Atlas Axillia
Atlas Axillia is a Sri Lankan stationery manufacturer and owner of the Atlas stationery brand, operating as a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Atlas Axillia is a Sri Lankan stationery company whose principal consumer brand is Atlas. The company manufactures and supplies products for schools, offices and creative activities, including notebooks, pens, pencils and colouring materials. It is also involved in children’s educational products through the PlayPalz range. Atlas Axillia operates as a private limited company and is a subsidiary of the Sri Lankan diversified group Hemas Holdings. The business began as Ceylon Pencil Company (Pvt) Ltd, founded on 29 September 1959 by D. S. Madanayake. Its formation took place when imported stationery held a strong position in Sri Lanka, making the development of a local producer strategically significant. The company later changed its name to Atlas Axillia, while Atlas became its flagship market-facing brand. The company currently operates production facilities in Kerawalapitiya and Peliyagoda. Atlas developed a broad stationery portfolio rather than remaining limited to pencils. Its range includes school notebooks, writing instruments, pencils and colouring products, allowing the brand to serve both everyday educational needs and office or creative use. In 2017, Atlas Axillia entered a collaboration with the Chinese stationery company DELI. The partnership was presented as part of a longer-term plan to develop the company into a fast-moving consumer goods business and to broaden its commercial capabilities. The Atlas brand received notable local recognition during this period. It was identified as Sri Lanka’s most loved brand in 2017 and received the National Quality Award from the Sri Lanka Standards Institution in 2018. In the same year, Hemas acquired approximately 75.1 percent of Atlas Axillia for 5.7 billion Sri Lankan rupees. The transaction followed discussions about an amalgamation and strategic partnership. The Madanayake family and pre-existing shareholders retained approximately 24.9 percent. Following the transaction, Atlas Axillia continued to operate independently while becoming part of Hemas Holdings. The company has also used educational engagement and innovation projects to extend the Atlas identity beyond conventional stationery. In October 2019, it introduced the Atlas Future Land mobile activity centre at the Colombo International Book Fair, coinciding with International Children’s Day and the company’s sixtieth anniversary. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, the company developed a prototype automated guided vehicle incorporating features intended for a locally developed robotic medical assistant and donated the vehicle to hospitals for use by medical professionals treating coronavirus patients. In August 2024, Atlas Axillia expanded into toys and sensory play with PlayPalz, an educational toy line aimed at schoolchildren and linked to the company’s child-development strategy. The move indicates an effort to broaden the business from stationery into adjacent products supporting learning and childhood development. Atlas Axillia’s public profile has nevertheless remained primarily associated with the Atlas stationery brand and the Sri Lankan education market.
History
Atlas Axillia traces its origins to the Ceylon Pencil Company (Pvt) Ltd, established on 29 September 1959 by D. S. Madanayake. The company was founded in a Sri Lankan market in which imported stationery products were strongly established. Its creation represented an attempt to build local manufacturing capacity in pencils and related educational supplies. Over time, the business expanded beyond pencils and developed the Atlas brand as its principal consumer identity. The company subsequently adopted the name Atlas Axillia. Its product scope came to include notebooks, pens, pencils, colouring products and other stationery for schools and offices. Manufacturing operations are associated with facilities in Kerawalapitiya and Peliyagoda. The company’s development reflects the expansion of Sri Lankan stationery from a narrow pencil-making base into a broader education and office-supplies portfolio. In July 2017, Atlas Axillia collaborated with DELI, a Chinese stationery company. The collaboration was linked to a longer-term strategy of developing Atlas Axillia into a fast-moving consumer goods business. Around the same period, the Atlas brand achieved significant domestic recognition, being named Sri Lanka’s most loved brand in 2017. In 2018, it received the National Quality Award from the Sri Lanka Standards Institution. Ownership changed substantially in 2018 when Hemas Holdings acquired approximately 75.1 percent of Atlas Axillia for 5.7 billion Sri Lankan rupees. The transaction followed interest from Atlas Axillia’s board in partnering with Hemas through an amalgamation process. The Madanayake family and existing shareholders retained approximately 24.9 percent. Rather than absorbing the business into a fully integrated operating unit, Hemas allowed Atlas Axillia to continue operating independently as a subsidiary while using the relationship to support diversification and international expansion. The company marked its sixtieth anniversary in 2019 with educational and experiential activity. In October that year, it launched Atlas Future Land, a mobile activity centre, at the Colombo International Book Fair in conjunction with International Children’s Day. The initiative extended the brand’s engagement with children beyond the sale of stationery and connected Atlas with learning and play. Atlas Axillia also undertook a technology-related project during the COVID-19 pandemic. It developed a prototype automated guided vehicle incorporating features of a locally developed robotic medical assistant. The prototype was donated to hospitals during the period when Sri Lankan medical professionals were treating coronavirus patients. This was an unusual extension of the company’s capabilities beyond its conventional stationery operations. The company faced reputational and commercial pressure in 2019 after the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka. Atlas, together with other local companies, became the target of an anti-Muslim boycott promoted through social media. False claims circulated about the company’s ownership and organisational composition. The campaign reportedly affected revenue and reached schools, where some students were mocked or pressured because they used Atlas products. The episode illustrates how misinformation and communal tensions affected consumer brands in Sri Lanka. In August 2024, Atlas Axillia entered the educational toy and sensory-play segment with PlayPalz. The launch was described as part of a child-development strategy and broadened the company’s relationship with children from stationery into educational play. Atlas Axillia therefore remains principally a Sri Lankan stationery manufacturer while pursuing adjacent opportunities in learning, creativity, toys and child development under the ownership of Hemas Holdings.
- 2024
PlayPalz launch
[1]Atlas Axillia entered educational toys and sensory play with the PlayPalz brand.
- 2020
Medical-assistance vehicle prototype
[1]Atlas Axillia developed and donated an automated guided vehicle prototype to hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 2019
Atlas Future Land launches
[1]The company launched the Atlas Future Land mobile activity centre at the Colombo International Book Fair.
- 2018
National Quality Award
[1]Atlas received the National Quality Award from the Sri Lanka Standards Institution.
- 2018
Hemas becomes majority owner
[1]Hemas Holdings acquired approximately 75.1 percent of Atlas Axillia, with minority ownership remaining with the Madanayake family and existing shareholders.
- 2017
Collaboration with DELI
[1]Atlas Axillia collaborated with Chinese stationery company DELI as part of a broader growth and fast-moving consumer goods strategy.
- 2017
Atlas recognised as Sri Lanka’s most loved brand
[1]The Atlas brand received recognition as Sri Lanka’s most loved brand.
- 1959
Ceylon Pencil Company is founded
[1]D. S. Madanayake founded Ceylon Pencil Company (Pvt) Ltd on 29 September 1959.
Products and positioning
A Sri Lankan education and stationery brand positioned around locally produced school and office supplies, with adjacent products for creativity, learning and child development.
School and office stationery
Atlas stationery
Atlas is Atlas Axillia’s flagship stationery brand. Its portfolio includes notebooks, pens, pencils and colouring products used by schoolchildren, households and offices. The brand developed from the company’s original pencil-manufacturing heritage into a broader educational-supplies range.
Educational toys and sensory play · 2024
PlayPalz
PlayPalz is an educational toy range launched by Atlas Axillia in 2024. The line is aimed at schoolchildren and supports the company’s stated child-development strategy, extending its activities from writing and colouring materials into learning-oriented play.
Controversies
2019
Anti-Muslim misinformation and boycott campaign
Atlas Axillia was targeted in a post-Easter-attack anti-Muslim boycott campaign based on false social-media claims about the company’s ownership and organisational composition. Reports described commercial harm and pressure on students who used Atlas products.
Marketing campaigns
- 2019Atlas Future Land Mobile Activity Centre
Sri Lanka
Atlas Axillia introduced a mobile activity centre at the Colombo International Book Fair in October 2019. The activation coincided with International Children’s Day and the company’s sixtieth anniversary, using interactive learning and play to engage children.
Outcome. The initiative positioned Atlas as a child-focused educational brand beyond its core stationery products.
- 2019Anti-Muslim boycott of Atlas stationery
Sri Lanka
Following the April 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, social-media users promoted a boycott of Atlas and other local Sri Lankan brands. False claims concerning Atlas Axillia’s ownership and organisational structure circulated, and the campaign reportedly extended into schools.
Outcome. The campaign reportedly damaged revenue and caused some students to face ridicule or pressure over using Atlas stationery.
Brand decisions
2024
Expansion into educational toys with PlayPalzProduct launchBackground
Atlas Axillia sought to broaden its child-focused business beyond traditional stationery and support its child-development positioning.
Action taken
The company launched PlayPalz educational toys and sensory-play products for schoolchildren.
Aftermath
The launch extended Atlas Axillia into an adjacent learning and play category.
2018
Strategic partnership and majority investment by HemasM&ABackground
Atlas Axillia’s board sought a partnership that could support diversification and expansion into international markets while preserving the company’s operating identity.
Action taken
Hemas Holdings acquired approximately 75.1 percent of Atlas Axillia for 5.7 billion Sri Lankan rupees. The Madanayake family and existing shareholders retained approximately 24.9 percent.
Aftermath
Atlas Axillia continued to operate independently as a Hemas subsidiary.
Acquisition consideration. 5.7 billion Sri Lankan rupees (2018)
Recent events
- 2024
Atlas Axillia enters educational toy and sensory-play market[1]
Product launch · Product generation
The company launched PlayPalz educational toys for schoolchildren as part of a strategy focused on child development.
- 2020
Atlas Axillia develops and donates medical-assistance vehicle prototype[1]
Other
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlas Axillia developed an automated guided vehicle prototype with features of a locally developed robotic medical assistant and donated it to hospitals.
- 2019
Atlas launches Future Land mobile activity centre[1]
Campaign · Product launch
Atlas introduced the Future Land mobile activity centre at the Colombo International Book Fair during International Children’s Day celebrations and the company’s sixtieth anniversary.
- 2018
Atlas receives major local brand and quality recognition[1]
Other
The Atlas brand was recognised as Sri Lanka’s most loved brand in 2017 and received the National Quality Award from the Sri Lanka Standards Institution in 2018.
- 2018
Hemas Holdings acquires majority stake in Atlas Axillia[1]
M&A
Hemas Holdings acquired approximately 75.1 percent of Atlas Axillia, while the Madanayake family and existing shareholders retained approximately 24.9 percent.
- 2017
Atlas Axillia collaborates with DELI[1]
M&A
Atlas Axillia entered a collaboration with Chinese stationery company DELI as part of a plan to develop its business into a broader fast-moving consumer goods operation.
Sources1 sources
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