ED&F Man was originally founded in 1783 as a barrel-maker and sugar broker at 23 Harp Lane, London, before diversifying to become the Royal Navy’s rum supplier and a trader of agricultural commodities products. Today ED&F Man Commodities is one of the world’s leading soft commodities brokers, sourcing, supplying, transporting and storing a range of products including coffee, sugars and molasses.

1755
1755
Birth of James Man

Born in Whitechapel, east London, and apprenticed to William Humphrey as a barrel maker, James Man went on to set up his own business as a sugar-broker.

1783
1783
Company founded

James Man set up his own business as a barrel maker and sugar-broker at 23 Harp Lane, London. The cooperage side of the business soon disappeared.

1784
1784
Royal Navy rum contract

James Man secured a contract to supply the Royal Navy with rum for the daily ‘rum tot’, a tradition under which all sailors were allocated a daily ration of rum. This tradition continued until 1970, with Man holding the contract for the full 186 years.

1802
1802
Moving into other commodities

Man begins to trade coffee, cocoa and other commodities. Trades are conducted at candle auctions held in coffee houses.

1810
1810
Company moves to Mincing Lane

Mincing Lane was the hub of London’s commodity trading centre, a couple of streets north of the docks on the river Thames.

1823
1823
Death of James Man

James Man retired in 1819 and moved to Dartmouth in Devon on the south coast of England. He died there in 1823.

1848
1848
CBOT Founded

The Chicago Board of Trade is set up as a cash market for grain. Forward or ‘to arrive’ contracts begin trading at the CBOT almost immediately.

1851
1851
Volkart founded

Salomon and Johann Georg Volkart found Volkart Brothers with offices in Winterthur, Switzerland and Bombay, India.

1856
1856
KBOT established

The Kansas Board of Trade is established by local Kansas City merchants as a means of trading grain.

1857
1857
First coffee venture

Volkart Brothers starts its first coffee venture in India.

1865
1865
CBOT sets out formal trading rules

The Chicago Board of Trade brings in formal trading rules, particularly for margin and delivery procedures – an important step in the evolution of futures contracts.

1869
1869
Company changes name

The company changes its name to ED&F Man, incorporating the initials of James Man’s grandsons, Edward Desborough and Frederick, who took over the firm.

1877
1877
CBOT publishes futures prices

The Chicago Board of Trade begins publishing futures.

1882
1882
First coffee trades in New York

The Coffee Exchange in New York City trades its first coffee contracts. In the same year the New York Butter and Cheese Exchange is merged with other exchanges to form the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex).

1915
1915
ED&F Man’s first female employee

Miss Sadie Braithwaite becomes the first female member of staff in ED&F Man. She served in the company for over 30 years.

1920
1920
SvG founded

Messrs Schuurmans & van Ginneken form a partnership to trade in sugar, molasses, coffee and cocoa.

1929
1929
Wall Street Crash

The crash in 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression.

1933
1933
Comex founded

The Commodity Exchange is founded from the merger of the Metal Exchange, the Rubber Exchange of New York, the National Raw Silk Exchange and the New Hide Exchange.

1940
1940
Westway Trading Corporation commences operations

Westway Trading Corporation originated in the 1940s as a family-owned molasses trading business initially known as Industrial Molasses Company.

1950
1950
Expansion of Volcafe activities in Latin America

The company begins trading coffee from Latin America to destinations across the western hemisphere.

1950
Global expansion

Volkart Brothers commence operations in North and South America, Africa, and Europe from 1950 to the 1980s.

1960
1960
Free Trade in Europe

The European Free Trade Association is formed.

1962
1962
US government starts monthly COT reports

The US Agriculture Department’s Commodities Exchange Authority publishes the first monthly commitments of traders report, replacing the annual reports that had previously been published.

1970
1970
The Royal Navy ends the rum tot

Times change – the Royal Navy discontinues its rum rations for sailors, so the contract with ED&F Man comes to an end after 186 years.

1977
1977
CFTC declares market emergency

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission declares a market emergency in the December coffee ‘C’ futures contract on the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange, resulting in an orderly reduction of the open interest in that contract. This is one of several emergencies in coffee futures during the late 1970s.

1981
1981
Move into futures broking

ED&F Man moves into futures broking, setting up Anderson Man, which becomes ED&F Man International, and later Man Financial.

1982
1982
CSCE introduces options on sugar futures

The Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange introduces options on sugar futures. The first US exchange traded commodity option.

1983
1983
200 Years of ED&F Man

ED&F Man celebrates its 200th anniversary and diversifies into financial services and alternative investment management.

1985
1985
ED&F Man acquires SVG Molasses

ED&F Man acquires Schuurmans & van Ginneken’s molasses business.

1986
1986
ED&F Man launches ‘BIBO’ sugar ship

ED&F Man launches the CHL Innovator, the first bulk white sugar vessel using the ‘bulk in-bags out’ system (BIBO).

1987
1987
Black Monday

On Monday October 19 1987 stock markets around the world crashed shedding a huge value in a short time. Beginning in Hong Kong, it spread to Europe and then the USA.

1989
1989
ED&F Man invests again

ED&F Man takes a 51 per cent stake in a London-based quantative investment manager, AHL. ED&F Man also acquires GNP Commodities in Chicago and cocoa trader Gill & Duffus.

1989
Volkart sold to ERB Group

The coffee company is renamed Volcafe Limited.

1989
Subsidiaries opened or acquired

Volcafe expands its business in Australia, South and Central America, Southeast Asia, East Africa, and the United States from 1989 to 2003.

1992
1992
Westway

ED&F Man acquires Westway’s molasses trading, storage and liquid feed business.

1992
Second BIBO launched

In the year that saw the Maastricht Treaty of the European Union, ED&F Man launches the second bulk white sugar vessel, the ‘CHL Progressor’.

1993
1993
Move into metals

ED&F Man acquires Paine Webber metals in London.

1994
1994
Listing on the London Stock Exchange

1994 saw the end of apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s president. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was also created.

1994 was also a momentous year for Man, who listed on the London Stock Exchange.

1996
1996
Pioneer BIBO vessel

ED&F Man launches its latest BIBO ship: ‘Pioneer’.

1996
New presence in Singapore

ED&F Man acquires Index Futures Group and Standard Chartered’s brokerage operation.

1997
1997
Growing our molasses and feed businesses

ED&F Man acquires Cargill’s international molasses, liquid feed and storage business.

2000
2000
ED&F Man’s management buy-out

A management buy-out of the agricultural commodities business returns ED&F Man to a private, employee-owned company.

2002
2002
The company expands its animal feed business

ED&F Man acquires Tate & Lyle’s North American molasses, liquid feed and storage business.

2004
2004
Volcafe

ED&F Man acquires Swiss based Volcafe, becoming one of the world’s leading coffee merchants.

2007
2007
ED&F Man on the LME

ED&F Man becomes the London Metal Exchange’s first new floor trading member in more than 10 years.

2008
2008
Financial Crisis

Lehman Brothers, a major investment bank and a future in the US financial sector for more than 150 years, files for the largest bankruptcy in US history.

The Dow Jones industrial average suffers the worst week of losses in its history, dropping by 22.1 per cent.

2008
More focus on core commodities

ED&F Man stops trading cocoa and increases focus on the company’s core commodities – sugar, coffee and molasses.

2012
2012
ED&F Man Capital Markets

ED&F Man expands its brokerage division by forming ED&F Man Capital Markets.

2012
Südzucker buys ED&F Man stake

German sugar-producer Südzucker acquires an equity investment of 24.99 per cent in ED&F Man.

2013
2013
ED&F Man celebrates 230 years

True sustainability – 230 years of innovation and expertise.

2014
2014
Volcafe Way developed and launched

Volcafe’s comprehensive farmer support programme is rolled out after two years of research and development.

2015
2015
ED&F Man acquires Mercatura and Feedimpex

ED&F Man acquires two Netherlands-based companies: Mercatura trades raw materials for the animal feed industry, specialising in co-products from sugar, and Feedimpex has over 30 years’ experience trading dried sugar-beet pulp.

2015
ED&F Man acquires Royal Ingredients

ED&F Man acquires Royal Ingredients, a successful specialty sugar processor and distributor.

2015
ED&F Man sucessfully bids for Iansa

ED&F Man acquires more shares in Chilean commodities company Empresas Iansa, resulting in approximately 92 per cent ownership of the company.

2015
ED&F Man takes on remander of SIS

ED&F Man acquires the remaining 49 per cent it did not already own in sugar company SIS ’88 from Kuok (Singapore), taking its ownership to 100 per cent.

2017
2017
ED&F Man acquires Maviga

A global leader in the origination, processing and trading of dried edible pulses, seeds and speciality crops.

2020
2020
Volcafe marks its 170th anniversary

The company has become one of the top three coffee merchants, sourcing 12 percent of the world’s export market.

Volcafe adopts a new, purpose-led proposition: Making coffee business better, together.

2021
2021
Volcafe launches new sustainability strategy

The Volcafe Sustainability Strategy combines and focuses activities in three key pillars: Sustainable Profitability, Regenerative Practices and Responsible Citizenship.

2022
2022
Restructuring of business

In March 2022 ED&F Man Holdings Limited completed a restructuring which saw ED&F Man Commodities Limited created as a separate, stand-alone soft commodities business.

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“I have been working for Volcafe for over a decade now, and what I value the most is the relationships you build, not only with teammates around the globe, but also within your community and how connecting the supply chain can make a positive impact on farmers lives”

Maria Morales, General Manager, Guatemala, Coffee

As a company, ED&F Man values employees’ work-life balance and promotes a holistic approach in motivating their best work. ED&F Man / Volcafe offered me the opportunity to work with extremely smart people and perform challenging work. There has never been a time when I have been disappointed. A unique aspect of ED&F Man is the level of talent combined with a willingness to share and learn from each other’s expertise. ED&F Man is a company I am really proud of and great place to work. Because of the company’s culture and values, we as employees feel passionate about our careers and grow professionally. The last 7 years have been awesome in the company, and I look forward to working for many more years to come.”

Chalapathi Maralur, General Manager Bangalore & Head Of Agronomy Coffee, India, Coffee

If you’re intellectually curious, up for a challenge and self-directed in your approach you will thrive in this diverse and multicultural business where no two days are ever alike and you really do have the opportunity to shape the future in a fascinating, global business.

Adrian Osbourn, Head of Learning and Development, United Kingdom, Corporate

No day is the same working in such a dynamic industry and entrepreneurial environment. With our global presence, career opportunities are endless.

Dionne Cobelens, Trader, Netherlands, MLP

“With a diversity of clients spread across different regions, working with ED&F Man Sugar will allow you to visit, trade, and understand various regions within the soft commodity world; all the while allowing you to display your entrepreneurial skills when the opportunity arises.”

Issam Zeitoun , Trader, United Kingdom, Sugar