Lever's Pacific Plantations Ltd, a subsidiary of Lever Brothers, became the largest operator of plantations, with 26 plantations established by 1916. The Malayta Company operated 7 plantations, and was controlled by the Young family who were associated with the South Seas Evangelical Church. Burns, Philp & Co operated 7 plantations through subsidiaries - the Solomon Islands Development Company, the Shortland Islands Plantation Ltd and Choiseul Plantations Ltd. These corporate plantation owners employed 55 per cent of the Solomon Islanders engaged in the copra industry, with individual plantation owners employing the remaining 45 percent.