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J.R. Simplot, "Potato King" - dies at 99
J.R. Simplot, the billionaire founder of the Boise, Idaho-based agriculture business that bears his name and who helped make French fries a staple of the American diet and waistline, died on Sunday, May 25 2008 at the age of 99.
After pioneering the first commercial frozen French fry in the late 1940s, Simplot eventually became a major supplier of Idaho potatoes to McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's. His privately held company, where he was chairman emeritus, reported $3.3 billion in sales in 2006.
Born John Richard Simplot in Dubuque, Iowa in 1909, he left school at the age of 14 to work in the agriculture storage and distribution business. He started his first produce company in 1929, and eventually became a major supplier of dehydrated potatoes to the U.S. military during World War II.
In the late 1940s, Simplot's researchers began experimenting with frozen potato products. His company began producing frozen French fries in Idaho in 1946 and the business thrived with the spread of freezers into American homes.
Simplot's most well-known business venture began with a handshake. In 1967, Simplot and McDonald's founder Ray Kroc shook hands and agreed the Simplot Company would provide frozen French fries to the expanding fast-food chain.
The Simplot company also operates a feedlot business, with operations in Idaho and Washington turning out about 400,000 head of cattle per year. The company owns and operates fertilizer manufacturing plants in Idaho, and a Simplot company called Grower Solutions has about 70 stores selling agricultural products in the West.
In 1973 Simplot retired from his company, but remained chairman of the board. He stepped down from that post in 1994 after his children Gay, Don and Scott were named to the board of directors, but retained the title of chairman emeritus.
In 1980, he provided seed money to a small Boise-based computer chip manufacturer, Micron Technology. Micron is now one of Idaho's largest publicly traded companies.
A well-known figure in Boise, Simplot was often seen driving through town in a Lincoln Town Car with license plates that read "MR SPUD." In an interview for the company in 1992, Simplot said he didn't care how he would be remembered. "Oh hell, I don't care what they say about me," Simplot said. "I'm not a publicity hound."
Irvine Robbins, ice cream pioneer dies at 90
Irvine Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robins, whose ability to create unusual ice cream flavors helped push post World War II America far beyond it chocolate, vanilla and strawberry tastes, has died at the age of 90.
Robbins opened his first ice cream shop in 1945 in Glendale, California, with his brother in law and partner, Burton Baskin. Robbins displayed a keen sense of fun and a flair for marketing that helped turn some of their frozen treats into cultural touchstones. A matter of fact, when the Dodgers came to LA in 1958, they were greeted with Baseball Nut, a flavor complete with raspberries for the umpires. Lunar Cheesecake was launched the day after man landed on the moon in 1969. Robbins delighted in inventing new flavors and naming them, including his personal favorites, Jamoca Almond Fudge. By the time he retired in 1978, the company was selling some 20 million gallons of ice cream a year in more than 2,000 stores around the world. In 1967, the company was sold to United Fruit Company for an estimated 12 million dollars, and Irvine Robbins stayed with the company for 11 more years after the sale.
Robert Mondavi, Pioneering Vintner Dies At 94.
Robert Mondavi, the pioneering vintner who helped put California wine country on the map, died at his Napa Valley home at the age of 94
In 1966, he was 52 and a wine making veteran when he opened the winery that would help turn the Napa Valley into a world center of the industry. Clashes with his brother Peter led him to break from the family business, borrow money and start his own company. At that time, California was primarily known for cheap jug wines, yet Mondavi set out to change that by championing cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels, all of which became common place.
In 2004, the company accepted a buyout worth $1.3 billion from Constellation Brands. The success of the Mondavi winery allowed him to donate tens of millions of dollars to charity.