History
The Past
Founded in April 1902 by Charles Hansen dbc foodservice has risen from humble beginnings of just four staff to what is today' a leading national foodservice organisation.
Over the last century dbc foodservice has lived through two world wars, a depression and numerous recessions and retail revolutions.
Historical Moments
1902 - Founded by Charlie Hansen
1914 - During the First World War a shortage of 'maize' led to the death of many pigs, the company only just survived going into liquidation
1925 - One of the first companies in the UK to introduce staff canteens
1930's - During the depression, dbc gave free bacon parcels to the unemployed
1933 - DBC diversified into other food products such as eggs, cheese & butter
1938 - Prior to the outbreak of war, the headquarters were moved 20 miles north out of London to Welwyn Garden City, still the location of the headquarters today
1942- The founder Charlie Hansen died aged 74
1959 - Became a public limited company
1960's & 70's - Many branches such as Manchester, Brentwood and Birmingham moved into new buildings
1985 - First custom built branch was opened in Newmarket
1994 - Southern hub branch was opened in Petersfield
1995 - Re-branded as DBC Foodservice
1997 - Own label d brand range was launched
2000 - Northern hub branch was opened in Rotherham
2001 - One of the first foodservice organisations to launch an internet ordering facility
2002 - Celebrated our centenary year, over 100 years of trading - a first in the foodservice industry
2006 - DBC Foodservice awarded the Ministry of Defence Worldwide Food Supply Contract
2009 - Acquired by WPD Limited, a company owned by Malcolm Walker, Andrew Pritchard and Tarsem Dhaliwal
