Westphal celebrates 200 years.

It's not often that a company reaches its 200th anniversary but when G.W.A. Westphal Sohn & Co. took a chance on a little known product called tea, it became one of the major suppliers of tea worldwide. We congratulate them on their honorable anniversary.

Over 400 guests participated at the festive ceremony marking the bicentennial of G.W.A. Westphal Sohn & Co. on October 1, 1996, at the Church of St. Katharinen, one of Hamburg's five major churches.

G.W.A. Westphal is only a few yards from the church of St. Katharinen on the other side of a canal which separates the city of Hamburg from the free port area.

When Gottlieb Wilhelm Alexander Westphal established his own company on September 29, 1796, he placed his stakes exclusively in tea, at that time a little known beverage in Europe. In so doing, he was taking a considerable risk. The beginnings were both "en gros and en detail," which is to say that it involved not only the importing of tea, but also the running of a retail store and a warehouse. By selling directly over the counter to customers, the owner soon gained a sound understanding of what types of tea suited people's palates. And so it came about that the historical background of the Westphal family, all of them merchants and notabilities, traces the history of Hamburg as a tea importing city and of trade with East Asia.

It was not long before the Westphals ascended to the notabilities of the hanseatic city and occupied numerous honorary appointments. Over a period of many years, Otto Eduard Westphal (1853-1919) fulfilled a double function as a merchant and a senator, a member of the state government of the free and hanseatic city of Hamburg, responsible inter alia for the construction of the first tunnel under the river Elbe in 1910.

The Westphals advanced to become "refined Hamburg patricians," as a Berlin daily newspaper put it after the first World War, directly related to the Amsinck family of shipowners and related by marriage to the Blohms of shipbuilders group Blohm & Voss.

Between the years of 1900 and 1914, the company expanded rapidly with the acquisition of Messrs. King, Simpson & Ramsey in London, located in Mincing Lane House, Eastcheap, with branch offices in Shanghai, Hankow, Foochow, Colombo, and later in Batavia. The name of the Hong Kong registered company was later changed to Westphal, King & Ramsey Ltd.

But the company did not always flourish. The two World Wars, with their catastrophic aftermath, and other setbacks, brought the company to the brink of ruin. Business associates and friends were able to prevent its collapse, however, and with their help, step by step, the situation gradually improved following the second world war.

In 1953, at the age of 22, Hans Fedo Busch joined the company as an employee, and after a six-month initiation period, he pledged continuing support to G.W.A. Westphal and to Eduard Westphal.

Rebuilding began in earnest. In 1969, Hans-Fedo Busch took over the last company shares from his highly esteemed partner, who in the fifth generation was the last bearer of the family name.

Today, G.W.A. Westphal Sohn & Co. is one of Europe's major bulk tea suppliers. Westphal does not distribute tea under brand names, but as a raw product. Considerable quantities of tea are re-exported to other parts of Europe, and the company also does business with North America.

The tea market in Germany is sophisticated and quality conscious, and this feature is one which G.W.A. Westphal has always taken very seriously. Busch and his 30 employees have a reputation in the warehouse city for being "the quality professionals." The company imports predominately high quality and top quality tea. Purchases are made direct from producers in North India, and Busch regards himself as their extended arm. Tea is also purchased at the auctions in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Top quality tea is only available at the season's peak periods, and so G.W.A. Westphal warehouses large stocks throughout the whole year. The selection of tea in stock at any given time is extensive, and this - along with the company's blending facilities - has gained Westphal a reputation as a reliable source of supply primarily for German and European packers and traders.

Busch is cautious when it comes to stating figures. In many respects, the German tea trade can be compared to a family, but at the same time there is stiff competition, he says.

In November 1993, Elena Busch, Hans-Fedo Busch's daughter, joined her father in the company. Prior to this, following her business apprenticeship with Messrs, Hermann J. Schmidt & Carl Schneemilch GmbH, Hamburg, Elena Busch went to London in 1989. During her four years with Lyons Tetley U.K. Ltd., she gained a sound knowledge of tea. In addition, one year's stay in India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Malawi provided grassroots experience of the tea industry, the cultivation of tea, and processing methods.

G.W.A. Westphal Sohn & Co. (GmbH & Co.) looks ahead to the next millennium with optimism.