CEO Ted Nixon: We’ve haven't stayed in business for 148 years because we’ve carried on doing exactly the same thing
Founded in 1865 by Dutch immigrant Douw Ditmars Williamson in New York to manufacture burnt sugars for the brewing industry, DDW has been in the food colors business for an astonishing 148 years.
But there’s no room for complacency, says CEO Ted Nixon, who joined the firm in 1974 as a manufacturing associate and has been CEO since 1992.
“We’ve not stayed in business this long because we’ve carried on doing exactly the same thing. My grandfather [who joined DDW in 1896] could never have imagined that caramel color in soft drinks would ever be more than a niche. But as we know, the market exploded, and today we have 50% of the market.
“Likewise, back in the 60s my Dad probably never would have imagined that we’d need to look much beyond the USA, yet today, 75% of our business is outside the US and we have facilities in China, Swaziland, the UK, Brazil and Ireland.”
Click here to read our interview with Ted Nixon in full.
