Voorbrand

"This plunged the fledgling company into crisis. The ironic consequence was a further far-reaching initiative, an inventive solution conceptualised by Rupert: to launch a new investment company, Tegniese en Industriële Beleggings Beperk (TIB, Technical and Industrial Investments Limited), that could strengthen its capital base through the sale of shares. The start of TIB was financed by the sale of the dry-cleaning business Chemiese Reinigers. That was when Dirk Hertzog, Rupert’s old friend and first business partner, joined the board of Voorbrand. Rupert threw himself into the campaign to sell shares in the new company, thus raising the necessary capital to buy back not only the 2 000 FVB shares, but those of Kopersbond as well. When FVB was dissolved years later, those 2 000 shares were worth more than all its assets. With the blessing of Voorbrand’s board, Rupert was allowed to place shares in TIB. The establishment of TIB gave the first indications that Rupert was starting to move. The investment company was to lay the foundations for one of the most spectacular expansions in South African industry, the House of Rembrandt."

"As early as 1941 Voorbrand received a substantial offer from ME Risien, chief executive of UTC: he was willing to pay £50 000 if Voorbrand undertook not to manufacture cigarettes, thus entrenching UTC’s near monopoly of the market. Stals’s response was swift and categorical: ‘We’re not selling our birthright.’"

"He crossed over to the new company at the time of the merger, when Voorbrand’s production assets and brand names were transferred to Rembrandt for a sum of £70 000. Voorbrand shareholders obtained a share in Rembrandt, which still continued to process pipe tobacco. Rupert himself was authorised to apply for shares of £70 000 in Rembrandt."

"A major lesson he learned from the difficult times during and after the war, according to Rupert, is that Voorbrand was mainly selling products he would typify as C products. He distinguishes three classes of products: A products, better than those of his competitors; B products, which are equal to the products of competitors, and C products, inferior to those of competitors. The lesson he would later impress upon his employees was to launch only A products or at least B+ products. The only other way was imitation or discount prices, which he rejected as not normally options for quality entrepreneurs."