Historical Review

Dating back to the XVIII^th century, Harel Mallac is one of the oldest, longest standing and most important business companies in Mauritius and the Indian Ocean. Established, since 1830, in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, the Harel Mallac enterprise started as a family-owned business during the late 1700s, when Charles Pierre Harel, Brittany born, more exactly from St Malo, was authorized by the then Governor to charter merchant ships between Mauritius, Reunion and Madagascar.

From this beginning, the activities expanded with the setting up of Harel Frères, which in turn bought out the Belle Vue Estate in 1838. Over the years, the company became the sole property of Victor Harel, Charles-Pierre's son, and later that of the family descendants. In 1893, following the destruction of its premises by a fire, the company moved its offices to Edith Cavell Street, better known then as Rempart Street.

This new stone-built edifice was one of the most beautiful buildings in Port Louis at that time and is still highly preserved by Harel Mallac which, since then, has constructed another building in the same street, to accommodate its current Head Office. In 1920, the merger of Charles-Pierre's descendants with Tristan Mallac – which later developed into P. Elias, Mallac & Company – together with the union of the latter with Louise Harel gave birth to Harel Mallac & Co. At the outset, the company's activities consisted of commerce, import-export, and insurances and also of loans supplies to planters. At that time, the company was located at La Chaussée, in the heart of Port Louis.

Harel Mallac was incorporated as a private company in 1956 and is now a flagship of a group of companies whose reputation for excellence has become a byword in Mauritius. Present in various business clusters: Bureautique, Chemicals, Engineering, International, Outsourcing, Technologies, Tourism and Leisure, Monoprix… Harel Mallac holds for sure a prominent position on the island. Further interests of Harel Mallac include investments in Mauvilac Industries Ltd, Total Mauritius Ltd, Cargo Express Company Ltd, Société du Port Ltd, Froid des Mascareignes Ltd, & Rehm-Grinaker Construction Company Ltd. It must be noted that the Harel Mallac Group is also engaged in the field of tourism and travel since the 1960's. It has acted namely as representative for Lufthansa, Thomas Cook and Varig Brazilian Airlines. Harel Mallac Travel, travel agency member of IATA deals on its part with all travel bookings and also organizes outbound tours to various destinations. The Group also owns shares in the hotel industry through Maritim hotel.

For the past 180 years, Harel Mallac has increased and diversified its services so as to adapt to a constantly changing market. Through its numerous subsidiaries and associated companies, it has also succeeded in contributing significantly, both as supplier and as an investor in the development of Mauritius.