Diethelm Locally established multinational company. Wilhelm Heinrich Diethelm (1848– 1932) arrived in Singapore in 1871 and began his career in Hooglandt and Co., where he was responsible for developing its textile business, rising to become a partner of the firm in 1877. When the last Hooglandt partner died in 1884, Diethelm took over the reins of the company. Under his direction, Hooglandt and Co. expanded its business activities from shipping, insurance, produce and banking to becoming involved in the import trade. In 1886, Diethelm went to Switzerland and opened an office in Zurich under his own name. From Zurich, he continued directing his Singapore enterprise through his partner W. Stiefel, and also acted as the company’s buying agent.
In 1906, Wilhelm Diethelm founded Diethelm companies in Singapore, Zurich, Saigon and Bangkok. The Singapore firm, under J. van Lohuizen, took over the consumer and trading business of Hooglandt and Co. Until the 1920s, Diethelm and Co. traded mainly in imported goods. In 1928, it took over a Swiss firm that pioneered the aluminium business in Singapore. Diethelm died in 1932.
During World War II, Diethelm and Co., as a neutral Swiss concern, continued to operate. In 2000, it merged with another trading company, Ed. A Keller Holdings Ltd. Part of this new company then merged with SiberHegner in 2002 to create DKSH Ltd. The Diethelm group continues today as a diversified organization with interests including consumer goods, healthcare, chemicals and management services. It has branches in Switzerland, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the United States, Myanmar, Cambodia and Australia.