Spotlight
WJ Towell Holding
Information last updated on 04 July 2022
Snapshot
Founding
Family Name:
Sultan family
Founder’s Name:
Mohammed Fadhil
Earliest Documented Business Name:
WJ Towell
Founding Year:
1866
Founding Location:
Oman
Today
Current Operating Status:
Operating
Family Business Name:
WJ Towell & Co. LLC
Headquarters Location:
Muscat, Oman
Key Industries:
construction, FMCG, automotive, engineering, services and trade.
Number of Employees:
10,000 employees (approx.)[1]
ABOUT THE FOUNDER AND FOUNDING STORY
Mohammed Fadhil was born in 1858 in Bombay, where he attended Elphinstone High School. In 1878, at the age of 20, he moved to Muscat, Oman, to work as a merchant.[2] Twelve years earlier, one William Jack Towell had arrived in Muscat, Oman and saw an opportunity to open US trade with the port.[3] The sultanate was then embroiled in a turbulent political phase — the ruling sultan was murdered in 1866,[4] and two separate civil wars soon erupted that saw Muscat besieged and bombarded.[5] Towell nonetheless managed to establish the W. J. Towell Company, which became the first American export company in the Omani capital.[6]
In 1881, with his business a success, Towell established a trading firm where he employed Archibald McKirdy,[7] a British merchant who held the position of the United States vice-consul in Oman.[8] [9] In 1884, 26-year-old Mohammed Fadhil joined the company as well.[10] Soon after, Towell departed Oman, handing his business over to McKirdy.[11] Mohammed had meanwhile entered into a political career alongside his one in business. In 1892, he became the deputy US consul, reporting to McKirdy.[12] In 1907, McKirdy resigned and management of the W. J. Towell Company was eventually handed over to Mohammed Fadhil.[13] In 1914, he acquired full ownership of the company.[14]
During this era, W. J. Towell Company acted as the local agent for the British India Line and the Standard Oil Company. It was primarily an import-export business: bringing in US-produced kerosene and sending out pomegranates and dates to India and the US. There was a strong American demand for Omani dates before large-scale production started in California, while in India they were an essential part of Hindu marriage feasts.[15] Mohammad Fadhil was a prominent community figure. Referred to as “the wearer of glasses,” he was known for his knowledge of medicines and served as an “amateur doctor and pharmacist.”[16] He died in 1916, at the age of 58.[17]
Shortly before his death, Mohammed Fadhil handed over the company to his eldest son, Sultan, whose name was adopted as the family name.[18] Sultan was more interested in medicine than commerce, so he soon passed along leadership of the company to his eldest son, Abdul Redha.[19] [20] At that point, Oman was undergoing a political and economic crisis fueled by a tribal rebellion against the government of Sultan Taimur bin Faisal.[21] [22] The dates business incurred significant losses and the company lost its shipping agency.[23] By the late 1920s, however, it slowly started to recover.[24]
GROWTH PHASE
In 1947, Sultan’s sons Ahmed, Qamar, and Ali expanded the business to Kuwait,[25] where they struck a profitable rice import deal, selling directly to members of the Kuwaiti royal family.[26] In the following decade, the business extended operations to Iraq,[27] and in 1965, it established its first food distribution division in Kuwait.[28] While the Towell company in Kuwait was signing massive contracts in the international commodities markets in the 1960s, the company in Oman remained fairly stagnant. In 1967[29] W.J. Towell Co expanded to Dubai, establishing the Enhance Group, which would ultimately focus on brand distribution and retail solutions.[30]
Ahmed Sultan passed away at the end of 1977, and his eldest son, Maqbool, of the family’s fourth generation, took charge of the business, which was effectively centered in Kuwait by that point.[31] In 1978, Tawfiq Bin Sultan, Ahmed Sultan’s eldest son, joined the business,[32] which soon began to diversify, establishing a major a cement manufacturing operation. It also expanded further into wholesale trade in general merchandise — cigarettes, clothing, canned foods, household goods, and perfumes.[33] In the early 1980s, the company’s major new area of expansion was in Omani real estate.[34]
Throughout the 1990s, the family business continued to expand both in Kuwait and Oman, despite the interruption of operations in the former due to the Gulf War. In 1991, the family established Bustan Al Wataniya, a distributor of tobacco and health and beauty products.[35] In 1992, Towell International Group Company was founded in Kuwait to represent Jotun Paints.[36] Toward the end of the decade, the Middle East Technology Company was founded in Kuwait as a part of W.J. Towell Group.[37] In 2002, Towell Engineering was founded in Muscat; it now comprises a total of 11 engineering companies.[38] In 2013, Tawfiq consolidated the Kuwaiti operations under the name of Towell International Holding.[39]
TODAY
Today, WJ Towell Holding has grown into a broadly diversified conglomerate with over 10,000 employees working in consumer goods, automobiles, real estate, construction and engineering, electronics, telecommunications and computers, printing, tender supply, shipping, and insurance.[40] Geographically, the group operates in Oman, Kuwait, the UAE, and India.[41] The various businesses that make up the family business are run by the Sultan family’s fourth and fifth generations.[42] Maqbol Sultan is now Chairman and Imad Kamal Sultan is Vice-Chairman. There are more than 140 family members who are direct and indirect stakeholders.[43]
Notes
Photo Credit: The Towell Group headquarters in Muscat, Oman. Image credit: Towell Group. Source: Towell Engineering Group Youtube
[1] “تاول تحتفي بالطلبة والموظفين المستفيدين من المنح الدراسية للمجموعة ومعهد التدريب.” جريدة الرؤية العمانية, 31 July 2017, https://alroya.om/post/193414/تاول–تحتفي–بالطلبة–والموظفين–المستفيدين–من–المنح–الدراسية–للمجموعة–ومعهد–التدريب. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[2] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P 75-180. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[3] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.160. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[4] Serim. Assassination and Intrigue in Muscat 1866–68. 20 July 2017, https://www.qdl.qa/en/assassination-and-intrigue-muscat-1866%E2%80%9368. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[5] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.158. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[6] Alsharidah, Mansour. Merchants without Borders: Qusman Traders in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean, c. 1850-1950. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/344937965.pdf P. 313. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[7] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.158. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[8] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.158-160. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[9] Lorimer J. G. Gazetteer Of The Persian Gulf Oman And Central Arabia Vol-i Part-Ii. 1915. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.206963. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[10] Middle East 1985-11: Iss 133. TME Media 21 Ltd, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/sim_middle-east_1985-11_133. P.20. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[11] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.159-160. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[12] “TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2022. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[13] “TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2022. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[14] “TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2022. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[15] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.160. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[16] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.160. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[17] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.160. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[18] Middle East 1985-11: Iss 133. TME Media 21 Ltd, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/sim_middle-east_1985-11_133. P. 20. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[19] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.160. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[20]According to some sources, Sultan handed over the leadership to his brother Habib
[21] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.160. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[22] Oman (1912-Present) – University of Central Arkansas. https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/middle-eastnorth-africapersian-gulf-region/oman-1912-present/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[23] “TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[24] “TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[25] “TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[26] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[27]“TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[28]“TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[29]Enhance Group: Overview | LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/enhancegroup/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[30] History in the United Arab Emirates | Enhance. http://www.enhanceuae.com/history. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[31] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.170. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[32] “TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[33] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.170. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[34] Field, Michael. The Merchants : The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Woodstock, N.Y. : Overlook Press, 1985. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/merchantsbigb00fiel. P.173. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[35] “About Us.” Al Bustan Al Khaleeji, https://www.bustankhaleeji.com/about-us/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[36] “TOWELL INTERNATIONAL GROUP COMPANY – TIH.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/en_US/towell-international-group-company/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[37]OUR HISTORY. https://metco.om/en/our-history/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[38] ABOUT US. https://www.towellengineering.net/about-us. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[39] “TOWELL HISTORY.” TOWELL INTERNATIONAL HOLDING, https://www.towellholding.com/towell-history/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[40] Refinitiv
[41] WJ Towell & CO.(LLC). http://www.wjtowell.com/. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[42] Souder, David, et al. “How Family Influence, Socioemotional Wealth, and Competitive Conditions Shape New Technology Adoption: Family Influence and New Technology Adoption.” Strategic Management Journal, vol. 38, no. 9, Sept. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2614. P 1774–90. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
[43] Souder, David, et al. “How Family Influence, Socioemotional Wealth, and Competitive Conditions Shape New Technology Adoption: Family Influence and New Technology Adoption.” Strategic Management Journal, vol. 38, no. 9, Sept. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2614. P 1774–90. Last Accessed 04 Jul 2022
To cite this article please use:
“WJ Towell Holding” Family Business Histories Research Project, New York University Abu Dhabi and Tharawat Family Business Forum, 20 Mar. 2023, familybusinesshistories.org/spotlights/wj-towell