Bogawantalawa Tea Estates -Opening of Lethenty Tea Factory

Bogawantalawa valley is one of the most scenic & tranquil sites in Sri Lanka surrounding the Castlereigh lake in the breathtaking"golden Valley of Ceylon Tea". Bogwantalawa has its unique weather pattern with its cool breeze at the same time warm sunshine.

Bogawantalawa Tea Estates PLC owns & manages eleven Estates in the Bogawantalawa area. The Company produces 6.5 million Kilos of high grown teas annually under the estate marks such as Loinorn,kotiyagalla,bog awana,campion,fetteres so, Bridwell and Bogawantalawa. The other two factories of the company, namely, Norwood and Wanarajah factories are in the lower Dickoya area. All these factories produce some of the finest quality high grown teas with seasonal character much sought after by the tea connoisseur world over. The Company with a view to improving the product quality further took a strategic decision to upgrade & re-commission the Lethenty Factory to accommodate the extra leaf from the surrounding estates in lower Dickoya area.

The Lethenty Factory is ideally situated in the upper region of Dickoya/norton Bridge overlooking the Castlereigh reservoir and the rolling hills and the carpet of VP Tea leading down to the reservoir. This Estate was originally managed by Gordon Frazer Ltd Up-to the stage of nationalization in 1976 and taken over for management by the Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation. In June 1992 with the privatization of estates, Bogawantalawa Tea Estates PLC took over the management.

The Factory is geared to manufacture a premium product by producing high quality Rotorvane/ Orthodox Teas. The Factory has been modernized to obtain ISO/HACCP and other international certifications.the process is automated to minimize the handling and the human intervention of tea produced.the Lethenty factory, unlike other conventional tea factories with either three to four Lofts, is a single loft tea factory constructed in the more recent years.

In spite of the tea Industry facing a severe financial crisis, the Company was mindful of the importance of improving the quality of the teas produced in the up country factories & took this decision to commission Lethenty factory. The complete development of the factory which includes the installation of new machinery, refurbishment and infrastructure development cost Rs. 78 million. The company has been able to allocate such high capital investment for this project through a rights issue subscribed by the major shareholder and balance funded by bank borrowings.

Lethenty is in a position, with its high percentage of VP teas to manufacture a Rotorvane /Orthodox tea with neat black dry leaf appearance having adequate colour and strength with seasonal character comparable to any of the marks in the Dickoya Agro Climatic Region.