LIM TUA CO - Key Persons
In 1937, James Limpe, a son of Lim Chay Seng, was placed at the helm of the company. James Limpe, a professional manager, graduated in 1924 from the University of Washington in Seattle, United States. It was he who introduced modern management into the business. In 1939, the distillery was transferred from the heart of Chinatown to the growing industrial center in Grace Park, Caloocan City. The second world war hit the Philippines in 1941 and it found Destileria Limtuaco at odds with invading Japanese forces. Obeying a last minute order of USAFFE (United States Armed Forces of the Far East) Commander General Douglas Mac Arthur for liquor manufacturers to stop their operations and dump their liquor before the Japanese entered the Open City of Manila, James Limpe was incarcerated in Fort Santiago along with prominent American, Filipino and Chinese leaders of the community. Today, a marker stands at Fort Santiago to honor patriots like James Limpe who shared its dungeons during the last war. With the onset of world peace in 1945, James Limpe rebuilt Destileria Limtuaco and began training his eldest son Julius in the business of running a distillery.
Julius Limpe was sent to the United States in 1946 to study business management at the University of Indiana. In 1958, James relinquished his position of Chief Executive Officer to Julius. As he grew in the business, Julius Limpe learned the chemistry of liquor manufacturing and became like his father, a master blender of whiskies, gins, brandies, rums, vodkas and wines. Julius Limpe invented, developed and patented formulas and aging processes that are today, part of the closely guarded secrets of the corporation. On the other hand, the manager in him propelled Destileria Limtuaco to its present position of primacy in the liquor industry. The distillery has over 30 different products, which include local blends and foreign brands manufactured locally under license. It has three bottling, processing and aging plants, as well as many warehouses in Metro Manila, which constitute the largest stock of aging spirits in oak barrels in the liquor industry.
In 1926, Limtuaco's nephew, Lim Chay Seng, took over the helm of the company. Much needed capital was pumped into distillery and production shifted from the home-brewed concoction of Sioktong, anisados and tintos to other Western type liquors.