About us
Established in 1968
The WGM Group of companies is now one of the largest fully-integrated poultry companies in the Caribbean. Our operations include grain terminals, feedmilling, hatching, contract farming, processing and further processing and require the input of a comprehensive team of people who work together to achieve and sustain the company goals. The success of the Group relies on the efforts of every member of the team, much like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team to raise a chicken.
Company history
Over the last 50 years, The WGM Group has experienced a natural and successful growth from being a primary producer and processor to an innovation-driven, technology-enabled, competitive group of Companies. In 1968, the company had its humble beginnings manufacturing corn meal. The by-product from this process was combined with other ingredients to create animal feeds. Warnerville Grain Mills, better known as WGM, which now encompasses our Feedmill and Contract Farms administration, was created to expand into the local manufacture of poultry feeds. WGM tailored this new product to create a nutritionally balanced feed for the poultry sector.
Seeing the spark in the poultry sector, WGM began growing broilers in 1986 through contracted farmers. WGM worked closely with the farmers and supplied the necessary equipment and technical assistance to produce healthy broilers. Once the birds met the market weight requirement, they were sold to local poultry depots and small processing plants, while the farmers were paid for a job well done. WGM revolutionized the poultry growing industry as they reduced growing time by one week, shorter than was thought possible. From there, the Group acquired a processing plant, now known as Fine Choice Meats. For 30 years, Fine Choice has been producing the highest quality, low fat chickens to supermarkets, meat shops, restaurants, hotels and others in the food service industry.
As WGM forged ahead with the vision of becoming a fully-integrated company, the Farmers’ Hatchery was set up to purchase eggs from local broiler breeder farms and the US to be incubated and hatched here in Trinidad. These chicks would then be sent to WGM’s contracted farmers to be raised to maturity. Through research and development, the Group continued to transform by using artificial intelligence and automation engineering to streamline the operations. Heat ‘n Eat Ltd, a further processing plant, was then established to conduct R&D and to produce fully-cooked poultry products. With the widespread nature of the operations, Law Enforcement Agency was created to oversee the total security needs of the Group.
“To succeed, any agri-business must adapt to prevailing conditions through innovation and technology adoption in a holistic approach that encompasses all the economic, social and political factors.” (Ramnanan et al, IICA 1998)
Awards
The WGM Group of Companies embraced this philosophy resulting in the awards for:
Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in the field of Manufacturing and Food Processing 1998
Inter-American Institute of Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)’s Agricultural Entrepreneur of the Year 1998
Ernst & Young’s Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year in the field of Agri-Business 2000
From a single corn mill started in 1963, to a fully integrated poultry operation in 2022
We are currently creating jobs for over 600 persons, in fields of Agriculture, Engineering, Commerce, Food Technology, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence.
We are building food security by producing a range of more than 175 products. With stability in self-sufficiency and integration, The WGM Group of Companies is here to stay and will continue to use innovation and technology to provide leading-edge products for you.
Corporate responsibility
Community
We share our success by promoting the development and achievements of the surrounding communities by supporting:
Educational activities where we collaborate with the Food Technology department, the Engineering department and Computer Science department at the University of the West Indies.
Sporting events like football, cricket, table tennis, judo and swimming.
Environment
Sustainable operations are key to the long-term survival of any business and country.
We set our standards based on the local Environmental Management Authority regulations and aim to maintain compliance through our waste-water treatment plant and dust management initiatives.
We have also engaged in a local recycling program for used cooking oil.
We are dedicated to creating a workplace that is safe, fair and enriching with a culture in which the rights, needs and unique contributions of each employee are respected. We also support professional development opportunities for every employee.
