200 200 Years of Global Partnerships In MeMorY of MIchel frIbourG DeDIcatIon This book is dedicated to the Fribourg family, members of the Board of Directors, and the employees of Continental Grain, both past and present for their loyalty, friendship and commitment. 1913-2001 table of contentS a Message from chairman and ceo Paul fribourg ....... 6 the fribourg family legacy ..............................8 Profile of Michel fribourg .............................. 14 an overview of the Grain Industry ...................... 18 the foundation Years .................................. 26 Global expansion in the 20th century ................... 38 recalibrating for the 21st century ...................... 66 today and tomorrow ................................... 82 Designed and Produced by Onward Publishing Inc. 6 Bayview Avenue, Northport, NY 11768 631-757-8300 a MeSSaGe froM chaIrMan anD ceo Paul frIbourG 7 a MeSSaGe froM Grain is one of the few resources that is central to In the mid-20th century, our father Michel – known modern civilization. It is grown on more land area to everyone as MF – possessed a world view and a chaIrMan anD ceo than any other commercial food, and there is more unique ability to engage people and ideas, which world trade in grain than any other crop. It’s no helped him turn a medium–sized family business Paul frIbourG wonder that an important industry grew from this into a professionally run, global enterprise that key commodity. conducted business and forged partnerships in new For 200 years, starting in Europe and then in the and exciting regions of the world, from Africa and U.S., Continental Grain Company has played an China to Russia and Latin America. important part in the global development of the Thankfully, MF’s influence remains very much with grain industry, and more broadly agribusiness. us, to guide us in our decision making. One Starting in 1813, and into the 21st century, through important lesson is to never let success or ego get in six generations of ownership, we have been very the way. The key is to stay humble and realize that fortunate to build and sustain a successful and both life and business require constant learning, diversified global business that now includes broad through which we find ways to be better and adapt food and agricultural interests, as well as long- new practices and technologies that will help us lasting partnerships with talented management achieve our goals. We still “consult” with MF on teams around the world. every key business decision by asking “What would MF do?” knowing he will continue to guide us with While we have achieved a notable legacy of success, his business wisdom. it hasn’t always been easy. There were times when we had to change our strategy and make difficult We also run our business as a meritocracy and decisions to ensure the very survival of the show respect and regard for individuals both inside company. But survive we did. and outside the company. It follows that our integrity and reputation were and are everything – a Each generation kept the business alive by tenet that has carried us through two centuries in reinventing the company while preserving our long- an often-turbulent world. standing culture and values. We made sure to continue the legacy and seize new opportunities to We have had the benefit and pleasure of working sustain and grow the company. with many great people over the decades. From our board of directors, to our employees, to our But it’s more than a story about growth. Continental partnerships around the world, we are so fortunate Grain, especially in the pre-Internet age, was able to to have collaborated and continue to collaborate promote international trade and partnerships, with the best and brightest people who are aligned ensure the exchange of vital goods, help build with our mission – people who are wise, thoughtful economies around the globe, and foster a and caring, people who are willing to commit their foundation for long-term political cooperation time and exchange ideas and opinions. among nations. With the support of so many talented people, and Being privately held, we could take risks with a long- with a remarkable legacy on which to build, we will term view that most public companies wouldn’t be continue the journey and look forward to the future able to do. And sometimes those risks were with great enthusiasm. significant, as the company pioneered new markets, new commodities and untapped parts of the world. the frIbourG faMIlY leGacY the frIbourG faMIlY leGacY 9 Michel Fribourg, his sisters, and a friend in France, circa 1923. In 1848, Simon’s son Michel undertook a dangerous and difficult trip to Bessarabia (now Romania) with bags of gold to purchase grain, which he brought back by boat up the Danube and the Rhine, helping to feed a hungry Belgian population and Simon Fribourg circa 1850. In April 1997, Paul J. Fribourg was named chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Grain Company. His father, creating new opportunities for the family Michel Fribourg, became the company's business. chairman emeritus. In the coming half-century, Europe would This event marked the sixth generation of experience unprecedented scientific the Fribourg family to lead the company, progress and social change, launching going back to 1813 when Michel Fribourg's significant and wide-ranging developments great-great-grandfather, Simon Fribourg, in industry, commerce and trade that founded the commodity trading business in brought vast new wealth to western Arlon, France (which is now in Belgium). European countries. Simon's business was nearly two decades To continue seizing on these opportunities, old when the industrial revolution Michel Fribourg, together with his two sons commenced, forever changing the face of Arthur and Paul, the former who had taken Europe and creating fertile ground for the an active role in his father’s business two Fribourg commodity business to flourish. decades earlier, expanded the business Arthur Fribourg in military dress. René and Michel Fribourg at the 30th Anniversary party of Continental Grain in the U.S. New York, 1951. 10 the frIbourG faMIlY leGacY 11 responsibilities for the company from his The forces that transformed Europe from “To carry Continental Grain through its father, Michel. an agrarian to an industrial society enabled first phases — birth, infancy, and youth, the Fribourg descendants to flourish in a Arthur then retired and turned the business with the trials and errors of the learning world of commerce that included the rise of over to his sons Jules and René. Jules was process — required the qualifications of a merchants, manufacturers, bankers and then only 27 years old and would become pioneer. Such a person was my father commodity traders. This world would known in Antwerp as one of the ablest and (Jules), who along with his brother, influence Continental Grain as its business most aggressive businessmen, whose inherited from earlier generations of grew, first in Europe and then in the United daring ventures until his death in 1944 led Fribourgs, a local Belgian grain-trading States, into becoming a major global him to develop his business into an and flour milling business. My father was company. important international firm. a born leader, a man of great ambition Portrait of René Fribourg by Salvador Dali. Arthur Liman and drive, possessed of a rare trading For Michel Fribourg, trading grain and geographically and into flour milling, sense. He developed the little family selling food to the world had a degree of constructing flour mills in Arlon and business into a worldwide grain-trading nobility to it. This gave a sense of pride to Luxembourg in the 1890s. house, competing on equal terms with its the employees of Continental Grain. As Before the century was over, Europe’s major rivals. Yet I remember him as observed by Arthur Liman, former extensive new system of railways would not being rather a shy, modest man with a Continental Grain board member, “People only significantly increase the speed of quick temper and a very warm personality. would walk around and say ‘I am a grain shipping goods, but would also reduce the My father surrounded himself with man’…a connotation of being something cost of transportation by half. And with the partners and associates whose that was almost superior to anybody else on proliferation of modern, heavy industries characteristics were similar to his own. earth.” came large towns and urban centers and Together, they had the foresight to create a the emergence of a new class of citizens strong foundation in the New World.” able to survive and prosper in business rather than by owning or tending to land. As the effects of this industrial revolution spread, a society and marketplace for the Fribourg business were made immeasurably stronger. Around this time, Arthur had assumed leadership Michel Fribourg Paul and Charlie Fribourg the frIbourG faMIlY leGacY the frIbourG faMIlY leGacY 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 After Simon Fribourg founded a small turned the business over to his two sons, In the wake of the German invasion of including groundbreaking and historic grain-trading business in Arlon (which is Jules 3 and René 4 , who had been Belgium and France in May and June 1940, grain deals with the Soviet Union and now in Belgium), six of his descendants involved in the growing enterprise since Jules Fribourg and his family gathered in China and other significant international have led the company from the mid-1800s they were boys. Under Jules’s leadership, Bordeaux and, in fear of what might expansion. to today. the firm, now based in Antwerp, made its happen in France, decided to leave for the Upon his college graduation in 1976, first ventures into international trade in the U.S.