The Wimmers story
The first 40 years:
Hundreds of million of bottles of Wimmers Soft Drinks have rolled off the conveyor belt since a young Frank (Franz) Wimmer set up his soft drink brewing company in 1909.
The young German brewer arrived in Australia in 1887 full of hope for the future and recipe for making cordial using the sarsaparilla root - little did he know that this recipe would becme an iconic flavour enjoyed by millions of people for the next 100 years.
He worked in various cordial factories, gaining valuable experience which he added to his own natural talent for brewing beverages.
Frank's first Sunshine Coast factory was located in Nambour on the site of the present-day Maroochy Shire Council Chambers. It later moved to Perwillowen Road.
A second factory was established in Cooroy, which was managed by Frank's son, Jack (Karl John) Wimmer. Both factories operated until well after the Second World War, but water quality issues eventually caused the Nambour factory to close and move the operation to Cooroy, where the water quality was, and continues to be, outstanding.
In stark contrast to today's fully automated operation, the early Wimmers factory, though innovative for it's time, consisted of a small wooden building with one only carbonator and hand operated pump; a corking machine which pushed corks into the bottles before being hand tied to fully secure them.
There was only one turnover rack to fill the Codds 'marble' bottles, one syphon filler and a large tub that was used for washing the bottles.
The finished product was delivered by horse and cart.
In those days an order could take two weeks to prepare - working day and night - which was the case when the Salvation Army ordered a large order of brewed hop and horehound beers, for a Christmas Holidays event in Maroochydore, a far cry from today's production of 350 bottles per minute.
When complete, the order was packed into straw-filled crates and taken to the railway station. From there a train carried the crates to the river where they were transferred to a boat and transported to Maroochydore.
In those days there were no bridges across the Maroochy River and rather than a quick 40 minute trip up the Bruce Highway, the river was by far the fastest mode of transport.
Jack and his brother Jeff worked in the business until 1940, when they left to join Australia's troops at war. Jeff survived five years in Singapore's Changi Prisoner Of War Camp only to be killed in an accident in Maroochydore shortly after his return.
Jack married and had three sons and a daughter - Frank, Geoff, David and Suzanne.
Reinventing Wimmers:
Geoff and David followed their father into the family business, holding on while many other family-owned cordial factories closed or sold out to the multi-nationals soft drink companies. Prior to World War II, there were around 2000 soft drink bottlers in Australia.
In 1974, Geoff travelled to New Guinea and worked for the South Pacific Brewery, where he set up and managed a cordial factory in Arawa in Bougainville Island.
On returning to Cooroy and the family business, Geoff discovered that it was still much the same as it had always been - the decision was made to reinvent the Wimmers Soft Drink business.
He and David demolished the old factory and built new facilities. They knew that their point of difference was the original recipes used by their grandfather. A marketing campaign was developed to promote the rich, full bodied flavours that only original recipes with quality ingredients can deliver.
This decision proved a great success as the revitalised Wimmers Soft Drink company carved a strong niche position in a market dominated by giants, Coke and Pepsi.
Fabulous Flavours:
Double Sarsaparilla is a Wimmers success story and is arguably a true-blue Queenslander's favourite drink.
Cooroy locals still add a dash of Sars to their beer, in other parts of the country publicans know it as a "Black & Tan".
Wimmers blended and developed the first Lemon Lime & Bitters soft drink in Australia. It was an instant success and on its release it sent the smaller brewing companies into a frenzy as they attempted to imitate the distinctive flavours. Again the secret was in the quality of the ingredients.
Raspberry Lemonade and Lime Cooler were also pioneered by Wimmers - today there are fourteen delicious flavours in their soft drink range.
Sold throughout Australia and New Zealand and there has even been past success in the export market with products being sent to Japan, China, the United States and even Saudi Arabia, Wimmers has earned its market share through a staunch commitment to quality flavour and manufacturing processes.
Future Focussed:
In August 2007, despite interest from international beverage companies, Cooroy Mountain Spring Water sealed the deal on the purchase of Wimmers Soft Drinks ensuring that this iconic business remain in Australian hands.
In doing so, the combined entities of Wimmers and Cooroy Mountain Spring Water now present a significant presence in the Australian non-alcoholic beverage industry.