1821
Alexander Guthrie established Guthrie & Co. in Singapore as one of the first British trading houses in Southeast Asia.
Our History
Our History
1844
Daniel and Smith Harrison, and Joseph Crosfield formed a tea and coffee trading partnership called Harrisons & Crosfield in Liverpool, England.
1860
Harrisons & Crosfield became the third-largest tea trader in the world with annual sales of up to 2.75 million pounds (1.25 million kg).
1867
Guthrie & Co. diversified into the insurance and banking industries and invested in steamship companies.
1895
Harrisons & Crosfield established its first eastern branch, Lampard, Crosfield & Co, in Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), marking their entry into the plantation ownership business.
1896
Guthrie & Co. accepted agencies for coffee estates in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, which were experimentally planted with rubber.
1903
Guthrie & Co. partnered with Scott & Co. to form Guthrie and Company Ltd., capitalised at RM1 million. Harrisons & Crosfield invested in rubber in Malaya by acquiring Pataling Company, which owns an estate in Selangor.
1905
Golden Hope Rubber Estate Ltd. successfully acquired Golden Hope Estate, located by the Langat River in Klang, Selangor, which consists of 900 acres of rubber, coffee, and coconuts.
1907
Harrisons & Crosfield opened its first Kuala Lumpur office under the name Crosfield, Lampard & Co. It acquired estates in Melaka, Selangor and Perak with a total of 6,673 acres, and entered Sumatra via the acquisition of Begerpang Estate.
1910 | 1916
- William Middleton Sime, Henry d'Esterre Darby, and Herbert Milford Darby established Sime, Darby & Co. in Melaka.
- Sime, Darby & Co. became an agent and secretary for five rubber plantations with a total of 12,437 acres. Sime, Darby & Co. also diversified into timber, preservatives, and motor insurance.
1917
The first commercial planting of oil palm in Malaya took place in Tennamaram Estate, Selangor, laying the foundations for the industry in the country.
1920
Harrisons & Crosfield was given exclusive rights to cut and develop the timber industry in Borneo through the acquisition of the China Borneo Company.
Guthrie & Co. acquired property at Mengkibol, Johor, planted with Elaeis Guineensis, the African oil palm, and established the first hydraulic press system at the factory.
1924
Guthrie & Co. purchased a small property in Kluang, Johor, planted with Elaeis Guineensis, and named it ‘Elaeis’.
1929
Research and development (R&D) in Guthrie & Co. commenced with the establishment of Chemara Research Station, Johor.
1930
Formation of Oil Palms of Malaya Limited. Sime Darby & Co. opened its first office in Kuala Lumpur, located along the present-day Jalan Tun H.S. Lee (formerly High Street).
1936
Sime Darby & Co. moved its headquarters from Melaka to Singapore.
1941
World War II: The first bomb in Singapore landed on the roof of 6 Battery Road, the headquarters of Messrs Guthrie and Company.
1948 | 1949 | 1954
- Formation of Harrisons & Crosfield Latex Ltd. in Malaya. Processing of latex began in the Pataling factory. The company diversified into oil palm.
- Chemara Research Station became Malaya’s first R&D centre to breed DxP palms, significantly enhancing yields and boosting oil palm’s viability as an agricultural crop.
- Chemara Research Station set up a pisifera garden, enhancing DxP seed production and raising national yields by 33% with new planting materials.
1955
Creation of Harrisons & Crosfield's Palm Oil Research Station in Klanang Bahru estate, Banting by research officer Brian Gray.
1959
Harrisons & Crosfield acquired Carey Island, Selangor with 18,000 acres of rubber, coconut, and tea, and 10,000 acres of reserve land suitable for oil palm cultivation.
1960
Incorporation of Kumpulan Guthrie Sdn. Bhd. to serve as the local agent for Guthrie Estates Agency Ltd. to manage the vast holdings.
1964 | 1965
- Sime Darby & Co. explored the new oil palm crop on the Merlimau Pegoh Estate, Melaka, and Tali Ayer Estate, Perak.
- Guthrie Corporation Limited was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
1977
Guthrie Corporation Limited transferred its plantation interests from UK subsidiaries to Malaysian incorporated companies. It expanded into the Philippines, China, and Africa.
The amalgamation of the 'three sisters' – Golden Hope Rubber Estate Ltd, Pataling Company, and London Asiatic resulted in Harrisons Malaysian Estates Ltd. owning a total land bank of 179,000 acres, planted with rubber, oil palm, and coconut.
1978 | 1979
- Sime Darby Berhad was incorporated in Malaysia and set up its head office in Jalan Conlay, Kuala Lumpur.
- Sime Darby Berhad incorporated Consolidated Plantations Berhad, the Group's principal vehicle for further expansion in plantations.
1980 | 1981
- Sime Darby Berhad commenced trading on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.
- Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) gained majority control of Guthrie Corporation Limited (GCL) on the London Stock Exchange.
1982
PNB and Harrisons & Crosfield established a joint venture, Harrisons Plantations Berhad, to acquire the plantation interests of Harrisons Malaysian Estates Ltd.
Guthrie Corporation Limited's plantation interests were brought back to Malaysia. Plantation assets in Malaysia and overseas, and the marketing and distribution network companies in the UK and the US, were transferred to Kumpulan Guthrie Sdn. Bhd.
1985
Golden Hope Plantations Berhad introduced the Zero-Burning Replanting Technique to replace the traditional slash-and-burn method of clearing land, which will eventually become the industry standard.
1986
Harrisons & Crosfield ventured into the food sector via the acquisition of Kapar Coconut Industries Sdn Bhd.
1989 | 1990
- Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad is listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.
- To reflect its Malaysian identity, Harrisons Malaysian Estates Ltd. changed its name to Golden Hope Plantations Berhad, after its oldest constituent estate. Golden Hope Plantations Berhad introduced Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in all its plantations.
1992
Golden Hope Plantations Berhad was elected to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Global 500 Roll of Honour for the commercialisation of the Zero-Burning Replanting Technique.
1994
Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad strategically diversified its core business into plantations, property development, manufacturing, and services. The Group also commenced its property development activity in Bukit Jelutong.
2000 | 2001
- Golden Hope Plantations Berhad made its debut into the pink guava puree manufacturing industry via a new plantation in the Sungei Wangi Estate, Perak.
- Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad acquired Salim Group’s plantation interest in Indonesia which increased its landbank by more than 260,000 hectares in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. This acquisition laid the foundation for the modern day Minamas Plantation.
2004 | 2006
- Golden Hope Plantations Berhad became a pioneer member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad became the first plantation company in the world to be granted EUREGAP (European Retailers and Producers Good Agriculture Practices) certification for plantation management.
- A Special Purpose Vehicle called ‘Synergy Drive’ was established to acquire all assets and liabilities of Sime Darby Berhad, Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad, and Golden Hope Plantations Berhad.
2007
Merger of Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad, Golden Hope Plantations Berhad, and Sime Darby Berhad to form a new company, which took on the Sime Darby brand. All plantation activities and operations were consolidated under a subsidiary, Sime Darby Plantation Sdn. Bhd. (SD Plantation).Synergy Drive was listed on Bursa Malaysia as Sime Darby Berhad with a market capitalisation of RM59.5 billion – nearly 80% more than the combined market capitalisation of RM31.6 billion, of the three companies at the start of the merger process.
2008 | 2009
- SD Plantation received its first RSPO certification by way of Sandakan Bay Strategic Operating Unit (SOU).
- SD Plantation's scientists successfully sequenced, assembled and annotated the oil palm’s genome.SD Plantation launched its Mangrove Research Centre (MRC), the first centre for mangrove research in Malaysia. MRC is a platform for research on the mangrove ecosystem and coastal zone management.SD Plantation entered Liberia when we signed a 63-year lease agreement with the Liberian government for 220,000 hectares of land in the African republic.
2010
Launch of the Sime Darby Innovation Centre Europe (ICE) in Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands, a state-of-the-art facility for testing prototype oil formulations in food applications and production at a pilot scale.
2011
- Gender Policy was launched and Gender Committees were established throughout SD Plantation’s estates and mills to provide a safe work environment for women, while encouraging the development of female leadership and participation in the workforce.
- SD Plantation planted the first palm seedling in Liberia and launched its first estate, Matambo Estate.
2012
SD Plantation became the world’s largest producer of CSPO. A new Central Housing Complex was launched to build modern housing facilities to further raise the standard of living for employees.
2013
SD Plantation established its Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy.
2014
SD Plantation became the founding member of the High Carbon Stock (HCS) Science Study and committed to the Sustainable Palm Oil Manifesto, committing to no deforestation and higher sustainability standards for industry stakeholders.
2015
SD Plantation acquired New Britain Palm Oil Limited (NBPOL), adding another 135,000 hectares of land in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, bringing the Group’s total landbank to almost one million hectares.
2016
SD Plantation launched its Responsible Agriculture Charter (RAC). SD Plantation commenced its first large-scale commercial planting of GenomeSelect® high yielding oil palms, which allows the company to produce more oil with existing land.
2017
SD Plantation was listed on Bursa Malaysia on 30 November 2017, following the demerger from the holding company, Sime Darby Berhad. SD Plantation became Malaysia’s first ever company to win the Edison Award (Bronze Medal) under the Energy and Sustainable category for GenomeSelect®.
2018
SD Plantation achieved 100% Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification and became the largest producer of MSPO-certified palm oil.
2019
First commercial harvest of GenomeSelect® demonstrated a 20% increase in yield compared to the Calix Q6, the previous best planting material.SD Plantation launched ‘Crosscheck’, an open access online tool that allows traceability to source in SD Plantation’s supply chain.
2020
Publication of the genome map in the public domain to fuel the research of others in the plantation sector. SD Plantation achieved 100% RSPO-certified mills. SD Plantation announced the sale of its 100% equity interest in its Liberia operations.
2021
SD Plantation announced Project Infinity, to transform the laborious, manual and menial work in plantations with mechanisation, automation and digitalisation. SD Plantation aligns its climate-related disclosures with The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations.
2022
SD Plantation committed to achieving net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2050. SD Plantation announced Project OMEGA – a programme to transform all its mills in Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands into certified food safe facilities.
2023
SD Plantation became the world’s first palm oil company with net-zero targets by 2050, fully validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
SD Plantation made GenomeSelect® commercially available.
SD Plantation kicked off 400-hectare Peatland Restoration in its operations in East Malaysia for reforestation, the first project of its kind opting to restore it into a functional peat ecosystem instead of replanting oil palm.
2024
SD Plantation announced two new business verticals in industrial park development and renewable energy.
SD Plantation rebranded to ‘SD Guthrie’.
SD Guthrie unveiled “Beyond Zero”, our sustainability framework.