growth of the business but also in the the upbringing and development of the nearby villages and his social work is still commemorated to date.
After his demise, the factory was then passed onto and managed by his late wife Lily Wanigasekara and his children. During her time, Lily Wanigasekara continued to improve the factory standards further and contribute to the community work in the area until her demise in 2021. Thilak Wanigasekara who was the managing director from 1992 until his demise in 2018 is another notable icon of the business and has contributed extensively for the expansion of the factory to its current standards.
