IFF Shares 130 Years of its Storied History and Limitless Future
28 Janvier 2019 - 10:15PM
Business Wire
Regulatory News:
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF)
(Euronext Paris: IFF) (TASE: IFF), is celebrating its 130-year
anniversary with an appreciation of its past, its extraordinary
people and a look to its boundless future.
IFF Chairman & CEO Andreas Fibig commented, “The incredible
growth and success IFF has enjoyed through its 130-year journey
didn’t happen on its own. We are the result of every win, challenge
and fortune that we have experienced since our inception in the
19th century. But more than anything, it is a story best told
through our people.”
From humble beginnings to IFF
On January 27, 1889, when Leopold Schwarz and Josef Polak
officially turned their kitchen table startup into Polak &
Schwarz (P&S), it is a safe bet that they couldn’t imagine what
this fledgling company would become. Mr. Schwarz was simply
following a passion for spices and essences, moving from the bakery
ingredients sales job he’d begun as a teenager. But under their
capable hands, P&S grew.
Fast-forward to 1917. Mr. Polak left the young company, but Mr.
Schwarz persevered. He established P&S in many countries, but
set his sights opening an office in the United States. As IFF
folklore states, the “enterprising Dutchman,” Arnold Louis van
Ameringen was hired to open P&S’s first US facility. Shortly
after Mr. van Ameringen’s arrival in the US, P&S let him go.
Undaunted, he quickly established van Ameringen & Co., selling
both flavors and fragrances. Both companies prospered.
In 1958, Mr. van Ameringen shared the news that his company,
evolved into van Ameringen-Haebler, and Polak & Schwarz, would
merge to become International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., with
him as president. The irony of helming the company that fired him
41 years earlier was never lost on him.
Our People
“One of the hallmarks of IFF and its predecessor companies has
been the passion of its people,” said IFF Chairman & CEO
Andreas Fibig. “Throughout our history, we have been fortunate to
share our lives with some truly spectacular colleagues – people
unafraid to speak their mind, to turn dreams to reality, or to buck
convention. We embrace these changemakers. They have shaped our
company and the world.”
Take Dr. Braja Mookherjee, for example. An IFFer for 38 years,
he was a scientist with the soul of an artist. He embodied
everything IFF strives for and his impact on the flavors and
fragrances industry reached much further than the greenhouse he
ran. He dreamed big – all the way to outer space – and pondered the
effect of microgravity on the aroma molecules of a living rose. On
October 29, 1998, his “Overnight Sensation,” a miniature rose
plant, became the most famous payload aboard the NASA Space Shuttle
mission STS-95, while IFF monitored the control plant back on
earth. The findings showed that the three major chemical components
of the flower changed dramatically in microgravity; causing a
difference in fragrance. "This transformation has created a
completely new fragrance that is not of this earth," he stated. His
spirit of discovery and innovation lives on at IFF.
Our story continues…
“IFF has changed and reinvented itself many times over its 130
years, but the past five years has seen its biggest shift to date,”
continued Mr. Fibig. “With an unprecedented innovation pipeline and
the acquisition of Frutarom, we are a new company yet again. The
magnitude of our talent, the increase in our portfolio and
offerings to our customers, and our expanded geographical and
customer reach is unparalleled in our history.”
“Our story continues to unfold and I have never been more
optimistic about our future,” Mr. Fibig concluded. “I want to
recognize every IFFer that made this great company their passion. I
honor our past leaders for rising to extraordinary challenges and
taking the right risks. I thank our customers, big and small, for
their partnership and shared vision. IFF is what it is today
because of the relationships we’ve forged through good times and
challenging ones, from the risks we’ve undertaken and those thrust
upon us. We wear our age, history and our scars with pride and I
know they make us stronger and more confident about our future than
ever.”
# # #
Meet IFF
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) (Euronext
Paris: IFF) (TASE: IFF) is a leading innovator of scent, taste, and
nutrition, with over 110 manufacturing facilities, 100 R&D
centers, and 33,000 customers globally. At the heart of our
company, we are fueled by a sense of discovery, constantly asking
“what if?”. That passion for exploration drives us to co-create
unique products that consumers experience in more than 150,000
unique products sold annually. Our 13,000 team members globally
take advantage of leading consumer insights, naturals exploration,
research and development, creative expertise, and customer intimacy
to develop differentiated offerings for consumer products.
Learn more at www.iff.com, Twitter , Facebook,
Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190128005611/en/
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.Michael
DeVeauHead of Investor Relations and Communications &
Divisional CFO, Scent212.708.7164Michael.DeVeau@iff.com