The Straits Trading Company (STC) was established in 1886 by two partners, James Sword of Glasgow, Scotland and Hermann Muhlinghaus an entrepreneur from Wiesbaden, Germany. The partnership was formed to set up a tin smelting business in Malaya to meet the obvious demand for a large and efficient smelting business to replace all the small, inefficient smelters in use at that time. The partnership evolved successfully to become one of the largest tin smelters in the world. To raise capital for expanding the business, The Straits Trading Company Limited was incorporated in Singapore on 8 November 1887 with an initial capital of S$150,000. Their first smelting shed was in Telok Anson (now Teluk Intan), previously owned by the Shanghai Tin Mining Company….(read more here)
This picture shows the Straits Trading Company office building in Kampar, Perak. Is the building still around? Or, maybe it’s been converted into something else?