about Us

In 1981, the pioneering concept of producing self-adhesive labels and stickers emerged from a study conducted by a group of students on the role of sales representatives in the retail sector. This innovation led to Sri Lanka’s first use of self-adhesive materials for promotional activities when Pure Beverages Co. Ltd., the marketers of Coca-Cola, launched the iconic COKE sticker campaign in June 1981. The success of this initiative resulted in the manufacture of these products by the M&E Group, the predecessor of M&E (Private) Ltd. Soon after, self-adhesive labels became widely used for product identification, allowing manufacturers to label short production runs on polythene bags, metal containers, glass bottles, and other packaging more efficiently than traditional long-run printing methods. Although the technology was already popular in developed countries, its adoption in Sri Lanka was initially limited by the high cost of imported raw materials and import tariffs. As the economic advantages of self-adhesive labels became increasingly evident, their use expanded rapidly across industries.

M&E established itself as a leading supplier by sourcing premium raw materials from some of the world’s best manufacturers and developing unmatched expertise in label materials, printing technologies, and application solutions. During this period, the company also built a strong screen-printing capability and collaborated with external offset and letterpress printing partners before establishing its own offset printing facility in 1995. Recognizing the growing demand for high-quality screen printing beyond self-adhesive labels, M&E founded its wholly owned subsidiary, Excel Typographers (Pvt) Ltd., in 1987. The subsidiary became responsible for all screen-printing operations, including the production of self-adhesive labels and promotional stickers, laying the foundation for M&E’s continued growth as one of Sri Lanka’s leading printing and packaging solution providers.