History Of Olympia Capital Holdings Company
Olympia Capital Holdings Limited, formerly Dunlop Kenya Limited (DKL) was initially established as a branch office of Dunlop United Kingdom (UK) in Kenya in 1968 then a British multinational to carry out the business of manufacture of vinyl floor tiles, adhesives and sports equipment. In 1970, the company was formally registered in Kenya and got listed at the Nairobi Stock Exchange in 1976.
In 1989, Dunlop (UK) was acquired by BTR Worldwide with the latter gaining controlling stake of DKL. However in 1996, BTR decided to sell its interest in Kenya to local investors. In 1999, Dunlop Industries Limited (DIL) was registered as a fully owned subsidiary of DKL to continue with the business of the parent company and allow DKL to concentrate on investments.
Since inception, DIL remains the only local manufacturer of PVC floor tiles in the East African region. In 2004, DKL changed its name from Dunlop Kenya Limited to Olympia Capital Holdings limited.
Olympia Capital Holdings Limited (OCHL), which is listed in the Nairobi Stock Exchange, now owns 100% Dunlop Industries Limited in Kenya, 27.5% of Avon Rubber Limited in Kenya. In 2002, the company established Olympia Capital Corporation Limited (OCCL) in Botswana as a holding company of Kalahari Floor Tiles (KFT), the sole manufacturer of Vinyl Floor Tiles in Botswana.
Olympia acquired a loss making KFT from Rikett International AS and began the process of turning the company around. Today, KFT is profitable, has a dominant share of the Vinyl Floor tile market in Sub-Saharan Africa and has expanded its product line to include PVC and aluminum window and floor frame.
KFT has an installed manufacturing capacity of 900,000M2. They produced tiles and sheeting to South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS).
In 2005, Olympia Capital Corporation acquired all the assets of Botswana Fine Industrial Chemicals (BOTFIC) (Pty) Limited, a cleaning and hygienic chemical manufacturing company based in Gaborone. Since the acquisition, the company has operated as a division of Kalahari Floor Tiles.
In 2006, Olympia Capital Corporation acquired 74% of Plush Pty in South Africa, a company that manufacturers and distributor of curtain trucking and related products. Plush Pty sells both Plush and Yokota branded products to the major chain store groups (such as pick ‘n pay and shop rite checkers) and the major hardware chain store groups (such as builders warehouse and mica) and the independent retail hardware outlets.
In March 2007, OCCL did a rights issue in Botswana where it was able to raise about Pula 10,657,000 (Kshs 122million) in Botswana local currency. The proceeds of the rights issue were aimed to be used at expanding the business in the Southern Africa market, repay part of the outstanding loan as well as to serve as the working capital for the company.
