Established in May 1982 as a trading business with an initial focuson cement, the Group diversified over time into a conglomeratetrading cement, sugar and fish. By the early 1999s the Grouphad grown into one of the largest trading conglomerates operatingin the country. An inspirational visit to Brazil to study theemerging manufacturing sector, the Group made a strategic decisionto transit from a trading based business into a fully fledgedmanufacturing operation. In a country where imports constitute thevast majority of consumed goods, a clear gap existed for amanufacturing operation that could meet the basic needs' of a vastand fast growing population.