Carrying forward a lineage that dates back over 136 years to the British Colonial Raj era, the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company Private Limited (KDHP) succeeded Tata Tea Limited on 1st April, 2005, when the latter exited most of its plantations in Munnar to focus on the growth of its branded tea business. During the year 2004-2005, owing to the general crisis prevalent in the tea industry at the time, Tata Tea Ltd restructured and came up with a proposal to transfer its holdings in the Kanan Devan Hills Village. This was done as part of a restructuring exercise evolved through a detailed study, particularly taking note of the prevalent crisis in the tea industry.

Thus, the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company was formed, making it the largest employee-owned tea company in the world. Encompassing the Participatory Management System of operations, where the shareholders of the company are mainly its employees – a novel concept in the plantation industry credited to the farsighted vision of the company’s Founding Managing Director, Late. Mr. T.V. Alexander