PROFILES
The sweet taste of
SUCCESS
By Peter Campbell
Port of Spain, Trinidad
IN 1986, Wilbur "Willie" Balgobin made an ice-cream cart, bought some ice and salt, hired two workers and got down to the business of making and selling ice cream.
A trained Computer Systems Analyst, having graduated a few
years before with a degree in Information Systems from the United
Kingdom, back then Balgobin was searching for a means to augment
his income. He decided to pick up on home-made ice cream, which
was just beginning to catch on in Trinidad.
Operating under the name, "Willie's Home-Made Ice Cream,"
and using the pure Caribbean fruit flavours from natural fruits
with no artificial colours or flavours, Balgobin said his entry
into the ice cream arena was through sheer necessity. 
"When you're broke, you'll try anything," said Balgobin, who recalls towing his cart everyday along the Chaguanas Main Road selling his ice cream.
It's a move which Balgobin says he will never regret. Today, some nine years later, that initial move has earned Balgobin local and international fame with his unique home-made ice cream.
Willie's Ice Cream sells 33 Caribbean flavours including guava,
coconut, soursop, barbadine, passion fruit, pineapple, orange
pine, stout and rum and raisin.
There's also the deluxe line, which include flavours such as:
french vanilla, coconut raisin, rocky road, mocha, maple almond,
maple walnut, chocolate chip cookie, cherry coconut, strawberry
cheesecake and heavenly hash.
Recently added to the list of ice creams is Willie's Slimlite which has no sugar added (only low calorie natural sweeteners) as well as peanut-soya for the lactose intolerant. The Willie's Ice Cream operation now employs 92 workers at its main factory at Arena Road, Freeport and the nine company-owned parlours. Its reach includes a distribution network comprising many hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and gas stations.
Willie's franchises are also popping up throughout the Caribbean and North America. In homebase Trinidad, there are more than twelve (12) franchises and thirty-four (34) independent operators.
"I always questioned why, in a country with an abundance
of unique fruits, one must settle only for strawberry, vanilla
and chocolate." His confidence in the quality of real home-made
ice cream in fruity flavours created a vision to take local home-made
ice cream from its obscurities and develop it into the mainstream
of the frozen dessert industry. 
"You see, I wanted something to give me independence and challenge my desire to succeed. Willie's Ice Cream was that vehicle. The staff rose to that challenge and we have moved from a small cottage-type industry to a large organisation divided into specific functions and have now become a household name in Trinidad and Tobago.
"The spin-off effect is that the company has an important impact on the economy by first providing entrepreneurial opportunities for its franchise holders and more than 200 full-time jobs in its franchise and independent operations in Trinidad alone," said Balgobin.
He is particularly proud of having created employment for many farmers and their families, who supply tropical fruits like coconuts to the factory. He added that he hopes this success would serve as an inspiration to those budding entrepreneurs aspiring to move higher up the ladder of success.
"A business venture needs vision, perseverance, management
skills and a belief in yourself. This can be augmented by improving
your education," said Balgobin.
Though deeply absorbed in his business, he still finds time to
be an active member of the Piarco Rotary Club and a keen table
tennis player. When he needs to relax, he goes to Tobago or Mayaro
to swim.
Born in Petit Valley, a small village five miles north of Trinidad's capital of Port of Spain 40 years ago, Balgobin received his early education at the Belmont Boys' Intermediate School and at St Mary's College, in downtown Port of Spain. This was followed by a ten year stint in England leading up to his university degree.
On returning home at the age of twenty-six, he was first employed
as a Systems Analyst, but he wanted more. He then decided to dive
into the turbulent waters of the business world. His only pre-requisite
was that it be something new and exciting.
Recalling his early days, Balgobin admitted that he first thought
of producing whole wheat doubles (a local sandwich-type food,
filled with chick peas) or starting a launderette. However, he
did not pursue either of these two ventures, instead he began
selling vegetables with a business partner. This eventually failed.
However, this failure did not dampen Balgobin's spirit and he soon quit his job to open a computer school. But once again, Balgobin wanted more.
So, with a "shoe-string" budget, two employees and an ice cream cart, he moved to Chaguanas, and began peddling ice cream. From this humble beginning, the business expanded and, soon the cart was no longer adequate.
Today, Balgobin shares the management of the company with his wife Vidya. The new factory at Arena, (opened on April 3, 1992), attests to the rising fortunes of Willie's. The plant consists of 9,000 square feet of offices and factory space and an acre of land.
"This site affords better working conditions for both office and factory staff, in addition to offering a lot more scope for expansion. The factory also has large storage and other general facilities enabling the company to take advantage of large scale production savings," said Balgobin.
Another big success of Willie's is largely attributed to the product itself. As the company grew, Balgobin utilised the resources of the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) on an on-going basis to improve Quality Assurance and the in-house Quality Control procedures (QA/QC).
The service was extended to include the training of Willie's entire staff, working through the production process, regular sampling of the product and seminars on QA/QC. The factory also utilises its own modern Quality Assurance Laboratory and Product Development Unit. Here, an in-house quality control staff is directly involved in every stage of the production process ,from the preparation of ingredients to packaging.
In the laboratory, detailed studies on the chemical and microbiology
of products, raw materials and work in progress are carried out.
The factory now produces 3,000 litres of ice cream per day, six
days per week. This is just under one-third of its full capacity.
The investment in equipment is also matched by investment in time
and training for staff.
"I am personally committed to maintaining the highest standards possible. No shipment of finished product leaves the plant until tests are carried out in our laboratory to ensure it meets food, drug and public health standards," said Balgobin.
As part of the company's on-going commitment to quality, Willie's Ice Cream has spent the last year and a half developing the ISO 9002 Standard of Quality within its organisation. This has improved the overall quality and consistency of the products, says Balgobin.
Willie's is amongst the first Ice Cream companies in CARICOM (Caricom Community) to launch the ISO 9002 programme. Formal international certification of the ISO 9002 system is expected to be obtained by the first quarter of 1997.
"Willie's also has an active product development and product improvement programme in place, both to improve existing quality and to introduce new flavours and products," he says.
The company is also affiliated with the US-based International Ice Cream Association of America (IICAA) and with their assistance, Willie's is able to keep pace with changing food technology, labeling requirements and other developments in the world-wide ice cream industry.
After sweetening the local market, international economic liberation trends have made it possible for the small firm to spread its wings and the taste of Willie's has become well known in Caricom, as well as the Caribbean-based markets of the United States and Europe.
Balgobin feels that in order to survive, every manufacturer
must focus on developing a dynamic export drive and Government
must play an active role in promoting this export process.
He explained that the main success of Willie's will come from
exports to West Indian and other ethnic communities in Canada,
the US and England, because of currency exchange rates.
"I am confident the company's product could match any
ice cream in the world," he says and has since started considering
franchise applications from North America.
Willie's was the first Caribbean-based ice cream company to export
to the US since the ratification of the GATT agreement in December
1994. The ice cream, now being sold in New York at four outlets,
was launched by Trinidad and Tobago's Consul General, George Mc
Kenzie.
"It was very gratifying to see how well the product was
received by the 300,000 strong West Indian community there."
He said Willie's entry into the US market over the past year has
served as a pilot exercise, especially to test the company's products
on the international market. So far the results have been very
encouraging.
However, he complains, the intense layers of rules and regulations
regional businessmen encounter, particularly for exporting out
of CARICOM to North America and Europe, can be very discouraging.
"The European authorities seem to be exercising a new type of regionalism and are moving to secure their own markets. "We cannot enter the European markets because of quantitative restrictions. There are veterinary restrictions on dairy products and only a few, if any Caricom countries have dairy products in those markets.
"The playing field is certainly not level, especially as we have a range of dairy products in our supermarkets from Europe, which include milk powder, cheese and frozen desserts. We do not have a history of Foot and Mouth, neither do we have Mad Cow disease. So much for free trade," said Balgobin.
"I believe Willie's Ice Cream can do well in Europe, given its large West Indian population, especially in the UK, which we hope to exploit as a niche market." After pressing for an inspection of his facilities by the European Authorities, in July 1995, veterinary inspectors from the EEC outlined the production requirements for dairy products to be exported to the UK.
Balgobin has not lost hope and is looking forward to the new
Export Technical Assistance Facility (ETAF) to continue penetration
into the foreign markets.
The programme, launched on last July, seeks to facilitate the
penetration of foreign markets by potential and actual local exporters
matching funds for developmental work for export production. The
programme is funded by the World Bank and administered by the
local quasi-governmental agency Tourism and Industrial Development
Company (TIDCO.) The funds can be used for market research, overseas
field research, minor product adaptation, trade fairs and ISO
9000 certification.
According to TIDCO's Trade Director, Andre Vincent-Henry, the grants will match the company's investments up to a maximum of US$60,000 for individual companies and a maximum of US $100,000 for group companies.
"Trade liberalisation and global economic forces are two
major forces to which we are not immune and which will pose serious
challenges for us at home. We will have to adapt quickly and become
more competitive to survive the challenges of the 21st century.
"Local companies and manufacturers will have to review their
entire operations and become more internationally competitive.
Already US-based franchises and fast food outlets have become
ubiquitous in our society. Gaining a competitive edge will require
improved customer service, diversification, market expansion of
new products and higher quality standards, as well as enhanced
human resource development," says Dr. Vincent-Henry.
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