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= Jacob Van den Bergh = Jacob Van den Bergh (1848 - 1934) was a Dutch bussinessman. He was the eldest son of Simon Van der Bergh, founder of a margarine factory in the Netherlands that would later become world-famous and which would amalgamate with another factory to eventually become Margarine Unie.

Early and personal life
Jacob Van den Bergh, the eldest son of Elisabeth and Simon Van den Bergh, was born in 1848. Jacob was given responsibility within the family business (the Van den Bergh Margarine Works) from the age of 12 years old. In 1870 Jacob (age 20), with his brother Henry, were sent to London by their mother to manage the Van den Bergh margarine business in England.

Jacob had three sons, Albert (b1875), Sidney (b1877), and Henry (b1882). In 1912 Albert and Sidney were elected directors of the company.

Career
The brothers saw that the business needed to change its marketing methods. Instead of trusting the work of agents, the two brothers met directly with the largest buyers in the London market. It was these actions that kick-started the Van den Bergh’s into prosperity. It was the brothers’ attention to detail that changed the direction of the business. For example, Jacob and Henry witnessed the French and Belgian importers packing and shipping their butter in rolls instead of tubs and kegs, so they introduced this form of packing to their own products and this increased the value of the product.

In 1870-1871 Jacob assumed full management of the London business.

His brother Simon Van den Bergh retired in 1885, and his four sons (Jacob, Henry, Isaac, and Arnold) took over the business, while Jacob managed financial policy.

In 1834, one of Jacob’s colleagues wrote that “success in business has left Mr Jacob quite unspoiled. He is kindly, charitable and helpful to all, and greatly beloved by all his old employees, whom he still remembers with gifts at Xmastide…He sets great value upon education and technical training and is always ready to open his purse to those to whom the cost of education is prohibitive…above all, he prides himself on keeping his word. Whatever the cost to himself might be, he never breaks a promise. One knows of a case where this principle cost him a lot of money, and although he did not remember making the promise, he paid the price, in order to keep faith in himself.”