MAS Intimates Kenya is a leading Sri Lankan apparel and textile manufacturer with operation at Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Athi River. Established in 2020, the company is a subsidiary of MAS Holdings, the largest apparel tech conglomerate in South Asia with operations in over 17 countries.
In this article WoK brings you the story of the Amalean Brothers, the founders of the company.
Background
MAS Intimates Kenya is a manufacturing company that produces popular clothing brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. Since entering the Kenyan market, the company has shipped over USD 24 million worth of garments to USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Japan among others.
In 2021, the company signed a lease agreement with EPZ to lease 40,000 square feet of building space. The company plans to further lease an additional 140,000 square feet from a private investor in a move that will see the company employ over 7,000 locals and generate USD 8 million per month by 2025. In May 2022, President Uhuru Kenyatta attended the MAS official launch at its premises in Athi River where he revealed that the company has injected Ksh986 million into the Kenyan economy in just two years.
“I am pleased that while MAS only began operations in Kenya in the year 2020, you have already injected over 8.5 million US Dollars into our economy, employed over 3,000 Kenyans and shipped garments worth over 24 million US dollars which are affixed with the magical, Made in Kenya tag,” he noted.
“In addition, by choosing Kenya, you have access to top tier financial services and information technology capabilities, a strong intellectual property protection landscape and elaborate networks of supporting infrastructure which are being enhanced day by day through investments in a modern new railway, road networks, and in modern sea ports and airports, fiber optic and under-sea cables and pipelines,” the Head of State added.
The Founders
MAS Holdings was founded in 1987 by Mahesh Amalean, Sharad Amalean and Ajay Amalean popularly known as the Amalean brothers who hold Sri Lanka nationalities. Mahesh who serves as the Chairman of the company holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras in India.
He completed his executive education in Strategic Leadership from the prestigious Columbia University in New York. Sharad Amalean who serves as the Deputy Chairman of the conglomerate completed his Executive Education at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Ajay on the other hand has served in different positions in the company in his 30 year career. He remains as a co-founder of the company and currently focuses on giving back to the community. He represents MAS as a Trustee on the board of AYATI Foundation. He is an alumnus of Royal College, Colombo and IIT Madras where he pursued Mechanical Engineering.
