LOCAL businessman Henry Amar had a shock when he found a 30-year-old address book in his office. Flicking through the pages he realised only a few of the firms exist today. It was a sobering experience.

It convinced him to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his father setting up the import business RH Amar which in recent years has had an HQ in Turnpike Way, High Wycombe.

He is also pleased with good wishes flooding in from all corners of Europe most of them household names acknowledging the part this home-grown import and distribution business has played in making sunshine foods popular in the UK. It is largely responsible for bringing a string of brands to the UK from abroad and they have sent birthday congratulations.

The Filippo Berio olive oil business in particular were keen to pay tribute and marked the occasion by presenting a large olive tree to Henry Amar, son of founder Raoul Amar. It is now a permanent reminder of the link between the two firms.

The Italian family has had a relationship for over 20 years with the Wycombe firm and both businesses have seen many firsts. The production teams beat off stiff competition last year to become number one cooking oil brand in the UK with a retail value in excess of £22m last summer, reportedly beating such well-known brands as Crisp n' Dry and Flora.

Since then it has achieved record monthly turnover of over £2.1m and collected awards including the Great Taste Awards for flavoured olive oils.

The health benefits and popularity of the Mediterranean diet have seen UK olive sales soar to record levels lately. It is hard to believe that not long ago, that British mums in the 1940s only kept olive oil in the cupboard to deal with ear infections.

It was at that time, that Frenchman Raoul Amar borrowed £2,000 and made the brave decision to source products from hotter countries than ours and ship them over to Britain.

Based in Holborn Viaduct, in the City of London, the company flourished in the late 1940s. Food was scarce in the aftermath of the Second World War, and Mr Amar set up a buying office in his former home city of Marseilles to seek out suppliers for the British market.

Unlike other importers that went to the wall when food rationing came to an end, Amar survived intense competition and began to source grocery products from other European countries and from the USA, Africa and the Caribbean. Sales were less than a container a month at the time, a far cry from the 25 containers imported today.

Enrique Crespo, president of the Crespo brand which has had an association with the Wycombe-based business for 50 years said: "From my very first dealings with Raoul, I was impressed by his knowledge, expertise and personal integrity. It was to be the beginning of a successful personal and business relationship with Raoul and the whole Amar family."

Originally olives were shipped over in barrels and repacked by customers. Crespo was one of the first to offer consumers tinned and jarred olives.

Together, both companies have anticipated demand and reacted to trends. In a commemorative newsletter to staff, Henry Amar recalls a selection of milestones. "One of the most difficult was in 1980 when a third party warehousing company, which stored Amar goods was sold unexpectedly and the company were given seven days to remove its extensive stock.

"We were right in the middle of the Christmas trade, and this development was a bolt from the blue.

"In the space of 59 working days, we found temporary storage, found ourselves a warehouse and offices in Amersham, negotiated the lease, refurbished and racked the warehouse, re-roofed and decorated the offices, engaged staff, hired equipment and move our stock all without any disruption to our suppliers and customers. A major crisis had passed."

Future plans are "ambitious and exciting" with the development of a variety of services for customers and suppliers. Even on the day of tree presentation they were discussing new imports and examining exciting new products in the boardroom.

Chief executive David Mellor says: "As a family company we pride ourselves on our attention to detail and on the fact that everything and everyone matters to us.

"We describe ourselves as a modern company with old-fashioned values and this approach, in conjunction with the levels of success that we have achieved, is being increasingly recognised, not only by major brand owners abroad, but by major UK based companies as well."