Ashco Group became interested in the opportunities and problems in the food industry when researching the beginnings of the rice conversion process. The Huzenlaub family has roots in rice production extending back to the late 1930's. It was at this time that Erich Gustav Huzenlaub invented the rice conversion process found today in Uncle Ben's Converted Brand® rice.
While studying Finance at TCU in 1997, John Mars, son of Forrest Mars invited Ash Huzenlaub to the
Houston rice milling plant which his grandfather, Erich had developed many years before. Later, Huzenlaub was invited to the Mars Headquarters in
McClean,
Virginia for a private tour with John Mars and was able to learn firsthand how the converted rice process had spread throughout the world. Mars provided the younger Huzenlaub with the below passage:
As recorded in "The Yellow Rose," a book citing the beginnings of
Texas industry, "The Huzenlaub Process" changed the face of world rice production.
At the outbreak of World War II, Huzenlaub, a recent emigrant from
Germany
to
England
, who had developed numerous processes in the production of cereals (corn flakes) was fascinated by the possibility of vastly improving the methods used for milling rice. Rice is important because it is the largest consumed food around the world, especially in developing countries. Appalled at the methods used to produce rice at this time, Huzenlaub developed a special steeping and steaming process in his
London laboratory, "Rice Conversion Ltd.". This process created "parboiled rice." This patented process improved rice nutritionally and affected the rice so that it could not be infested by weevils. Because of this the
US
military bought over 20 tons of this converted rice a day. It allowed the military to drop rice loads for US troops without fear of spoilage or infestation.
The Huzenlaub process was hailed by its more ardent adherents as the first real innovation in rice-milling methods for 5,000 years. To comprehend the extent of this revolution in rice that occurred, it is necessary to study conventional milling methods.
Rough or "paddy" rice, which is unhulled rice has a fairly loose outer husk and three tighter inner skins. These four layers contain the various factors of the vitamin-B complex as well as the minerals. When not utilizing the Huzenlaub Process, millers remove all four coats, leaving a pearly grain consisting mostly of starch and mostly devoid of vitamins.
While in
London during this time period, Forrest Mars Sr. got wind of the development and became immediately interested. Huzenlaub planned to build rice processing plants (to create his converted rice) in
India
and other countries where rice was a staple food product. Forrest Mars approached Huzenlaub and became a joint owner in the Huzenlaub Process on July 7, 1941. The venture was called "Mars and Huzenlaub."
Realizing the bombs of war would prevent Huzenlaub from immediately going to
India
, Forrest Mars Sr. financed Huzenlaub to come to
America
. They relocated to
Houston,
Texas. After much persuading, Huzenlaub sold Mars and a food broker the rights to produce Converted Rice in
America
, and eventually the Converted Rice patent. This was the beginning of Uncle Ben's Converted Brand Rice®, the first branded rice in the world. Today, under the direction of Mars Incorporated, Uncle Bens Converted Brand Rice® is distributed to over 100 countries and has the largest market among branded rice's in the world. It is also the most widely distributed of Mars brands, which include M&Ms, Snickers, Milky Way and of course, the Mars Bar.
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Erich Gustav Huzenlaub, inventor of the conversion process partnered with Forrest Mars in the 1940's to create the world's first branded rice, Uncle Ben's Converted Brand Rice. By the 1950's Mars acquired all of Huzenlaub's US interests.
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