Making A Difference
Our Founder and Chairman, Karl Hendrickson, has always said, “My first love was baking, but my second has always been farming.”
So, when the opportunity arose in the early 1980s, he bought a small poultry processing operation, called Caribbean Broilers. Over the next decade, Hendrickson strategically worked to grow and improve the business; he automated the processing, streamlined the supply chain and put together a team to take the company into the future.
With Caribbean Hatchery already in operation to supply baby chicks, the addition of Newport Mills to supply better quality feeds made the company vertically integrated. However, as fate would have it, just as the company was starting to grow, nature intervened, as Jamaica was hit by one of the most powerful storms ever recorded – Hurricane Gilbert. The damage to the island was catastrophic and in its wake, not a single farm was left standing.
This tragedy for Jamaica, however, turned into opportunity for the company and when they rebuilt, they chose the very best farming technology available, introducing the first tunnel ventilated, climate controlled broiler house to the Caribbean, a turning point in the poultry industry’s history.
From that point onwards, the company has continued to innovate, invest, grow and diversify and with major investments in the pork, egg and animal feed industries. Today, the CB Group (CBG) stands as one of the largest diversified agribusinesses in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean.
A proud milestone in 2009 - CB Group pioneered the Safe Food movement to raise awareness about food safety standards. They became the first company in the Caribbean to receive ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management Systems), HACCP and GMP (Food Safety) accreditations. They have consistently maintained certifications across their facilities. Beginning in 2019, the Group has moved towards a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognized food safety certification: Safe Quality Foods (SQF).
The CB Group Today
Today, the CB Group consists of four divisions – Animal Genetics & Nutrition, Integrated Poultry, Food Distribution, and Shared Services and two SBUs – Meat Processing and Plants.
Our Animal Genetics & Nutrition division, Newport, is a full-service
agricultural partner that supports the needs of Caribbean farmers. It provides livestock genetics and technical services, manufactures, and distributes quality animal feeds – Nutramix, Front Runner and True Pet Foods, and most recently, distributes pharmaceuticals and supplies.
Our vertically Integrated Poultry operations concentrate on all stages in the production of CB Chicken - from hatching, grow out, processing and cold storage. Key to this division is our partnerships with independent commercial farmers. Our Food Distribution division, CB Foods, concentrates on marketing and providing locally produced meats to Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Meat Processing focuses on both fresh and further processed meats, including hams, sausages, bacon and more. And, for the past 10+ years, Imagination Farms has driven the development of the local Scotch Bonnet, Onion, and Sweet Corn industries.
We’re excited about the future at CBG and we’re proud to continue our work as advocates for change – creating jobs, supporting entrepreneurship, investing in education, promoting environmental sustainability and making a difference for our country.