Fifty-five years into its service to Guyana’s food service sector, the National Milling Company (NAMILCO) is once again being recognized by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) for what it says is the sterling quality of service that the company continues to provide to the food service sector in Guyana. In an assessment of the role which the company has played in the raising of standards in the food industry, the GNBS says that NAMILCO has become a beacon and the household name in the local culinary culture.
The GNBS’ recent review of NAMILCO’s contribution to the local food service industry, undertaken at the request of the Stabroek Business, centres around the company’s utilization of wheat imported from the United States and Canada to “manufacture eighteen (18) different products under the popular brands Thunderbolt and Maid Marian.” Noting that NAMILCO is the owner of Guyana’s only flour mill, the GNBS review of the establishment notes that it produces 235 tonnes of flour per day, a production level that ensures that the country meets the high local demand for wheaten products.
From its vantage point as the country’s key quality assurance entity in the food sector, the GNBS alludes to NAMILCO’s successful pursuit of the International Standard ISO 9001 – Quality Management Systems – back in 2009 and more recently, the Bureau’s ‘Made in Guyana’ Certification Mark Programme. NAMILCO’s Marketing Supervisor, Alicia Anderson, who has been instrumental in the promotion of the company’s product names, both in Guyana and abroad, says that the GNBS’ certification exercise “helped with giving assurance to consumers that our products are quality assured following the requirements of the internationally recognized quality standard.”
Back in June 2022, NAMILCO received ‘clearance’ from the GNBS to adorn the packaging for its Thunderbolt and Maid Marian Self-Rising flours with the ‘Made in Guyana’ Certification Mark. The accolade meant that the company had become only the fourth company that met the quality ‘qualifications’ to receive that accolade.
The company’s Marketing Supervisor says that while NAMILCO’s manufacturing pursuits had been in operation for a number of years prior to its association with the GNBS, the company’s links with the Bureau had contributed to heightened brand recognition among both businesses establishments and retail consumers. Ms. Anderson is quoted as saying that the consuming public has been “impressed with our offerings and take pride in seeing a Guyanese company performing at internationally competitive levels,” a circumstance which, she says, “translates into loyalty and other marketing and promotional benefits.”
The ‘Made in Guyana’ Certification Mark Programme aims to support the efforts of local business entities to secure local and international market recognition and is a signature of quality for authentic Guyanese Products. Going forward NAMILCO will be adding its Thunderbolt Unbleached All-Purpose flour and Maid Marian 00’ Pizza flour to its range of products seeking GNBS certification. NAMILCO’s export markets include the United States, Canada and neighbouring Suriname.
Over the years, NAMILCO has continually re-tooled its operations, incrementally installing state of the art Buhler Packaging Machines, Scales, Roller mills and Storage Silos. These upgrades, the management asserts, are designed to support the production of a consistent quality product and to promote itself across the region as a significant milling operation.
