Robert Timms
Encyclopedia
Robert Timms was an Australia
n entrepreneur
and businessman.
Born in Hobart
in 1908, Timms was educated at Trinity Grammar School, Victoria
. At the age of fifteen he began working as a grocery apprentice boy at Moran and Cato, a store his father managed. He showed great sales talent and eventually his commissions from sales of tea and coffee made him the highest paid employee in the company.
After his father retired from the company in 1937, Timms resigned and used the funds from shares he had acquired to purchase the Associated Tea Company. In 1939, J.A.D. Gibson bought Associated Tea Company, renamed it the Victorian Branch of Gibson Tea Pty Ltd, and invited Timms to stay on as Sales Manager.
After the outbreak of World War II
, Gibson realised wartime conditions and restrictions would make running the Victorian business from Sydney difficult and offered to sell the company back to Timms. Timms accepted and throughout the war he and his employees worked up to 20 hour days to meet demands to provide Australian and American
servicemen with adequate supplies of fresh coffee. During this time Timms was responsible for setting up the very first automated line of fresh coffee making in Australia.
In 1951, the company's name was changed to Robert Timms Pty Ltd. After wartime restrictions were released, the company quickly grew from a Victorian
company to a national one. Several important contracts were signed in the 1950s, most notably as the official supplier of coffee for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games
and a contract with Ansett airlines which required the development of a special blend of coffee for Queen Elizabeth II
. This blend, the "Royal Blend," remains one of the most popular blends of coffee ever created in Australia.
In the late 1950s Timms introduced self-service coffee grinders into Australian supermarkets. This was seen as an innovative development. Demand for Robert Timms coffee quickly out-stripped supplies and the company opened new plants in Hobart
and Brisbane
.
In 1964, Timms went to New Guinea
to inspect coffee planting and production plants which had commenced after World War II. He was so impressed that he became the largest exporter of coffee beans from that country. He then launched his first gourmet blend, "New Guinea Gold". This blend became, and remains, a best seller in Australia.
During the 1960s, vacuum sealed packaged American and European coffee became popular in Australia. Timms responded by exporting soluble New Guinea Gold to both the United States and Europe. The Department of Trade
awarded him the Gold Medal Export Award for his efforts.
By 1967, Timms noted the potential in the Australian tea market and negotiated an agreement with the Tetley Tea Company
of the United Kingdom. By 1969, with more than 75% of the market share, Robert Timms Pty Ltd was the largest privately owned Australian tea and coffee company. At the height of the company's success, Timms took the opportunity to retire, selling the company to Bechumut Squib, owners of the Tetley Tea Company.
Robert Timms coffee remains one of Australia's most famous and popular coffee brands and is one of the few Australian companies which still blends and roasts its coffee in Australia.
Robert Timms died in 1993 and is survived by one daughter and one grandson.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and businessman.
Born in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
in 1908, Timms was educated at Trinity Grammar School, Victoria
Trinity Grammar School, Victoria
Trinity Grammar School is an independent Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located across several campuses in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. At the age of fifteen he began working as a grocery apprentice boy at Moran and Cato, a store his father managed. He showed great sales talent and eventually his commissions from sales of tea and coffee made him the highest paid employee in the company.
After his father retired from the company in 1937, Timms resigned and used the funds from shares he had acquired to purchase the Associated Tea Company. In 1939, J.A.D. Gibson bought Associated Tea Company, renamed it the Victorian Branch of Gibson Tea Pty Ltd, and invited Timms to stay on as Sales Manager.
After the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Gibson realised wartime conditions and restrictions would make running the Victorian business from Sydney difficult and offered to sell the company back to Timms. Timms accepted and throughout the war he and his employees worked up to 20 hour days to meet demands to provide Australian and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
servicemen with adequate supplies of fresh coffee. During this time Timms was responsible for setting up the very first automated line of fresh coffee making in Australia.
In 1951, the company's name was changed to Robert Timms Pty Ltd. After wartime restrictions were released, the company quickly grew from a Victorian
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
company to a national one. Several important contracts were signed in the 1950s, most notably as the official supplier of coffee for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
and a contract with Ansett airlines which required the development of a special blend of coffee for Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. This blend, the "Royal Blend," remains one of the most popular blends of coffee ever created in Australia.
In the late 1950s Timms introduced self-service coffee grinders into Australian supermarkets. This was seen as an innovative development. Demand for Robert Timms coffee quickly out-stripped supplies and the company opened new plants in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
In 1964, Timms went to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
to inspect coffee planting and production plants which had commenced after World War II. He was so impressed that he became the largest exporter of coffee beans from that country. He then launched his first gourmet blend, "New Guinea Gold". This blend became, and remains, a best seller in Australia.
During the 1960s, vacuum sealed packaged American and European coffee became popular in Australia. Timms responded by exporting soluble New Guinea Gold to both the United States and Europe. The Department of Trade
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the government of Australia charged with advancing the interests of Australia and its citizens internationally...
awarded him the Gold Medal Export Award for his efforts.
By 1967, Timms noted the potential in the Australian tea market and negotiated an agreement with the Tetley Tea Company
Tetley
Tetley, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Global Beverages , is the world's second largest manufacturer and distributor of tea. Owned by India's Tata Group, Tetley's manufacturing and distribution business is spread across 40 countries and sells over 60 branded tea bags...
of the United Kingdom. By 1969, with more than 75% of the market share, Robert Timms Pty Ltd was the largest privately owned Australian tea and coffee company. At the height of the company's success, Timms took the opportunity to retire, selling the company to Bechumut Squib, owners of the Tetley Tea Company.
Robert Timms coffee remains one of Australia's most famous and popular coffee brands and is one of the few Australian companies which still blends and roasts its coffee in Australia.
Robert Timms died in 1993 and is survived by one daughter and one grandson.