| In a recent communique to the stakeholders of the UB group, Vijay Mallya has made it clear that he would be happy to create a truly world class enterprise taking the best of SWC and UB group liquor entities, over the next 60 days. |
| Mallya would address the shareholders of SWC at its annual general meeting in Kolkata on Wednesday. |
| This could be the last AGM of SWC held in Kolkata. |
| Ahead of this mega merger, the UB chairman assured the employees of Shaw Wallace that they should not be nervous about their future. |
| SWC currently has an employee strength of around 2,000, which included the employees of the distilleries. |
| Incidentally, the consolidation of Mallya's spirits businesses was believed to be a two-fold affair. |
| Initially, three of UB's existing companies "" McDowell & Co, Herbertsons and Triumph Distillers & Vintners "" would be merged to form United Spirits Ltd. Subsequently, SWC, would be merged with United Spirits, placing it as the world's second largest spirits marketer. |
| Mallya said, "What I want to achieve in a period of 60 days is to take the best practices, the best people, the best talent from both the companies and create a truly world class enterprise in United Spirits." |
| UB chairman also added in his message that he had advised Sammy Lalla, managing director of SWC, to chalk out the priority areas for the next 60 days. |
| "I told him (Lalla) to brief me appropriately so that I can then determine a suitably merged organisational structure and adopt the best of business practices and policies from each," he said. |
| Mallya dispelled the fear of a failed merger by saying that he was determined to ensure that the traditional reasons for failure of mergers did not apply in any way to this proposed mega merger. |
| "I want all of you to think positive, not negative," he added. |
| To win the confidence of 2,000-odd SWC employees, Mallya said that many people may be worried about job security but they should not be nervous about the future. |
| "Trust me, we will treat you in a fair and transparent fashion. We will be kind and just. We are not monsters who believe in trampling over people's sentiments," he added. |
| SWC started operations from January 1886 under David Shaw and C W Wallace as founder partners in the business of buying and trading in tea and raw as well as manufactured Bengal silk. |
| By 1964, SWC was ranked seventh amongst the agency houses and ninth in the volume of tea shipments from Calcutta to the United Kingdom. |
| SWC was one of the first importers of motor cars into India and also the first agents for Marconi's Telegraph Company and an airline, Imperial Airways. |
| SWC was one of the largest,outside the public sector, in the distribution of fertilizers throughout India in the 1930s throught to the 1960s along with distribution of agrochemicals and all types of spraying equipment for spraying crops. |
| In 1948, SWC acquired the business of Cutler Palmer & Co.Ltd., Calcutta, the old established importers of wines,spirits and beers, and also acquired the distribution rights for Johnnie Walker Whisky, Gordon's Gin, Exshaws Brandy and Allsopps Beer. |
| In 1958, SWC entered distilling by acquiring Bengal Distilleries, manufacturer of the well known Haywards gin, whisky, brandy and liqueurs. |
| In 1961, SWC set up a yeast manufacturing plant and its production of yeast revolutionised bread making all over India. In 1987, the late Manu Chhabria bought over SWC. |
| In 2005, Vijay Mallya's UB Group bought over SWC. |
| SWC was housed in Wallace House, next to Kolkata's General Post office. |
| The plot had earlier been occupied by a bungalow which served as the famous Kellners shop supplying stores and provisions to the tea gardens in Assam. |
| Miss Wallace laid the foundation stone for Wallace House in September 1909. |
| The grand building was inaugurated as an office in 1911. |
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