LINCOLN, R.I. June (2015) – Finlays (www.finlays.net) operates in all parts of the tea supply chain and brings ‘bush to bottle’ tea knowledge in leaf tea procurement, product development and innovation. With the recent acquisition of Autocrat, LLC, a leader in coffee extracts, Finlays offers customer focused market solutions using the highest quality natural ingredients to flavor products for some of the foremost companies in the food, beverage, and dairy industries.
Robert Hobson has been hired as a National Account Director to develop and execute a North American sales strategy for aggressively growing key accounts. Mr. Hobson brings to the company over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, having held a variety of roles. Most recently, he was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for U.S. Beverage, Inc., Newnan, GA, and prior to that he was the National / International Sales Manager at Central International, Marietta, GA. Mr. Hobson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business, as well as, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese Mandarin from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Carol Nally has been hired as Sr. Account Executive serving Greater New York and Southern New England to focus on developing new and existing tea and coffee customers. Ms. Nally brings to the company over 25 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. She has held various sales management roles in London at Nacanco, Europe’s largest multi-size can manufacturer, and at Tastemaker Flavorings, and prior to that she held beverage development positions at Cadbury Schweppes in New York, London and Connecticut, and at PepsiCo North and South America. Ms. Nally holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, and an MBA degree with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.
“We are very pleased to have both Rob and Carol join our team,” said Steve Olyha, Chief Operating Officer. “They each bring a tremendous amount of experience that will support our corporate mission to provide the highest level of customer service with a clear focus on continued company growth.”
About Finlays
Established in 1750, James Finlay originated in Glasgow as a trader and manufacturer of cotton. In the 1880’s, the Company’s focus switched to the growing of tea when the commercial planting of the crop started in earnest in India. Later, during the 1920’s, the company expanded its tea business into Africa, establishing estates and production facilities which continue to form a major part of the business today.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swire Group, we are involved in every aspect of the tea industry: from the cultivation and processing of green leaf on our estates, through to the blending and packing of tea for the retail markets. We are also one of the world’s largest tea trading companies and are major suppliers of decaffeinated tea and instant tea. As a result of this “bush to cup” capability, and our long heritage as well as our ownership of tea estates, we have built up a considerable reputation and credibility in the market; one we are immensely proud of.
Tea Estates: We produce over 53 million kg of black and green tea each year on 13,000 ha of land dedicated to tea growing in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Argentina.
Tea Trading: We trade over 60 million kg each year from our offices in the UK, Kenya, Sri Lanka, UAE, Malawi, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and the USA.
Decaffeinated Tea: We are major producers and suppliers of high quality decaffeinated tea, trading over 3 million kg per annum.
Extracts: We manufacture and trade several hundred standards of coffee and tea extracts. We are one of the world’s largest suppliers of tea and coffee extracts, dealing with many of the world’s top beverage companies.
Coffee: Finlays is a major player in the UK Roast and Ground coffee market, blending and packing 4 million kg of coffee per annum.
