ECGC flour mill – A dream comes to life

The dream of one man over 50 years ago is now the reality of scores of persons in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and the other countries in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

That man was the late entrepreneur, Sir Phillip Veira, who had a vision of setting up a flour mill in SVG and managed to accomplish his mission, 10 years after his dream was visualized.

On April 30, 1978, over four months after the Eastern Caribbean Flour Mills opened its doors, Sir Phillip delivered an emotional speech on the grounds of the Campden Park based business.

“Today is a very happy day for me. As a matter of fact, it has been this way since the 14th of December last, when we started the mill and produced a good quality flour,” Veira told the gathering.

He added, “it was the realization of a dream come true, a dream that has evaded me for some 10 years.” Back then, Sir Phillip’s passion resonated with another local businessman Rudolph Baynes, the agent for the Canadian company Maple Leaf Mills, exporters of Nelson and Purity flour to the islands.

Baynes proposed a partnership between Maple Leaf Mills, the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Sir Phillip. This partnership involved a share structure of 40 per cent Maple Leaf Mills, 20 per cent Government and 40 per cent PH Veira Investments.

During his speech in 1978, Veira paid tribute to Baynes and Maple Leaf Mills.

“I would not bore you here with the details of our early setbacks in our efforts to establish a flour mill in St Vincent, but instead will move straight into the success part of the story and that started with the introduction of Maple Leaf Mills Ltd of Canada on the scene.

“In 1970, Rudolph Baynes invited Maple Leaf, a firm he had represented for over 35 years to St Vincent. From our very first meeting with Phil Strickland, the Maple Leaf vice-president, who was sent to investigate the situation, we realized that we were dealing with a firm that meant business and were honest and straight talking in all their dealings,” Veira said.

The entrepreneur added that the widespread criticisms of firms like Maple Leaf did not manifest itself in his dealings with the company and he was surprised by the importance the company attached to the interest of the local community.

“I am a bit overcome by emotion on this occasion and I hope you will forgive me if I continue my remarks today saying thank you to the following people,” Veira said on the day in 1978.

Veira thanked Baynes, Maple Leaf, Strickland and then Premier of St Vincent Robert Milton Cato.

“Finally, last but not least as they say, I would like to thank my wife Clara and the rest of the family for the help and support they have given me over the years,” said Veira.

That speech was followed by years of hard work that saw the flour mill move on to become what we know today as ECGC (founded 1988).  

ECGC is made up of East Caribbean Flour Mills – 1977, East Caribbean Packaging – 1981, East Caribbean Feeds – 1982, East Caribbean Rice Mill – 1988, CARICOM Rice Mills – 1990 and East Caribbean Bottlers Inc – 2014.

The company has positioned itself as one of the leading manufacturers in the Caribbean region and currently exports to most of the islands, from Jamaica in the north to Trinidad in the south.  The company’s location at Campden Park Bay was visionary, as it is ideal for a fully integrated operation in terms of the discharging of raw materials and the loading of finished products.

Since inception, the mill has realized steady growth and expansion in capacity and product lines. It produces some of the finest quality bakers’ flour under the brand names: Cream of the Islands, Nelson and Carigold, coupled with its premium all-purpose packaged flour brands: Easy Bake, Purity and Carigold. The rice mill has developed a number of rich rice brands: Three Jewels, Carib Pearl, Natural Diamond, Carib Diamond, CariGold and Caricom Pride.  

ECGC also prides itself in producing a wide variety of top quality animal feeds to meet the needs of the farmers in the OECS. Ju-C, a carbonated soft drink that is loved by Vincentians at home and abroad, is available in six popular flavours, along with bottled water and the popular Village Ram energy drink.