H

\V l

PT .

El

D OF CHANGE

Th P

' ' "-re n \ ' 1 "l emerging from three centuries of Spanish rule
r rou _bt about by lhe presence of the United States of America.
r just bef re the first World War the Philippines still preserved a
aDisb atmo phere. In Manila, most of the buildings were two"'~ ne n ,,. oden structures and Intramuros was perhaps one of the
e_~ ~ 1
of a mediaeval 'ailed city still existing at that time, with its
em l nee to the walled city of Makassar in Indonesia .
""mith Bell in 1911 \\'as housed in a typical Spanish building on the first floo r
f the Ban - of the Philippine Islands (the former Banco-Espanol-Filipino), at
e rn'"'T of Juan Luna Street and Plaza Cervantes, the latter complete with its
fo main and palm trees. But the wind of change was already becoming increasingly
e\i ent., .:ith concrete beginning to replace stone and timber, and multi-storied
-l ings vere ri~ing in the business district to the north of the Pasig river at
e fi ot of Jo nes Bridge (the old Puente de Espana). Next door to the Bank of
the Phili pine Islands , the National City Bank building was started about this
time. and a little later the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation rebuil t
i ts
- in concrete on their site opposite the Bank of the Philippine Islands.
"' of the business was still transacted in the Spanish language, especially
in the pro ~ces, where Chinese dealers spoke this tongue in a quaint variation
o
eir o m invention. The period was, however, the beginning of the end to
old me hods and \J;ays of conducting business, with its easy going and somewhat
Jaisse::-faire approach_.
In the o . pons such as Cebu , modem construction was appearing in the town
p1aza and the waterfron t, in which the company participated in the shape of a
ne building combining both office and warehouses.
At the rime, the fi rm had a comparatively large stafr of some 40 Europeans
headed in Manila by Clive Kjngcome and J. N. Sidebottom, with offices also
in Cebu, Uoilo Legaspi Tabaco, Tadoban, Cagayan de Misamis and subagencies in outports sucb as Bulan aad Gubat in Sorsogon , all in charge of staff

membersThe company's business progressed along the lines which st ill prevail , with the
emphasis on the export of .hemp, copra and musco vado sugar, while imports

36

The staff in 1913 with Clive Kingcomc and J. N. Sidebottom in the centre of t'he second row,
seated .

"' ere nfi ned t 1 few well-d fi ned ra le u h :t ' 1 : t i Ic - \ hi t~; d n ~ n _hi ,
fr m Ma o he t r--a nd \ h t
tac a ~ \ ~hi, ks. r uted! th t1r,t
whi ky to be import d in t t be i land . Th
u in ~ '>Va. de pa rtmt.:nt ,tli' d r
a it has been in tbe en uing y nr n. mdy. p r odm:e. imp rt . hi ,jn nd i
ance. AI o at thr peri d rhe c mpany fi r.. becam
nl ~ r tht> . ia i,
troleumCompany (later the Shell ompan .. ) v hich wa perhap the:
:.innin f
tpe more specialized form of import bu in thaT b came a featur f I ~r}
The outbreak of war in 1914 ha tened th.i hang -ov r fr m ld u ~ tom m
Manila. A majority of the ounger ~ tatf I ft t
nter the nn d
. man~
never to return. Replacement \ ere n t a ailabk; i mport w r
d'>
ty
affected the American business infiuen e, and activities became much m re
prominent and competition \ a s e er isina a re training h nd. H wever, in one
particular avenue of endeavour bu iness was very active during the war year .
This was .tvlanila hemp, and successful trading in this comm dity more tban
offset the decline in other departments.
Smith Bell's successful activities during thi per-: d in th h rn mar et ca n
be attributed to the1r being in close contact with the prin ipaJ produdn
through their provincial offices and secondly thr uc-h th ir mark ,ting
of a Lond o n office for the U .K. a!ll~ Continental trades, and tw out . ta nding
agents in the other prindpal consuming markets Mes rs. Henry W. Peab d
of Boston for tbe U.S .A. and Canada, and H. Kramer & Co. f, r J pan. Th
connecti on with H. Kramer goes back to pre-1914 days: and apart fr m a
temporary enfored break during the t 914- 191 war ha' continu
ev r i11
H . Kramer was of German nationality, but took Japane e citi z n~ hip and Ji d
all his life in Japan.
The system of trading in London ba hi torj ally alway, be n tlu ugh th
medi um of the London hemp merchants ho , in their turn, upplied th pmners
and papermakers of the U.K. and Continental market .
T hese connections have been maintained for a ery long period, with tb lea in 6
merchants in London: W. F. Malcolm & Co. L ndauer & o., Wiggle w rth
& Co., and Hindley & Co. In the case of all four trading h b n activ
over 50 years and in the ca e of Landauer, it
tend ba k t tJ1
century.
There has, accordingly, ne er been a direcl conn tlon bctw n
ll
and the ultimate buyers but regular meetings ol the M nita
m
i ti n
have brought together all sections of the trade to discu 1h. ir mutu 1 problem ,
and trus AssociatioA has proved itself t o li> of the r atest value as \ r ull f
this inter hange of views affecting all sections f the trad .
In the U.S.A., a onneclion developed in 1895 with th old est bli hed N w
England firm of Henry W. Peabody and ompany 0f o 1 n.
. b y . nt
Charles L. Smith to M nita a.s their representati in I q to t bli h th "ir ~~ n
office there. During that first year, Peab dy b ught i~ts first . r
o 'ManiL
hemp with the sup ort of several U.S. ordagc manllf cturer "ho ho. n t
signed UJD with a group that was aHemptin to form
t:u n p l f

37

P E

THl

:1.' .

"'' "'"''"'

E,

TH O ME

I he

l 960 wa the decision to mo ve the bead

of anila altogether and into a new area
oli , on the newly constru cted South E xpress

r-.:a~,.n~

behind this deci ion. prominent among them was

a on
'"hi h Smith Bell basically o wned their own
. age-rs resi dences in the mai r.. pro vi ncial to wns in
e<l: ' Ie in
anila the compa ny neither o wned its
g a commodation fo r its management. The excepa e si e owned b the compan y in I sla de Provisor,
o P lant, and with direct access t o the Pasi g river. On
l-arge warehouses before t he war, and three after-

:: ,. , in the earlier part of the century the company had

B
of he Phi lippine Islands in Plaza Cervantes. Then they
<><r>r.-n-d and
.b ird floors of the Hong K ong Bank Building
e 19JO;s he C<Ympaoy mo ved again, this ti me to t he Karolr L illi:, renti ng the bole of the seventh fl oor. This building
.........~~ - ~ Trn e and C ommerce Building. Ai r-condition in g was
_ he compan; shortly after the war, an innovation which
, ongh all the commercial offices of M an ila and replacing
;~ of 5o 1 movin g ceiling fans. E en so, large as t he premises
-as o eno room fo.r all the comp anys activities, and it was
ne~s-~,:r: o finding other rented p remises in the seafront area f or the
partments and a downtown site for office equ ipment.
:;; 1 i gi~ , J 9 ~ serious consideration was being given to movi ng
~ o_ .. ~ a_,iJz. f. tog
er an con oJida .ing all -company interests jn one compo und .
' ~o lo g ~ e general trend of the perjod by which commerce
ri - ./ g .. eraH: .ereleti'-.:ing be congested Manila area, with its difficulties
v ~ ... -:a d .Jig 1 m JJ~ci~J taxe.s, ro find more Ji ving space elsewhere, quite
~ rom
.~:antage-s of o ning rather than rentjng company premises.
. pre1: ~~".,< Joe , ock and barre}, was completed by 1966.

r-e "

60

The move coimcidcd with the aclvnt of a new manag.e ment .Board c~n si ting 0f
E. J. Aboitiz, Chairman; F. M. Coe, President; A. L. AchavaJ, Vi-Presideat
and A. J, Tyre1 B. H. Martin, W. A. Paradies and E. H. C.a.nova, Director~,
1

Among events of sign ifica nce in t.b e 1960's was the dif:Jjjcul t peritOd Red v.
Coconut Products Ltd. we nt thro ugl'l, In 1961 1 the whoJe J'JilGI:JSIJJry , mat on1y
in the Philippines, but also in Ceylon, was alarmed by tbe discovery of S1\Jm.oneJ1a
infection in desiccated coconut As a re$ult, sh1ptnents were bejng Jield up by
the health controls in importing countries . .Red V. s oh1.~d this partietdar prr0blem
with the help of Dr. Cad P. Schaffner of Rutgers University who, w'itb bjs team
of scientists, developed new production techniques having as their basis tbe
pasteurization of the coconut, and in due course the quality was a.gajn found
fully up to standard in the consuming countries.
Vavasseurs themselves at this ti-me sold oot part of their interests to a Filipjno
group centred oR the old-established firm of GonzaJo P1.lyat & Sons Inc. Antonio
Puyat, a son of Senate President Gil Puyat~ becam.e a member of the Red V.
Board of directors.
Smith Be1l's auditors from 1906 to 1953 were Henry Hunter Bayrte & Co. , a
firm wbjch had also engaged in the adjustment of fire losses. This old-e.stablis.hed
firm of chartered accountants was taken over in 1953 by SyCip_, Velayo~ Jose
& Co., certified public accountants, but they left the adjustment si de of the business
under the name of Henry Hunter Bayne Adjustment Co .. Sm1th BeU took a
controlling interest in this company in 1~59 which, by this time., under the direction of A. J. Chanin bad expanded into all types of insurance adjustment work.
Chanin also developed other related ~ctivities in the field of appraisal and quantity
surveying, in which Smith BeiJ also participated.
C. M. Lovsted & Co., bringing wjtb it the important Cummins Diesel Engine
agency, was bought in 1950 by Smith Bell. By 1963, sales of Cummins Diesel
Engines had grown to an extent which necessitated the formation of a separate
company to handle this agency alone, and Cummins Diesel Sales & Serv-ice
Corporation of the Philippines has become a multi-million pes"o concern in its
own right, with its own network of branches providing sales and s er vi.ce facilities
throughout the islands.
At this time, a new venture was the manufacture of machine-woven carpets
made from maguey and other fibres, and Bell Carpets are now turned out in a
large range of designs and colours.
In the paper and printing machinery fie]d, Sm.itb Bell had held the Wiggins
Teape agency from 1956 to 1966 when this firm decided to open up their own
office in Manila. This loss was counteracted by acquiring the Heiddberg agency
which was set ap as a subsidiary known as Philippine Printinrg Machinery and
Supply Co. Inc.
In the field of typewriters and office machines, the Underwood Corporation,
whose agency had long heen held by Smith Bell , was taken over by the Oli etti
Company, and i~ 1969 the combined Olivetti/Underw ood agency was acquired
by Smi th Bell who set up a subsidiary ce>m.pany to handle it.
61