Hayleys Chairman Mohan Pandithage and Camlin Chairman Dilip Dandekar formalise the partnership in the presence of senior representatives of the two companies.

The World of Hayleys has entered into a new realm of colour and creativity in partnership with India's most recognised stationery and art brand, Camlin.

The Blue Chip conglomerate's consumer specialist Hayleys Consumer Products Limited (HCPL) has been appointed sole distributor for the 79 year old heritage company known in Sri Lanka for products under its own name and the brand 'Camel.'

Hayleys will initially distribute and market Camlin's 'Back to School' range comprising of high-quality, non-toxic crayons, colouring pencils, water colour cakes, lead pencils, and instrument boxes in Sri Lanka, and progressively extend the portfolio to encompass the extensive 2000 plus product offering available.

"These are products that stimulate creativity and make a child's education pleasurable," Hayleys Chairman Mohan Pandithage observed at a colour-themed launch of the partnership in Colombo. "It is an area of business that calls for a very interactive and imaginative approach, and Hayleys looks forward to representing Camlin to its full potential."

Camlin Chairman and Managing Director Dilip Dandekar, whose father founded the company in 1931 with 'Horse' brand ink powders and tablets, said the biggest success the brand had achieved in India was the fact that three generations have used its products. "Our association with our customer starts at the pre-school age, and we have a product range for every level as the customer grows older," he said.

Hayleys Consumer Managing Director Rizvi Zaheed said Camlin is an important addition to the list of global brands represented in Sri Lanka by HCPL. "We are excited at the prospect of marketing products that foster creativity at a young age, and continue to inspire and support creative expression throughout a user's life," he said. "Stationery and writing instruments are very personal to their users and great brands enjoy enduring consumer loyalty."

The full Camlin product portfolio comprises of five ranges, the Back to School range for students, the Artists range, Writing Instruments, Marking Instruments and the Hobby range. Among the products are a variety of oil, acrylic, poster, transparent photo and glass colours, water colour tubes, coloured drawing inks, sketching pencils, soft pastels, starched canvases, oil sketching papers, paint brushes, easels, palettes, crayons, cone and fine liners, glitter, glues and pens.

The launch of the Hayleys - Camlin partnership themed 'The Power of Colour' also included a presentation for key HCPL distributors, dealers and sales staff on Child Psychology and Art by child art specialist Mrs. Yamuna Kaluarachchi.

Camlin, whose name evolved from an amalgam of 'Camel' and 'Ink' distributes its products through a 50,000-strong retailer network in India and has a market share of 60 per cent in many of the categories it is present in. The company pioneered the hobby range of colours and introduced the fine art, hobby and fashion colour categories in India. It was also the first company in the country to adhere to the Art & Creative Materials Institute's world standards in toxicity certifications.

Camlin's All India Camel Colour Contest holds the record of the highest entries ever and has been registered in the Limca Book of World Records. The Camlin Art Foundation set up by the company encourages and promotes fine art.

A member of the Hayleys conglomerate, which has been adjudged Sri Lanka's Best Corporate Citizen four times, Hayleys Consumer is the sole representative in Sri Lanka for several leading international brands including Philips Consumer and Professional lighting, Fujifilm, GP Batteries, Blue Cross and P&G.