Company founder was a pioneer of trading with emerging Asian economies.

 

R. Weatherdon & Co has announced the death of the company’s founder Rob Weatherdon (pictured) at the age of 89. 

 

Weatherdon was at the forefront of trading with burgeoning Asian economies in the 1970s, frequently travelling throughout the region he was soon importing dried fruit from The Philippines and exporting clay to Indonesia. 

 

Together with wife Judy, Weatherdon purchased a biscuit distribution business in the Sydney suburb of Artarmon in the early 1970s.

 

However, it was Taiwan that formed the cornerstone of the business.

 

An office in the capital Taipei opened in the early 1980s at a time when very few Australians knew much about the country.

 

The Taipei office provided the springboard for what would become the two main arms of the business – stationery and hotel supplies.

 

Ever the trader, Weatherdon also exported cheese, seafood and breakfast cereal for Australian companies gaining a foothold in the fast-growing Taiwanese economy.

 

Weatherdon Corporation has since grown into one of Australia’s leading hospitality distribution businesses now run by son Robert, the company’s managing director.