VOLCAFE History

The roots of VOLCAFE go back to 1851 when two brothers, Salomon and Johann Georg Volkart, founded Volkart Brothers Winterthur (Switzerland) and Bombay (India). The main purpose of this company was to engage in trade of cotton and industrial goods between Europe and the Indian subcontinent.

Volkart Brothers started its first coffee venture in India in 1857 and, in 1875, opened a branch office in Tellicherry in southern India. However, it was not until after World War II that coffee became an important activity of the head office of Volkart in Switzerland.

By 1950, Volkart's coffee trading activity covered the Western Hemisphere, sourcing coffees mainly from Latin America. Between 1950 and 1970, import companies were established in New York and Osaka as well as export companies in Brazil, Guatemala and Costa Rica. During the 1970's and 80's, other export operations were added in Colombia, Honduras, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and an import house in Germany.

In 1989, the ERB group, a Swiss Corporation from the same town of Winterthur, acquired the entire Volkart coffee division including all of the companies at origin. The ERB group renamed it VOLCAFE Limited. VOLCAFE continued in the same tradition of a service-oriented, worldwide coffee corporation.

In 2004 VOLCAFE was acquired by ED&F Man, one of the world's leading commodity trading companies. The purchase by ED&F Man of VOLCAFE in 2004 resulted in one of the most powerful green coffee companies in the world.

Today, VOLCAFE is a market leader in green coffee procurement and preparation, quality control, risk management and the logistics of delivery. VOLCAFE has purchasing operations in all the major origin countries, importing operations in all major consuming areas, and is a leading supplier to major roasters worldwide.

Salomon & Johann Georg Volkart founded Volkart Brothers Winterthur (Switzerland) and Bombay (India)