jack's book final 2011
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
The Road to Achievement
Life and Achievements
Of
Jack George Khayyat
2 | P a g e
To :
My children, grandchildren and the new generation of men and women seeking to achieve their goal in life.
Jack George Khayyat
Amman May 10th, 2011
3 | P a g e
Table of Contents
Introduction – Distinguishing between Achievement and Success
Part I: My Early Years
1. My Childhood 2. The Refugee Era 3. My University Education 4. Starting My Career 5. My Marriage 6. Moving to Amman – Jordon 7. My First Business Deal
Part II: The Poultry Industry, Farming, Food Processing and
Commodity Trading
8. My Role in Developing the Poultry Industry 9. Jordan Poultry Farms & Hatchery Co. Ltd. 10. Tragic Family Events 11. My First Business Blow 12. The Fruit & Vegetable Farm 13. Dairy Production 14. Take Away Chicken Restaurants 15. Food Processing 16. Commodity Trading 17. Expansion in the Poultry Industry 18. My Biggest Business Blow
4 | P a g e
Part III: The Industrial Zone and Construction
19. Grasping an Opportunity 20. The Washing Plant 21. The Building Sector 22. Light Weight Concrete Wall Panels 23. The Importance of Marketing
Part IV: My Family, Management of Our Companies and Other
Activities
24. My Family 25. Management of Our Companies 26. Other Activities 27. My Social and Leisure Time 28. Achievement and/or Success? (Positions and Jobs I Declined)
Conclusion Summary of Achievements, Directorships and Awards:
I Entrepreneurship and Pioneering Projects II Directorships and other Board/Trustee Positions III Awards
My Family Tree
5 | P a g e
Introduction – Distinguishing between Achievement and Success
A number of friends asked me to write about my achievements in the
agricultural and food processing fields and other business areas. I was hesitant to do that until one young man asked me how he could be successful in achieving something he believed in. So I decided to write this book about how I succeeded in my achievements.
If we look at history we find that many highly successful people had a very
difficult start in life, but were successful because they had a vision, and goals they believed in. They attained their goals by perseverance, hard work, sweat, and determination. They also learned the hard way from an early age how to overcome bad luck and obstacles. That was certainly my experience.
Today, there is a young generation of men and women who have not had
such a difficult start, and so take life as it comes. They sometimes lack ambition and the feeling of responsibility towards themselves and society. As a result they will miss opportunities in life, and will not have the satisfaction of using their talents to fulfill their goals and help others. Above all else they will lack a sense of achievement.
Many people cannot differentiate between success and achievement. In my
opinion there is a big difference between the two, but at the same time you cannot be successful without achievement first.
Achievement is accomplishing something significant through intense,
prolonged and repeated endeavours; a determination never to give up despite the difficulties, and a desire to win.
6 | P a g e
Achievement involves superior ability, special effort, great courage, vision,
skill and perseverance. It is like a seed that contains the tree that creates more trees. It is an important part of success. It satisfies the ego and is not measured materialistically.
Success is mainly how others look at you. However, the true meaning of
success is to live a life worth living; a life that allows you to be happy. More important, is the ability to make the world a better place to live in for everyone. This, in my opinion, can be defined as true accomplishment in life.
We should stop measuring success by a person’s wealth but measure it with
the good work that helps others advance in life.
My life is the story of a boy who became a refugee at the age of fourteen
but had the vision and determination to achieve many things, make a success out of them, and benefit a large number of people in the process. It was not always easy. As I’ve described in this book, I faced a lot of hard luck and overcame many obstacles along the way.
I believe that the most important thing in life is to stick to your principles,
never lie, be honest in your dealings even if it hurts you, stick to your word, and make people believe in you. I have also learned how important it is to be positive, to be a good listener, to be factual, to be ethical, to respect your employees and colleagues, to feel responsible, and keep a low profile.
I have taught my children to abide by these rules. Once people consider you
as trustworthy they will help you in difficult situations. This is what happened with me in business when I had big blows and a lot of losses.
As a teenager I had always the vision and desire to do new things, accepting
the challenges in the process, and thus when I became a young man starting my career, I looked for new things and new projects that were not done before.
7 | P a g e
It gives me great pleasure to look into new projects, study them, and if
convinced, take the risk of doing them. It is a calculated risk entrepreneurs always take. More important for me is to see afterwards that other people just copied what I did and got the benefit out of it.
In the poultry sector, when I look back at my achievements and I see how
many thousands of people are working in that field now and how many thousands of mouths are being fed, it gives me much more pleasure than all the money of the world.
This is what I mean by achievement. The same applies to planting olive trees
in the desert, and so many of the other projects I launched that helped others. For example, establishing an Industrial Park in a small village that in a few years became a small city, where the number of residents more than doubled. Instead of people moving to big cities (a significant trend in those days), people came from big cities to reside in the area, showing how economic development in any area will attract people.
I sincerely hope that young men and women when reading about my
achievements will understand that ambition, vision, working towards a goal by perseverance and hard work will get them where they want to be in life.
8 | P a g e
Part I: My Early Years
1. My Childhood
I was born in Jaffa, Palestine, on Nov. 21st, 1933. My father, George Khayyat,
a graduate of the American University of Beirut in 1912, was also born in Jaffa, in 1896. He started his career as head of customs in Jaffa, and then ran his own business as a commission agent for some international firms. My grandfather Yacoub Khayyat was the British Consul in Jaffa. My mother, Violette Tasso, a Lebanese of a well known family in Beirut, was highly educated and well conversed in English and French and played the piano.
Our family, the Khayyat family, was well known in Jaffa and was prosperous.
Consequently my childhood was well taken care of. However, I was a very independent child, never asking any favours from anybody, dreaming all the time of what I wanted to do when I grew up.
As a teenager I was quite good at school, always in the top 3 of my class
even though I studied little at home, and I played a lot with boys of my age in and around where we lived. My father did not spoil me at all and I remember I asked him once to buy me a football and he told me he would, if I was first in my class. That year I came 3rd and he did not buy me the football.
My interests as a teenager were mainly sports and car driving. I started
driving a car when I was just 13 years of age by taking the car keys from my uncle’s pocket and driving his car without his knowledge.
9 | P a g e
I had two sisters and one brother. Jackline, my eldest sister, was two years
older than me. She was a very intelligent girl finishing her high school at the age of 15 years. My brother Farid was younger than me by 7 years and my other sister Mimi was younger than me by 12 years. We were a very happy family living quite comfortably in Jaffa.
My father George and mother Violette during their wedding in Beirut in 1931
10 | P a g e
Me & My Sister Jackline in 1936
Standing in the back my sister Jackline & Myself, and in the front from the left my brother Farid & my sister Mimi in Jaffa 1947
11 | P a g e
2. The Refugee Era
In 1948 when the British mandate of Palestine was over, there was the sad
and unforgotten occupation of certain cities in Palestine by the Jews, including Jaffa. A large number of the Arab Palestinians left Palestine to neighbouring countries like Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.
We left Jaffa just before the Israeli occupation and went to Beirut with only
2 suitcases for a family of six people, believing at that time that it would just be a few weeks before we returned to Jaffa.
In Beirut we stayed at my uncle’s house, the brother of my mother, Elias
Tasso. Time dragged and there was no hope to return to Jaffa for some time to come. I wanted to continue my education and I joined the International College of the American University of Beirut for two years and then finished my high school education at the age of 16 years.
3. My University Education
My desire was to enter the university and study medicine. However at that
time my father told me with tears in his eyes that he could not afford my education any more and that I had to go and work somewhere. This came as a blow to me. After digesting this shock I went to my father and told him I was determined to finish my university education and I was sure I would find a way to do that.
Consequently, I went to see the Dean of students (Dean Baty) at the
American University of Beirut and explained to him my situation as a refugee, asking him what scholarships were available, and telling him that my father graduated from the university in 1912.
12 | P a g e
Dean Baty was very nice to me but with regret told me that there were no
scholarships available. I left his office with despair but deep inside I was determined to find a solution.
One week later I went to see Dean Baty again with a suggestion I had
thought about during the week. I proposed signing bills for my education payable 2 years after my graduation. Dean Baty’s reaction was favorable but he said he had to go back to the administration to get approval, as this was the first time such a proposal had been suggested. A week later I was called to Dean Baty’s office and he was glad to tell me that he had convinced the administration and got their approval, but on one condition ‐ I should not tell anybody about it.
After my sophomore year Dean Baty called me and told me that I could not
enter the Medical School unless I paid cash, but that a New School of Agriculture had been established and they had certain scholarships available. I joined the School of Agriculture and maintained the scholarship for 4 years until my graduation as I was always first in my class. During my university days I was very active socially and used to work in my spare time at the School of Agriculture as a driver and messenger which helped me with my pocket money. I would like to take the opportunity here to express my gratitude and appreciation to Dean Baty and Dean Edgecombe of the School of Agriculture and to all those in general who helped make me a man of vision and with a good scientific approach to life.
13 | P a g e
Me holding the Megaphone, performing in a play at the university
My Graduation
From left (Uncle Alfred, Myself, my mother Violette, my cousin Jack Ghandour, my uncle Albert)
14 | P a g e
4. Starting My Career
After graduating in 1956 with a B.Sc. degree in agriculture from A.U.B, with
distinction, I started looking for a job in Lebanon. It was extremely hard to find one as people at that time did not realize the importance of developing modern agricultural techniques. However, a year before that, the south of Lebanon was hit by an earthquake which damaged a number of villages and cities in the south. This led the Lebanese government to form a Board for Construction of the south. The Board was headed by Emile Bustani, a well known contractor who owned one of the biggest construction companies in the Middle East (CAT).
Mr. Bustanis’ vision for the south of Lebanon was not only construction of
roads and houses but also helping the people in the south improve their livelihood. He was looking to employ a number of agriculturists. So I was employed by the Board and was stationed in the south of Lebanon, in Liba’a.
Our job was to show the farmers how to prune the fruit trees, how and
what to use as fertilizers, and how to manage their livestock. One project I carried out in Liba’a village was so successful that it influenced my future career.
It was summer time and the schools were closed. I met with five of the
teachers and suggested to them that they grow broiler chickens in the empty school. They bought 1000 one day old chickens and grew them to 45 days under my supervision. The results were fantastic and they made a lot of money ‐ in only 45 days. This was my first practical project in poultry production.
I worked in the Construction Board for 18 months after which I resigned to
go to Amman.
15 | P a g e
My fiancée Josephine with my first car in 1956
16 | P a g e
5. My Marriage
On August 17th, 1957, I married my second cousin Josephine As’ad Khayyat
who I’d known well since childhood. At that time I was only 23 years old and Josephine was only 19 years old. We married in Beirut and took off to Istanbul for our honeymoon. My wife was living in Beirut and studied at the British Lebanese Training College after which she left to live in Amman with her father and twin sisters. She was very beautiful and had a lot of offers for marriage.
However, being in love with me she used to refuse all offers. Then I got a
letter from her, when I was in my last year at the university before graduating, telling me that her father was pushing her to marry one of the well known businessmen in Jordan, and that she was under pressure. So I decided to go to Amman on a weekend in order to get engaged to her. I reached Amman at 8:00 pm at night and went to their house, sat with her father alone and told him bluntly that I wanted to get engaged to his daughter right away, and if he approved and blessed this engagement, his daughter and I would give him our blessing all his life, and if he disagreed then we would never forgive him for that. After a long discussion he agreed. So I called Josephine from her room and took her in my borrowed car to Marka where I was staying in one of my uncle’s houses.
Josephine did not know at all my intentions. On the way to Marka I stopped
the car and took from my pocket a number of wedding rings and asked her to put on the one that fitted her finger on the right hand. Once she put on the ring, I also put on mine, kissed her and said “congratulations we are engaged”. She was shocked and started crying out of happiness.
This behavior is very uncommon in our society but it shows how determined
I could be when I wanted something.
17 | P a g e
My marriage ceremony in Beirut in 1957
6. Moving to Amman - Jordan
Two months after our marriage in Beirut we moved to Amman, as my wife
wanted to take care of her younger twin sisters.
One of my uncles (a cousin of my father) Albert Khayyat was a bachelor and
a businessman who owned real estate in Amman and had a big house in Marka near the airport. My wife and I, and my wife’s two sisters, all lived with him in the same house.
18 | P a g e
I started looking for a job in Amman and I went to see the Ministry of
Agriculture for a job at the Ministry. I met there Dr. Sami Suna’a, a highly educated person and a gentleman. There were vacancies available but when I asked about the salary I was shocked to hear that it was only 35JDs a month. I told Dr. Sami Suna’a that I would rather sell cigarettes at the door of the Ministry, as it would give me a better income.
During that time my uncle Albert suggested that we set up a business
dealing with agricultural items; importing seeds, fertilizers, etc., selling to farmers. We established a company called the Khayyat Agricultural and Trading Co. (subsequently re‐named the Middle East Agricultural and Trading Co.) with a 50% share for each of us. The capital of the company was 5000JDs, paid by my uncle.
7. My First Business Deal
Starting such a business was very difficult at that time especially since I was
young with no business experience. I didn’t know the farmers’ community in Jordan or the business community.
Establishing the office, buying the basic office furniture, a typewriter, one
telephone line and employing one employee cost around 30% of the capital. My uncle, who was a main contractor to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), bought a stock of new garden tools from UNRWA for 3000JDs, which was a big mistake as it depleted our capital and there was no market for it.
Consequently, we were left with capital of only 500JDs, barely enough to
survive for 2 months. So I started looking for opportunities, when I heard that the Jordanian Army was tendering for an insecticide to kill bugs.
19 | P a g e
Corresponding with a Dutch firm that produced this item we participated in the tender and won it. This was my first business deal.
Once we won the tender we were faced with the problem of financing the
import of the insecticide and delivering it to the army. We contacted a businessman in Jordan who showed willingness to finance the deal but asked for 50% of the profits.
We had to agree as we did not have any other choice. However, the deal
was profitable enough to enable us to continue our business. I started communicating with international companies for importation of vegetable seeds, insecticides and fungicides and started trading in these items. I was the manager of the company, the secretary, the typist and the salesman; in other words it was a one man show.
My first office & show room in 1958 in Al-Salt Street which we still occupy
20 | P a g e
My family’s financial needs were increasing and the income from the
company was not enough, and I needed a job. Fortunately for me UNRWA was looking for an agriculturist to be responsible for their newly opened agricultural department.
I applied for the job and was appointed immediately with a good salary. I
was working with UNRWA till 3:00 pm and in my company from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm or 10:00 pm in the evening. My job at UNRWA demanded field trips all over Jordan. For example, I carried out a successful project in the Jordan valley with a state of the art irrigation system, introduced at the least cost possible.
Many times I used to leave the home at 4:00 am or 5:00 am in the morning coming back from the field trip in the late afternoon directly to my office at
the company. On average I worked for 14 – 15 hours a day.
During that period I started to focus on the poultry side of the business, as I
saw a great opportunity in this field. Modern poultry industry did not exist at that time in Jordan or in neighbouring countries, except in Lebanon which was still in its infancy. I started importing day old chicks by plane from Holland, 1000 chicks per week, and distributed them to small farmers who were raising 200 – 300 chicks at a time. I used to visit them regularly advising them on feed and management.
This business developed rapidly as the small poultry farmers increased their
production and began to earn good profits. I decided to resign from UNRWA and concentrate on developing my own business.
21 | P a g e
Part II: The Poultry Industry, Farming, Food Processing and Commodity Trading
8. My Role in Developing the Poultry Industry
My business in the Middle East Agricultural and Trading Co. developed
rapidly with my concentration on the poultry side of the business. As well as importing day old chicks from Holland, I imported poultry feed concentrate from a reputable company called Ralston Purina in the USA. I also imported veterinary products and poultry vaccines from the USA and Europe.
To cope with this amount of work I employed an agriculturist and a
veterinarian whose main job was to educate the farmers on the modern way of raising poultry. In the 1960s the poultry industry in Lebanon developed rapidly. So I started importing day old chicks from Lebanon in large numbers up to 80,000 day old chicks per week. I modified two vans by installing proper heaters and fans to keep the right temperature for the chicks to survive the journey.
The main market was in the West Bank of Jordan (i.e. non occupied
Palestine), which meant that the chicks travelled from Lebanon to Amman and then to the Nablus area and Hebron area and Jericho.
22 | P a g e
Lecturing to poultry farmers in the 60’s
Discussing poultry business with Spillers Personnel in the 60’s
23 | P a g e
As the business developed more I decided it was the right time to establish
a feed mill for the production of finished feed for poultry. In 1961 we formed a new company called Arab Feed Manufacturing Co. with four partners. My uncle and I held 60% of the company and I was elected as managing director of the company.
The Feed Mill in 1961
I designed the feed mill at least cost and imported the machinery from
Amandus Kahl of Germany. It was the first feed mill in Jordan and one of the first in the neighbouring countries. Our company distributed day old chicks, finished feed, vaccines and veterinary products to poultry farmers all over Jordan. The business flourished and I started thinking seriously of establishing a poultry breeding farm and a hatchery instead of importing day old chicks.
24 | P a g e
Inside the feed Mill
9. Jordan Poultry Farms & Hatchery Co. Ltd.
During this period a joint venture between Arbor Acres (US) and a Lebanese
Co. was established in Lebanon. This company was very successful and was the largest company in Lebanon producing day old broiler chicks. The Arbor Acres chicks were the best meat converters in the world at that time.
We set up a joint venture with the company to establish a breeding farm
and a hatchery in Jordan. We built two very modern farms, one in Marka and one in Wadi Seer.
This was the first modern breeding stock and hatchery in Jordan and some
of the neighbouring countries. The output of our hatchery was 120,000 day old chicks a week.
25 | P a g e
The chick box
Hatching eggs in the incubator
26 | P a g e
Day old chicks
Breeding flock
27 | P a g e
10. Tragic Family Events
In 1966 I had the misfortune of losing my younger brother Farid in a tragic
accident. This was followed 2 months later by losing my father who could not stand the tragedy of losing his son.
The misfortune was followed by the loss of my two other uncles, so in one
year and at the age of 32, I became the only adult male survivor of the Khayyat Family.
It is not easy to feel alone with no one to talk to or take advice from.
However it makes you more and more independent, relying only on your own judgment.
11. My First Business Blow
After the 1967 war between the Arab Countries and Israel and with the
occupation of the West Bank we lost 80% of our business as the poultry farms were concentrated there. Most of the farms were either destroyed by the war or the chickens died from lack of feed.
We not only lost the market but also lost over 600,000 JDs (equivalent at
that time to $2 million) of credit we used to give to farmers. We had only two alternatives, either to declare bankruptcy (the easy way out) or try to solve our problems with the banks and suppliers by paying them in installments and start building the business from scratch again.
Here my ego and determination played a big role in my decision. I chose the
hard way. It is worth mentioning that when you have a good name in the business community one gets “listening ears”.
28 | P a g e
As a result, I managed to convince the banks and suppliers to accept my
proposal of installments of the debt and started all over again to build up customers in the Eastern Bank of Jordan. It took me about 3 years to stand again on my feet.
12. The Fruit & Vegetable Farm
Ever since I was a student I had dreamt of having a farm. However farming
in Jordan was concentrated in the Jordan Valley for vegetables and citrus fruits.
Olive trees were grown in the western part of Jordan that received enough
rainfall. My vision at that time was to look at the desert (because Jordan’s land is mostly desert) and try to cultivate this arid land by boring for underground water. I started looking for land that might possibly have underground water, and found a piece of land located 50 kms north east of Amman.
In 1966 I bought the land, totaling 1,000 dunms (250 acres). It was in the
middle of nowhere.
One day I took my wife in a 4 wheel Toyota car to show her what I had
purchased. We drove through desert land without any roads. When she saw the land she started crying and told me “I always thought you are eccentric and mad, now you have proved it”.
I started boring for water and was lucky enough to find a very good source of underground water giving around 200m³ of water/hr. This was enough to irrigate almost 80% of the land.
29 | P a g e
I started to experiment on what to grow. Vegetables did well, fruit trees like
apples and prunes did not succeed, but olive trees grew well. So I concentrated on planting olive trees and irrigating them by drip irrigation.
We were one of the first farms to grow olive trees in the desert, an
approach that other people followed later on.
In order to diversify on the products we grew I started planting carnations in glass houses on a commercial scale. Other farmers started to do the same but I was the first to implement it. Then I thought of hydroponics (growing vegetables without using the soil). This was also successful and I was the first to do it.
My farm was visited by a lot of agriculturists from Jordan and neighbouring
countries and it became a show farm for desert farming.
The farm before
30 | P a g e
The farm after
The olive tree at the farm
31 | P a g e
Olive tree with abundant olives
The olives on the tree
32 | P a g e
Hydroponic project
Carnations growing
33 | P a g e
13. Dairy Production
In the early sixties I got involved in importing pregnant dairy heifers from
Holland. They were pedigreed Friesian cows of excellent quality, to be delivered to dairy farmers in Jordan on demand.
This type of business lasted for 3 years as a number of other importers got
involved in the business.
A few years later I started a beef fattening project where I used to buy baby
calves and fatten them in my farm. The results were very good, but it was a problem to sell the beef. So I opened a shop in Amman and appointed an English expert butcher for selling beef cuts.
The shop was a big success. However, during that time the Ministry of Trade
was importing beef from Romania and selling it at fixed prices. They obliged us to sell at the price fixed by them.
We could not compete with these subsidized prices, and we had to close
the shop and stop the beef fattening project at a loss.
The Dairy Farm with my grandson Faisal when he was 4 years old
34 | P a g e
14. Take Away Chicken Restaurants
In 1972 there were no take away chicken restaurants in Jordan. As our company had good access to broiler chickens I decided to start a take away business under our own name Quick Meal. I imported broaster machines from the US which can cook the chicken under high pressure for 7 minutes. As for the recipe, we developed our own recipe according to the local taste for the Broasted chicken, potatoes and garlic paste.
We established our own kitchen for the preparation of the chicken and in
one year opened three outlets. It was a very big success and the brand name of Quick Meal was known all over Jordan. We set up a franchise operation, and a number of outlets were opened in and outside Amman under our name and franchise agreement.
15. Food Processing
In 1975 I saw an opportunity to can some of the popular Arab dishes like
Hommos Bithini (chick peas with sesame paste), Broad Beans in Brine, and Peas in Brine. We decided to establish a cannery for the production of these items, and for pickling cucumber under our own brand name, Farm Foods (FF).
Seeking help for the technical aspect of the project, I contacted a classmate
of mine Dr. Raja Tannous, who at that time was the chairman of The Food Processing and Nutrition Department at the American University of Beirut. Dr. Tannous was very helpful in giving us technical advice and he even joined the company as a minority shareholder.
The businesses grew and we added a new line for the production of Tomato
Paste. At that time we used to import empty cans from Greece, and as the
35 | P a g e
business expanded we established our own factory to produce cans. This business continued growing in local markets and exporting to other countries, including Iraq.
Some of the canned products
Best Foods Factory
36 | P a g e
In 1994 we entered into a joint venture with Best Foods (US) to produce their Bouillon Knorr and Mazola oil branded products. The efficiency of our production was the highest among the Knorr factories all over the world. My daughter Dina became the General Manager of the company and did an excellent job in managing the company.
16. Commodity Trading
A feed mill needs two major commodities; corn and soybean meal. Neither
is available in Jordan so they have to be imported.
At that time Beirut was a good source for all types of commodities, as it was
the major sea port of the area. We bought from Beirut traders until the business reached a size where we needed to source raw materials by direct import from major international commodity traders.
We started importing from different traders, depending on price and
quality, always in small ship‐loads. In the middle of the 1970’s we were visited by one of the managers of Cargill International, a firm we used to correspond with. He was keen to find an agent for Cargill to handle the Government tenders for wheat, barley, sugar and rice.
The Jordan Government at that time was handling the import of these
commodities and selling them to Jordanian people at subsidized prices. After a thorough study of the market and after meeting a number of people, Cargill’s manager decided to appoint our company as the exclusive agent for Cargill in Jordan. We started to participate in the Government tenders for the supply of these commodities on behalf of Cargill.
37 | P a g e
A few years later we were also visited by Mr. Michele Arida, a well known
Lebanese commodity trader who at that time had the biggest share of commodity trading in Lebanon and Syria. He wanted to build up his share in the Jordanian market, and appointed us as his sole agent in Jordan.
Besides the Government tenders, we were also importing by shiploads corn
and soybean meal for the local market, supplying the poultry and dairy farms in Jordan.
Handling this type of business is not an easy task. Working with
Government tenders needs a lot of careful monitoring of contracts, execution, port handling etc., and working in the local market with poultry farmers needs a lot of patience both in selling and in collecting your money back.
At that time my son George, who graduated from the University of Georgia
with a B.Sc. degree in Poultry Science in 1982, joined the company and became very interested in commodity trading, and eventually became responsible for this department. Also one of my daughters Muna, who graduated from George Washington University in 1988 with a Bachelors degree in International Business, joined our company and became responsible for handling the Government tenders.
Both George and Muna did a fantastic job in that respect, and were also an
invaluable support to me in studying and discussing the major decisions I needed to take.
Politics as always, play a big role in economies. During the first Gulf war in
1991 and as Jordan at that time was backing Iraq, all international commodity traders refrained from participating in the Government tenders.
The Government at that time badly needed wheat, barley and sugar, and no
one participated in the tenders. However, knowing this critical situation, we
38 | P a g e
contacted Mr. Michele Arida who was very cooperative and offered goods from Lebanon he had in stock. We approached the Government and signed a contract with them to supply an adequate amount of wheat, barley and sugar from Lebanon, thus saving a critical situation.
A piece of advice to readers, never trade commodities by being short or
long in the Chicago Board of Trade as commodity prices are very volatile and can lead to a lot of losses. Our trading in commodities was only physical trading i.e. buying goods physically and never taking a chance or speculating.
Watching commodity prices
39 | P a g e
17. Expansion in the Poultry Industry
In the mid seventies I was a recognized leader in the poultry industry.
In 1976 I was visited by Miss Sharon Blinco, a well known reporter from the highly respected Near East Business magazine. She wrote about my role in the poultry industry, and I would like to include the magazine article in my book.
Near East Business March/April 1976
Jordan’s Poultry King by Sharon Blinco
The question of which comes first – the chicken or the egg – has never posed a problem for Jack G. Khayyat a 42-year-old Palestinian, who introduced the poultry industry to Jordan two decades ago.
Both chickens and eggs are priorities for Khayyat, whose Middle East Agricultural and Trading Co. (MEATCO) is the hub of seven agri-businesses. This network dominates Jordanian production of broilers, hatching eggs, day-old chicks, poultry feed-plus the distribution of supplies, veterinary services and technical know-how to Jordan’s 800 poultry farmers.
Khayyat’s enterprises, including the Jordan Poultry Farms and Hatchery Co. and the Arab Feed Manufacturing Co., produce 50% of the 12 million day-old broiler chicks sold to farmers annually in Jordan and 40 to 50% of the finished animal and poultry feed manufactured in the country.
In addition, Khayyat sells 1.2 million fully – grown broilers – a 10% market share – directly to poultry wholesalers. Jordan’s Poultry King, Khayyat restrains his inroads into this wholesale market because the 18 other farmers who fatten day-old chicks for table consumption are the customers of Khayyat’s other poultry-related businesses.
40 | P a g e
In 1976, he expects his output of day-old broiler chicks to jump by 50% and the output of hatching eggs to leap by two-thirds, and he forecasts that his exports of both products will double this year, then redouble in 1977. At the same time, Khayyat is moving fast into table-egg production and inaugurating a line of processed foods for the Jordanian and neighboring Arab markets.
Khayyat’s other wholly-owned businesses are a chain of chicken restaurants, a multi-purpose farm for eggs, livestock and market gardening, a food-processing plant and a butcher-shop. In addition, Khayyat holds a 40% interest in the new government slaughterhouse, for which he has a 10-year management contract.
Changing Tastes … And Prices
Chicken was a luxury in Jordan before Khayyat entered the poultry business in 1958, only two years after graduating at the head of his class in the Agriculture School of the American University of Beirut.
“Jordanians formerly ate chicken only during feasts or after a woman gave birth,” Khayyat says in his office – the same storefront where he started business. Then, in the late 1950’s, chicken cost twice as much as lamb, the favorite meat of the Near Eastern palate. Now it costs only a third as much as lamb.
Khayyat helped create his own market by stimulating a tremendous turnaround in price and taste. And what was rapidly expanding industry in the U.S. in the 1940’s and in Europe in the 1950’s, became a booming business in the Near East and for Khayyat in particular, in the 1960’s.
With his core business in rapid expansion – and further integration under way in the production and marketing cycles for poultry – Khayyat’s agri-businesses are experiencing a period of tremendous growth.
Khayyat’s multi-million-dollar business started with borrowed capital - $15,000 is a large sum for young man in Amman who had spent two years as an extension agent in south Lebanon. Using the money, Khayyat opened a trading company, basically as a distributor of imported agricultural supplies, including day-old chicks from Holland.
Khayyat was then holding down a fulltime job with an international aid agency as an agriculturist, but with Jordan’s office hours ending at 2 p.m., moonlighting was, and still is, the rule. Khayyat held his office job for two years before he could afford to make the break and become a full-time businessman.
41 | P a g e
His first business challenge was to convince a few Jordanian farmers to go into the poultry business – with a stock of about 1,000 day-old chicks.
“It was a helluva job to convince even a few farmers to keep all those chicks in a closed – in house and use feed mixed on the farm with imported concentrate,” Khayyat recalls.
The first 10 tons of Ralston-Purina feed – a protein concentrate with vitamins and minerals which is dosed with other feeds – took Khayyat four months to sell. Farmers were not ready to pay, the high price of concentrate, which then cost about $225 a ton. A few farmers guided by Khayyat, who dared innovate, realized a financial breakthrough: a constant flock of 1,000 chicks, properly-fed on a 55-day cycle in closed houses, made a profit of about $2,700. The news spread quickly. Within two years, Khayyat was importing more than 50,000 chicks a year – plus the concentrate.
It was often dicey business. A chick can live after it hatches 72 hours without food or water, and Khayyat’s chicks, hatched somewhere in Europe, had to be delivered to Amman by air and quickly distributed fast to client farmers throughout Jordan.
The main expense in broilers’ life cycle is feed. Jordan’s first feed mill, located in Marka, the industrial sector of Amman, was built in 1962 by Khayyat’s Arab Feed and Manufacturing Co., which now annually produces 25,000 tons of finished feed – about one quarter of it for Khayyat’s own four large poultry farms.
For Khayyat’s feed all the grains and protein concentrate are imported: concentrate from spillers International Agriculture in UK, soybean meal from the US and other grains (mainly, corn or maize) from sources as widespread as Romania, Thailand and the US. In the semi-automated mill, which has 20 employees, a volumetric feeder by AmandusKahl of West Germany automatically doses and mixes up to eight different ingredients (the formula varies according to poultry’s age and nutrition needs) for “Feedina” – Khayyat’s brand name.
Arab Feed and Manufacturing Co. has 7000 tons of storage capacity containing about $2 million in raw materials to buffer it against delays at congested Aqaba port.
Khayyat’s next step in feed production will be to assemble the various ingredients in protein concentrate – fish, meat, bone and feather meals, vitamins and minerals.
42 | P a g e
Integrating a Full Cycle
With his complementary interests in day-old broiler chicks and poultry feed doing well, Khayyat decided in 1965 to move one step closer to the start of the broilers’ production cycle by importing breeding stock.
The production cycle begins with the breeder, which is genetically designed to produce a large number of hatching eggs which will develop rapidly into hearty broilers fit for table consumption. The hatching eggs are incubated until the chicks peep, and the day-old chicks are then reared by the poultry farmer until ready for slaughtering. In optimal terms, a broiler chicken yields one pound of meat for every 2.2 pounds of feed it consumes. This ratio of meat yielded per unit-of-feed-consumed, is extremely high: in comparison, the ratio for beef is only one to six.
Khayyat’s first breeding stock, 35,000 broilers, was imported from the American firm, Arbor Acres, and in 1966 his newly-formed Jordan Poultry Farms and Hatchery Co. began to produce 60,000 day-old chicks per week. A decade later he is producing 6 million chicks a year from 85,000 breeders on four broiler farms. This year he projects a 50% increase to 9 million day-old chicks.
A single hatchery nearby in Marka processes all the eggs in five incubators by Jamesway, a US firm: each machine has a capacity for 100,000 hatching eggs.
From the moment a hatching egg arrives on the hatchery’s carefully sanitized premises, it is coded: it can be retraced to its original flock from any point on its subsequent itinerary throughout the incubation cycle – and even after delivery to a farmer. Round the clock, throughout the 18-day cycle, personnel are on hand to monitor the incubators, controlling temperature, humidity, rotation of the eggs and ventilation.
A carton of 100 day-old broiler chicks costs about $27.
Due to Khayyat’s efforts, Jordan is self-sufficient in broilers – one of the few food products it no longer has to import such as meat and even eggs.
And from his starting point, an import order of 3,000 day-old chicks, Khayyat’s hatchery now exports about 1.2 million chicks annually to Iraq and Saudi Arabia: an especially-designed Khayyat truck carries 18,000 day-old chicks to Baghdad or Jeddah over 600 miles on dubious roads. (Since the Lebanese political crisis, Khayyat’s Arab Feed Co. has broken into the export market, in which the Lebanese
43 | P a g e
used to enjoy an edge of $35 per ton due to Aqaba port fees, overland freight charges and Jordanian duties on imported raw materials.)
Broilers for a Thousand and one Chicken Stands
Adjacent to the hatchery is Khayyat’s largest broiler breeding farm, where 35,000 breeders are kept in four long, low-lying chicken houses with large windows covered with screen and adjustable awnings to protect the chickens from the desert winds.
The breeding stock is Ross 1 from the UK. In the trade, the chicken houses are described as ´semi-auto-mated, open-house and deep-litter” – which means that the fowl are automatically watered and fed in troughs, but eggs are collected by hand; the houses are open to the air; and the birds’ waste accumulates underfoot in an ever-deepening pile throughout the 16-month production cycle.
During the 10 months when a breeder does lay eggs, it usually produces 160 eggs, of which 150 are suitable for hatching. Movement of a hen sometimes damages its laying capacity, so once a hen is installed in a chicken-house, it is left there for the duration of its life as a breeder.
Once a flock has completed its cycle, the chicken-house is thoroughly cleaned, and a new flock is installed.
Khayyat expects to increase the production of hatching eggs from 9 million to 15 million this year – with an eye to the Gulf market.
The open-house, deep-litter system which Khayyat utilizes is healthy and efficient, but it depends on a climate without extreme cold or heat. The Gulf countries can incubate eggs in completely controlled environments, but they are likely to rely on Jordan and elsewhere for their supply of hatching eggs for the incubators.
A million of the Khayyat chicks go into his own rearing chicken houses for eventual sale to the ubiquitous chicken roasting stands and other speciality restaurants which have proliferated in Jordan and other Arab countries.
Financial Saga
After losses of $600.000 in the 1967 war, Khayyat rebounded and within two years was doing 70% of his previous volume. Despite the loss of the prosperous, go-head
44 | P a g e
West Bank, many farmers moved their business interests from Israeli-occupied territory.
With success has come diversification – not as much by the usual route of acquiring other businesses than as a result of Khayyat’s drive to consolidate his control over the multi-faceted production of poultry from the chicken-house to the kitchen table.
At the heart of his business is the Middle East Agricultural and Trading Co. (MEATCO), which he set up in 1971. One-third of MEATCO’s shares are held by Spillers International Agriculture, which is also the marketing channel for Khayyat’s products including poultry and animal feed, day-old chicks and practically everything else related to poultry farms – prefabricated chicken houses, feeders, waterers, brooders, vaccines and know-how.
Throughout his businesses, Khayyat emphasizes the technical expertise of his employees, whose professionalism is a major resource for farmers. Out of 500 employees (or 600, depending on the season), two are veterinarians, and seven have university degrees in agriculture from Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq.
“We’re a big, small company on the verge of becoming a small, big company,” Khayyat says.
One sign of his commitment to the future is the importance assigned to technically-trained salesmen. “We believe we can make a technician into a salesman but not necessarily the other way around,” explains George Jawharieh, a top managerial assistant and former classmate of Khayyat at AUB.
Working with farmers, the “simplest and most individualistic members of our society,” is a challenge with its own rules: “Many of our customers are dissatisfied unless they can see the top man,” Jawharieh observes, “so we have a large reception room where two men are making tea and coffee all day for customers waiting for one of us with his problem. Understanding their mentality is really the only way to succeed.”
Khayyat’s latest business thrust are into table egg production, food processing – both on 300-acre, $1 million farm sustained by a single water well in Jordan’s Eastern Desert.
On this multi-purpose farm is Khayyat’s most rapidly expanding venture: a poultry operation for 30,000 hens laying table-eggs. The layers, which came from Shaver’s
45 | P a g e
stock in England and Avicon in Romania, are expected to lay 250 eggs apiece this year, for a total estimated production of 7.5 million eggs a year.
Khayyat estimates that Jordan imports 60 to 70 million table eggs annually, mainly from Eastern European countries, whose low prices reflect built-in subsidies, he thinks. With the cost of egg production increasing round the world and local demand escalating rapidly, Khayyat thinks the local producers can now survive local competition. He is talking of expanding his new operation to produce 27 million table eggs by 1977.
He is also launching a food processing plant which will market pickles, canned vegetables and jams under the brand name “Farm Foods” – the latest example of Khayyat putting (and getting) his money where Middle Eastern mouths are.
46 | P a g e
Becoming well known locally and internationally in the poultry industry and
named as Jordan’s Poultry King, I was asked by Spillers Company of the United Kingdom to share in a factory in Lebanon to produce poultry concentrates for export to the Arab countries. At the time, Spillers was supplying these concentrates from the UK.
A company was formed in Beirut for this purpose with M/S Sinno and
Jabbour from Lebanon as partners, Arab Feed Manufacturing Co. from Jordan and a Cypriot Company. The company lasted for 10 years until the civil war broke out in Lebanon, and the Board of Directors of the company decided to dissolve it.
We also set up a joint venture in Jordan with Spillers to produce feed
concentrates. Having a joint venture with a large corporation such as Spillers is not easy. We had to go into so many meetings discussing the project in detail and studying the feasibility of the project. Moreover Spillers had to evaluate our company and the partners involved. Once all studies had been completed, I was asked to go to London in order to finalise the deal.
In London at Spillers Headquarters I attended a meeting with the top
executives of Spillers including their lawyers, export manager, financial advisor and a number of other executives. When the meeting ended it was apparent that they still hadn’t decided whether or not to proceed with the joint venture.
After the meeting I was told that the Chairman of the company Sir Harold
Philpot wanted to invite me for dinner that night, which I accepted and considered it an honor. Sir Harold took me to a well known Casino in London that served excellent food.
After dinner he said “let us now gamble and see our luck”. I answered by
saying “I do not gamble”, but he insisted, even offering to give me money to
47 | P a g e
try my luck. My answer to him was “gambling is against my principles and I can not by any means do it”.
Next day I received a call from Spillers asking me to go to their office to sign
the joint venture agreement. This made me realize afterwards that Sir Harold Philpot was testing me to see if his partner in Jordan was a reliable person that he could depend on.
We established the company under the name of Spillers Jordan. It
produced and sold poultry concentrates in Jordan and exported to neighbouring countries. This lasted for about 10 years, until the company was dissolved when Spillers was acquired by another company.
One of the problems we faced at the time was bacterial infestation in feed
effecting the growth of chickens. Based on my considerable experience in formulating and producing poultry concentrates, I knew the risks of salmonella from the use of animal by‐products like meat meal, fish meal and poultry offal in the concentrate.
So I decided to formulate and produce a concentrate to be mixed in the
final ration without the use of animal by‐products. This was a great challenge to me.
After making my own studies on the matter I talked to Hoffman ‐ La Roche
about this idea and suggested to them that we work jointly on the subject, on the basis of getting the vitamins we needed from them.
It took us about 4 months to reach an acceptable formula and after doing a
number of trials in Jordan and with some modifications we succeeded in formulating a premix to be added to corn and soy bean meal and barley at the rate of 3% only.
48 | P a g e
This was a big break through for poultry feed in the Middle East. Our brand
name for that product was Feedinamix and we started marketing it both in Jordan and Iraq.
18. My Biggest Business Blow
In the early 1980’s we started exporting to Iraq hatching eggs and feed ingredients like poultry concentrates, corn, and soy bean meal. Our market developed rapidly, and we became one of the main suppliers to Iraq in these commodities. To cope with this huge market we started increasing our production for broiler hatching eggs by building new breeder farms and contracting with other farmers.
We enjoyed a good 8 years business with Iraq until the first Gulf war in
1991, when most of the poultry industry in Iraq was destroyed.
The Iraqi government used to subsidies chicken and eggs for the consumers,
and for them the destruction of their poultry industry was a disaster. Knowing this I decided to go to Baghdad and work for them on a plan to revive their poultry industry.
As I was well known in Iraq for being the father of the poultry industry in
Jordan, and as my previous record of supplying hatching eggs and feed was very good, and knowing personally most of the officials in that field, they were keen to listen to me. While I was in Baghdad, I had to meet with their officials several hours each day.
49 | P a g e
After a few months of study and negotiations my plan was accepted by
their higher authorities. The plan was for me to supply Iraq with 100 million broiler hatching eggs and 450,000 metric tons of feed in one year. A contract for $164 million, to be paid under the Iraqi Jordanian protocol, was signed by the Iraqi government and me, and the letter of credit was opened for that through the Rafidain Bank.
I was so happy and satisfied with my biggest business achievement. It was a
huge contract for one company to execute, but I was determined to deliver it on time. I returned to Amman and started implementing my plans.
Our poultry farms and our feed mill could not cope with these amounts. So we leased two other feed mills and a number of poultry farms. We began ordering corn and soy bean meal by ship‐loads, as well as day old breeder chicks and concentrates, to make sure that we could deliver on time.
As such a contract needs a lot of financing we approached the local banks
and got from them the financing we required.
During the first month we exported goods to Iraq to the value of about $8
million.
Then, one month after signing this big contract I received a call from my
daughter Randa in London telling me to read the “Observer” Sunday newspaper. After reading what was written in that paper I knew that the contract had become a major political issue.
50 | P a g e
In its 18th August 1991 edition, the Observer had the following piece:
Saddam’s Police Net £32m in fowl payola Helga Graham
The Iraqi secret police, the Mukhabarat, have found a way to lay their hands on much-needed hard cash – about £32 million – to finance their gruesome operations.
Saddam’s instrument is a confidential trade protocol between Iraq and Jordan signed in June and subsequently revealed by The Observer.
The scheme involves Iraq buying large quantities of chickens and chicken feed – legally since food sanctions against Iraq have been dropped. But the transaction has a secret component. On two separate contracts for £83m and £10m, a payoff of 35 per cent in cash is to be paid to the Iraqi Mukhabarat through the Rafidian Bank’s Amman Branch in his favour early August.
The real cost to Iraq should be £54m for the feed and £7m for the pullets, but an extra £32m has been added as commission for the secret police.
Jordan, under the protocol, has promised to eliminate ‘all possible obstacles’ to trade between itself and Iraq – despite being bound by UN sanctions against Saddam – and is due to provide the essential credit for the semi-undercover operation. The UN is, however, preparing to lift its arms embargo against Iraq and is unlikely to act against Jordan.
However, despite Jordan’s continued dalliance with Saddam, King Hussein has been distancing himself from Iraq in public, telling close associates that Saddam’s days are numbered and that anyone expecting him to implement democracy must be mad.
Several members of Saddam’s entourage have in recent weeks let it be known they would welcome the opportunity to abscond if they could be assured a soft landing.
51 | P a g e
The Observer article was completely incorrect as the price in the contract
for hatching eggs and feed was less than the prevailing prices by about 15%.
However, it was obvious that the foreign powers did not want Iraq to revive
their poultry industry, in order to put more pressure on the Iraqi regime.
A few days later I was called by the Minister of Industry and Trade in Jordan
who informed me that the Jordanian government had decided to stop the contract, giving me no explanation what‐so‐ever.
I asked the Minister whether this decision was a result of what the Observer
had written. His answer was that the decision had come from “higher authorities”. Afterwards I met the Prime Minister and his answer was the same.
I could not comprehend how business could be so affected by politics. I
could not accept a decision that was completely against business proceedings and business ethics.
The Iraqi side was furious about this action and twice sent a delegation to Jordan to negotiate a solution with the Jordanian government. However, the Jordanian government insisted on its decision and the contract and letter of credit was put into the trash basket.
Now we were faced with the biggest and most tragic business blow any
company can face. What should we do in order to minimize our losses? Ship‐loads of corn and soy bean meal were on their way to Jordan already paid for. The only solution was to try and sell the cargo while still at sea, which meant selling at a reduced price, and this is what we had to do.
Regarding the hatching eggs, we had to sell our products as table eggs, also
at a huge loss, as well as losing the fees we paid for leasing feed mills and poultry farms.
52 | P a g e
We ended up losing about $25 million, of which we owed around $20
million to the banks. For the second time in my life I was faced with two options: either to declare bankruptcy, or fight for survival knowing that it would not be easy and would take a long time and huge effort.
My son George who joined the company in 1982 and my daughter Dina who
joined the company in 1986 encouraged me a lot to choose the survival option, which I did.
Fortunately for me the banks treated me well, appreciating the good record
I had with them, but asking for collateral. This meant mortgaging the company assets and my own personal assets to the banks. To survive in business you always have to show that you are strong financially. So we tried to keep our misfortune as secret as possible and made a very big effort not to change our way of life. We lived with these debts for the next 8 years, visiting the banks regularly to ask them to be patient and not take action to sell our assets in the open market.
53 | P a g e
Part III: The Industrial Zone and Construction
19. Grasping an Opportunity
After the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, on November 13th 1996
President Clinton issued presidential proclamation no. 6955 to provide duty free treatment to products from the West Bank, Gaza strip, and Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ).
QIZ are areas designated by the Jordanian and Israeli authorities, and
approved by the US government. Goods produced in these zones are allowed to enter the US market duty free and quota free.
The first QIZ in Jordan was Al‐Hassan Industrial Estate which was owned by the government. As our company owned an Industrial Estate in Jordan 45kms north east of Amman we saw the opportunity to try and get approval for it as a QIZ.
We submitted our application to the Jordanian government and to the
Israeli government for that purpose. The Jordanian government was very hesitant to give us the approval, as they felt that the zones should be owned by the government and not by the private sector.
We had to convince the government officials that the private sector could
be more aggressive in attracting investors to these zones. After a lot of high‐level meetings we got the approval of the Jordanian government, and eventually from the Israeli government. The US government later approved the zone during the visit of King Abdullah The Second of Jordan to the USA.
54 | P a g e
In 1999 our Industrial Park was designated as a QIZ. We put all our effort
into marketing and attracting foreign investors to invest by building their own factories in our QIZ, as a way of taking advantage of the US’s duty free and quota free agreement.
After making our own study we found out that our biggest opportunity was
with apparel manufacturers, as the US duties are high for these goods, and there are quotas. We got the addresses of apparel manufacturers in the Central and Far East and started corresponding with them.
In the meantime we worked on executing our plans for building the
infrastructure of our zone; roads, telephone lines, electricity etc. We borrowed more money from the bank but with hopes now for settling the debt.
In order to be effective in attracting investors I travelled to Dubai, Turkey, Pakistan, India, and China. I held seminars about Jordan with firms in those countries, as many did not know anything about Jordan, and explained the advantages of the QIZ concept.
I had to sell Jordan first, in terms of what Jordan could offer and then invited
firms to visit us. After several trips to these countries, investors started to come to Jordan to see for themselves and to make feasibility studies for their projects.
A lot of investors came to Jordan and we used to meet a number of them
daily, explaining the QIZ concept and making visits to the Industrial Park and showing them around Jordan including inviting them for dinner or lunch. George and Dina made a lot of effort with these investors to convince them to invest in Jordan and in our Ad‐dulayl Industrial Park.
55 | P a g e
We found that the apparel industry is a nomadic type of industry. A large
number of manufacturers don’t stay in a country for long. They just grab an opportunity then leave. So we had to be very careful in choosing our customers.
We did not lease land or buildings at that time. We only had big and
reputable companies investing in our zone by buying land and erecting their own factories.
By selling land and paying money to the banks, the banks were happy to
postpone settlement of our debts. However, as our debts were huge we felt that going this way would not be sufficient, and we decided to convert our privately owned zone into a Public Sharing Company, naming it Ad‐Dulayl Industrial Park. This generated money for us and we were able at last to pay our outstanding debts.
Ad‐Dulayl Industrial Park became well known internationally as the
factories in it were exporting goods to the value of $300 million each year to the US market, selling to top department stores like JC Penny, Walmart, Sears, Target ….etc with international brands like GAP, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Levis, Jones manufactured in Jordan in our Industrial Park.
We as a company did very well in choosing our customers as they were all
very reputable business companies supplying the US market for a very long time.
56 | P a g e
The Industrial Park before
The Industrial Park after
57 | P a g e
The Custom Office inside the Park
Inside one of the factories
58 | P a g e
Explaining to King Abdullah the Second about the Industrial Park during inauguration of the park
Giving King Abdullah an award on the occasion
59 | P a g e
King Abdullah, Prince Ali, Prime Minister Ali Abu El Raghib, Head of Royal Court Fayez Tarawneh during the inauguration of the park
King Abdullah visiting one of the factories at the park
60 | P a g e
H.E. Samir Murad Minister of Laborer talking to one labor at one of the factories and on his left Dina Khayyat
H.E. El-Hadidi Minister of Industry talking to one laborer at one of the factories. On his left George Khayyat and on his right Dina Khayyat
61 | P a g e
20. The Washing Plant
A number of our customers in the Ad‐Dulayl Industrial Park were producing
denim apparels and jeans. Two of them had their own washing plants but others were washing at plants outside the park.
We saw an opportunity to erect a new washing plant inside our park, and
we formed a company named Regional Textile Supportive Industries, fully owned by Ad‐Dulayl Ind. Park, to build the plant.
After thorough study we erected a state of the art washing plant with sand
blasting for jeans and a water treatment plant to treat the water coming out of the washing plant.
It is worth saying that the jeans company Levi’s approved our plant for
washing their jeans and our washing plant was the only one approved by Levi’s in Jordan.
The daily capacity of the plant is 1000 Jeans/12 hours work. This is considered a good size plant.
Water treatment plant at the washing plant
62 | P a g e
21. The Building Sector
From the start of the Industrial Park business we decided that to be
effective, the factory buildings had to be state of the art buildings. So we made an agreement with one of the local building contractors to advise him about what we meant by state of the art factory buildings.
After many meetings with the contractor I convinced him to use non
conventional building methods to cut the cost of building and construct better quality buildings. We succeeded in building state of the art factory buildings of better quality, shape and appearance than the factory buildings available in Jordan.
Jordan buildings are generally built with natural stones and factories are built with concrete blocks. In order to modify the appearance of our factory buildings I decided to work on developing an artificial stone that looks exactly like natural stone but is much cheaper.
After many experiments I was successful in developing an artificial stone
looking exactly like natural stone, and then set up a small factory to make this stone. Most of the factory walls in our park are built with this artificial stone.
Type of factory buildings we build
63 | P a g e
Type of factory buildings we build
A two bedroom house we build
64 | P a g e
The artificial stone
22. Light Weight Concrete Wall Panels
My interest in buildings grew as I saw a great opportunity to develop new
ideas for building, saving on construction costs and time, and also saving on energy costs.
I started looking around for the different types of construction, weighing the advantage and disadvantages of each, and finding it very difficult to decide on which system to follow. I looked into a number of American, Canadian, European and Far Eastern technologies.
During that time there was in Amman a fair for construction materials. An
Australian company named Penny World was exhibiting samples of light weight concrete wall panels.
65 | P a g e
Dina, my daughter, visited them and informed me about the panels. So I
went there and was very impressed by the product and the technology. After a number of meetings with their representatives, namely Shadi Qaqour and his wife Anna Jibril, we decided to form a joint venture between Ad‐Dulayl Ind. Park and Penny World to set up a factory in Jordan to produce the panels.
A company was formed between us under the name Al‐Jedar Al‐Hadeeth
with a 50% share for each partner. The factory we built was Penny World’s first in the Middle East and up to this point their product was not known in the area.
This was a very courageous step to take and it shows that if you believe in something you should go ahead and do it.
The wall panel we produced was 60cms wide, 3m long and 7.7cms and
10cms deep. It had good thermal and sound insulation and did not need plastering. The light weight of the panel made it easy to install (two people could carry it without equipment), and this saved a lot of time in construction. For large construction it cut the time of construction by half and the cost by about 20%.
Marketing such a new product was not easy at all. We put a lot of effort into
our marketing activities and it paid off; after 18 months we started supplying the Jordan, Saudi and Iraqi markets.
66 | P a g e
The light weight concrete panel
67 | P a g e
23. The Importance of Marketing
New ideas, new projects, or new products are never easy to market. People in general are very conservative in accepting them right away.
Through‐out my career, I’ve found that even when I have a new idea that I am personally convinced will be a success, it is still vital to convince others of its merits and feasibility, especially people who will play an important role in its implementation.
The best approach in my experience is to set out the advantages of your idea, and then listen to what people think about the idea, without interrupting them, taking note of their points of view, and considering their suggestions.
Most important is your self confidence in presenting and defending your case, taking into consideration people’s comments, and addressing each of the weak points they mention in a systematic way.
In terms of marketing new products, every product must be targeted directly towards the type of consumer you believe will buy the product.
To do this a proper knowledge and survey of the market is essential. The second step is to choose the media and marketing channels that will enable you to reach out to your target consumers. The third step is to approach some of the potential consumers of your new product and get their feedback on the product.
Once all the studies have been done, your advertising messages should emphasize the main merits and advantages of the new product, reflecting the feedback from potential consumers.
If you decide to use a specialized marketing company I have learned how important it is to work hand in hand with them, as you are the one that knows and is convinced of your product.
68 | P a g e
One must never underestimate the importance of marketing and sales skills in implementing new ideas, projects or products.
Samples of advertisements
69 | P a g e
Part IV: My Family, Management of Our Companies and Other Activities
24. My Family
My wife and I were very fortunate in having five children (4 girls and one
boy). My eldest daughter Randa was born in 1958. She studied in Amman at the National Orthodox School and after finishing high school went to the American University of Beirut where she graduated in 1981 with a B.Sc. degree in Agriculture.
Me and my wife Josephine
70 | P a g e
In 1982 Randa was married to George Rizk and has two children (Raad who
graduated from University College London – U.K. in Statistics and Rana who graduated from Westminster University – U.K. in Business Studies). They both work with Hydrogen Group PLC – U.K.
My daughter Randa with her children Rana & Raad
Randa was divorced 10 years later and in 1996 Randa remarried to John
Pettifor who had two daughters (Bianca and Ariana). Randa and her family reside permanently in London. She loves sports and is very keen to play tennis almost daily and is very conscious in her diet as she believes in eating lots of vegetables and fruits.
71 | P a g e
Reem, my second daughter, graduated from Bernau University in Georgia –
U.S.A and got her Bachelor’s degree in Arts. She got married in Amman to Ramzi Muna who got his Bachelors degree of Engineering in Mechanical Systems from Columbia University in N.Y. – U.S.A. They have 2 children; one son Fadi who graduated with Bachelors of Engineering in Manufacturing Engineering and Management from University of Nottingham‐U.K. He also took his Master of Philosophy in Industrial systems, Manufacturing and Management from University of Cambridge ‐ U.K. Fadi is working now with the International Company Booz Allen in Dubai. Their daughter Yasmin, who graduated from the American University of Beirut with a B.A. degree in Education is now married to Rajai Akkawi and has a son George (My great grandson).
From left – Rajai Akkawi husband of Yasmine, Yasmine, Ramzi, My daughter Reem, Fadi and grandson George (My great grandson) - 2011
Ramzi Muna who is an engineer himself owns his own business “Al‐Muna
Co.” specializing in sanitary and electromechanical appliances sole agents of Ideal standard bathrooms and York air conditioning system. We are very close and we consider Ramzi as our son. Reem is full of life and have a very nice sense of humor which she took from me.
72 | P a g e
My son George went to a public school in England at age of 12 and then
studied at the University of Georgia in the US, getting his B.Sc. in Poultry Science. He is married to Hanan Freij who graduated from Richmond Universtity in U.K. with a B.A. degree in International Business. They have 4 daughters Noor, Farah, Iman and Maha.
George’s Family in Disney World in 2010
From left – Farah, Maha, My son’s wife Hanan, Nour, Eman and my son George
73 | P a g e
Dina finished her high school in Amman and got her Bachelor’s Degree in
Business Administration from George Washington University –U.S.A. She is married to Ramiz Fakhoury who graduated from Trinity University – San Antonio Texas in BA Economics and Masters in Business Administration. They have a son named Faisal. Ramiz owns his own business in advertising under the name “General advertising”. He is a very kind hearted person and considers me like his father.
My daughter Dina with her husband Ramiz & son Faisal in 2009
74 | P a g e
Muna, my youngest, graduated also from George Washington University
with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and she is married to Khalil Nasr who graduated with Masters in Banking and Finance from the University of Jordan, and has a son named Tareq. Khalil is in banking and was CEO of The Investment Bank. After graduation she joined our company for 13 years after which she went to Beirut and became Manager of one of the branches of Ahli Bank. She stayed in Beirut for 5 years then came to Amman to work as Manager of Jabal Amman branch of Ahli Bank.
My daughter Muna with her husband Khalil & son Tareq - 2010
75 | P a g e
My sister Jackline is married to Costantine Inglessis who is a professor at the
School of Engineering in A.U.B teaching Hydraulics for 55 years. Jackline is devoted to philanthropic works and is President of Association For Development of Palestine Camps (Inaash) and President of Palestinian Orthodox Benevolent Society in Beirut. They have two children; Cynthia and Joyce. Cynthia is married and has a son named Ran. Joyce is an engineer by profession and is working with Dar – El Handasa in Beirut.
My sister Jackline’s family
From left – Her husband Costantine, Cynthia, My sister Jackline and Joyce.
76 | P a g e
My sister Mimi is married to Mousa Sawabini and had been working as an
executive secretary for the Orthodox Educational Society for a long time. Her husband Mousa is a lawyer by profession but had been working in business. They have one daughter Tania and one son George and have six grandchildren.
My sister Mimi’s family
From left – My sister Mimi, her husband Mousa, George & Tania
77 | P a g e
We are a very close family and my wife Josephine stood with me and
backed me always as a wonderful wife. She is an excellent mother taking good care of the home, children and grandchildren helping them always.
I would like to mention proudly that we have 4 generations in our family
that graduated from A.U.B (the American University of Beirut). My father in 1912, myself in 1956, my daughter Randa in 1981 and my grandchild Yasmine in 1984.
Thank god I am blessed that all my children and grandchildren got high level
education.
78 | P a g e
My whole Family – children, grandchildren & grandson - Christmas 2010
79 | P a g e
Me and my son George when he was young in 1971
Me and my son George when he was older in 1984
80 | P a g e
Me, my wife Josephine & my son George in 2010
My wife Josephine with our first grandson Raad in 2010
81 | P a g e
My wife Josephine with our daughters
From left – Dina, Randa, my wife Josephine, Reem & Muna
My children
From left (Muna, Dina, George, Reem and Randa)
82 | P a g e
The family in 2009
From left – Khalil, Muna, Randa, Josephine,
Hanan, George, Myself, Reem, Dina, Ramzi
83 | P a g e
25. Management of Our Companies
From 1958 to 1982 all our companies were managed by me alone, i.e. it
was a one man show. Of course each factory had a manager but all the buying and selling and accounting was done in my Central Office.
The feed factory from the start was managed by my Brother in Law
Mr. Samir Shawareb who did an excellent job in managing the factory and maintaining it for decades.
In the early 1960’s a classmate of mine Mr. George Jawhariyeh joined the
company and was the manager of Jordan Poultry Farms & Hatchery, and at the same time was my assistant taking care mostly of the technical matters. He did an excellent job in that respect.
In 1982 my son George joined the company and became head of the
commodity department and assistant manager of the companies. He took care of the feed business, poultry farms and commodity trading.
My daughter Dina joined the company in 1986. Being very active and a good
learner she became the manager of Best Foods Jordan and did a marvelous job in managing the company. After the major business blow we had in 1992, business became very difficult. Dina played the biggest role during that period trying to cut costs and expenses in order to survive. We owe it to her in that respect. Moreover she played a major role in the planning and getting approval of the government for the Qualified Industrial Zone.
My daughter Muna also joined the company and became responsible for
the Government tenders, and as I commented in the chapter on commodity trading, both George and Muna have done a fantastic job in this business.
All of us worked together as a team, and while at first it was very difficult
for me to adjust to a situation where I was no longer alone in taking
84 | P a g e
decisions, I was delighted to get to work with my children, listen to them, discuss situations, argue etc before taking a decision.
After the establishment of Ad‐Dulayl Industrial Park and after we went
public, the Board of Directors of the Company was formed with me as Chairman, my son George as Vice Chairman and Manager, my Daughter Dina as a Board Member and Public Relations Manager. We still hold these positions today.
In 2010 Dina was elected as a Board Member in Zarqa Chamber of Industry,
the first time ever a woman was elected. Also she became Member of the Board of Directors of Jordan Chamber of Industry. The only woman on a Board of 19 members.
My daughter Dina during a conference in 2009
85 | P a g e
26. Other Activities
I have been involved in many other activities linked to my business life, as
well as my enjoyment of cars.
A. Arab Federation for Food Industries:
In 1981 the Arab Federation for Food Industries was established under the umbrella of the Arab League. This Federation included all the Food Industry Manufacturers in the Arab World.
The Secretary General of the Federation, Dr. Falah Jaber, visited Jordan and Jordan needed to name a person to represent the country on the Board of Directors of the Federation. The Chamber of Industry in Amman named me for that post as I was then the head of the Committee of Food Industries in Jordan. Thus I became member of the Board of Directors representing Jordan in the Federation.
This was a very prestigious position. Later I was elected by the Board of Directors to be a Vice Chairman and the Regional Manager of the Federation in Jordan. This position introduced me to almost all of the food industries in the Arab World, as the Federation held a lot of seminars in different parts of the Arab World.
I used to give a lot of lectures during these seminars, and received
many awards in that respect.
86 | P a g e
George receiving award from Prince Faisal with Dr. Falah Jaber ‐ 1990
Receiving award from Prince Faisal at one of the conferences - 1990
87 | P a g e
Sitting with Prince Faisal before one of the conferences
Chairing one of the conferences of Arab Federation for Food Industries
88 | P a g e
One of the conferences under patronage of Prince Faisal with Minister of Industry and Minister of Agriculture
B. Agricultural Engineers Association:
In Jordan all professionals have an Association to represent them.
However, the agricultural engineers did not have an Association prior to 1966.
All agricultural engineers in Jordan were government employees
except me (I was self employed). They asked for a license to form an Association, but the government refused, concerned that agricultural engineers would then ask for a professional allowance over their salaries, equal to 70% of the basic salary.
89 | P a g e
Being outside the government, I was in a better position to speak on
the agricultural engineers’ behalf. I was also a good friend of the late Mr. Wasfi El‐Tall who was the Prime Minister at that time, and who believed in agriculture.
I met him to discuss the issue and convinced him to allow the
formation of an Association. In 1966 the Association was formed and I was elected to its Board of Directors and served there for 4 years.
C. Amman Chamber of Industry:
My relationship with the Chamber of Industry started in 1962 and I
was head of the Food Industry Committee of the Chamber for a long time. I also became a member of the Board of Directors for 4 years.
We served our members in various ways. One of the most important
services we provided was working with our members and different government departments to help solve problems.
D. Royal Automobile Club of Jordan:
I have been a car fan since my teens and loved speed and driving. In
the early 1960’s a group of young men decided to form the first Automobile Club in Jordon.
A small group of us contributed money to form the Club. The Club was
encouraged by the late H.M. King Hussein who was also a car fan and the Club started having functions like speed trials, rallies, and hill climbs etc.
90 | P a g e
I used to participate in all these events and won many trophies. H.M.
King Hussein and his wife Princess Muna were also participating in these events. His Majesty was a very good driver and won a lot of events.
The Club expanded into new premises that included tennis courts,
bowling, fitness club, cafeteria, restaurant, and driving school etc.
The rallies in Jordan and the hill climb became internationally known
and a large number of professional drivers used to participate.
I was one of the Stewards in the Middle East Rallies Championship and
was subsequently appointed a Judge. When I stopped rallying, my son George started joining the rallies and was car driver champion of Jordan for 2 consecutive years.
I served in the Club as a Member of the Board of Trustees for 20 years.
Participating in a Rally during the 60’s
We still own the car plate No. 257 up to this date
91 | P a g e
A reception party after one of the Rallies in the 60’s
Talking to Col. Gardiner, Father of Princess Muna after a Rally
92 | P a g e
Participating in Ruman Hill Climb
With H.M. King Hussein in 1966 in the Ruman Hill Climb
93 | P a g e
Talking to H.M. King Hussein in one of the Ruman Hill Climb
Having a chat with H.M. King Hussein
94 | P a g e
Winners of Ruman Hill Climb with H.M. King Hussein, and Prince Abdullah
Winners of Ruman Hill Climb with H.M. King Hussein & Hamdi Al-Tabaa
95 | P a g e
Participating in a speed test
Participating in a speed test
96 | P a g e
Receiving a trophy from H.M. Queen Nour
My son George in one of the Rallies
97 | P a g e
My son George & H.R.H. Prince Faisal, Col. Gardiner & H.R.H. Prince Abdullah (Now H.M. King Abdullah) celebrating their winning in one of the Rallies.
My son George getting a trophy in one of the Rallies
98 | P a g e
Having a break during one of the Rallies
From left – Haitham El-Mufti, H.R.H. Prince Abdullah
(Now H.M. King Abdullah) and my son George.
99 | P a g e
27. My Social and Leisure Time
Being in business requires a great deal of networking and relationship
building with your fellow businessmen, bank managers, government officials, people from different embassies, as well as your inner circle of friends.
Over the years, this takes up a lot of your time and expense; inviting people
to lunches, dinners, receptions and other events. But it is worth the effort. People start to get to know you socially and in return they invite you to their social events.
I recognized the need to be very active during my early business career and
became well known in the right circles.
This opened doors for me, and enabled me to do business with influential
people in a personal and friendly way. For example, I received invites to receptions from almost all embassies in Jordan. This helped significantly in securing recommendations from embassy officials to foreign companies that I partnered with or represented.
However, I would advise people to be careful in two aspects of networking.
Firstly, be careful in your choice of friends and acquaintances, as it reflects back on your image in society. Secondly, take care in your choice of words when talking to officials in embassies, especially when they try to involve you in political discussions.
Besides being active socially I made it a point to take the whole family on a
vacation during the summer for at least two weeks. Our holiday trips included Lebanon, France, England, Italy, Spain, Cyprus and the USA.
100 | P a g e
As a family, we also used to go at week‐ends to nearby places in Jordan,
including Aqaba to enjoy the sea. Driving a speedboat was one of my hobbies and we all enjoyed using the one I owned at Aqaba.
Having a vacation with the family is very healthy and is highly
recommended every now and then. My children loved our vacations and
the chance to be together as a family all day and night. It helped build strong ties among the family members. It also gave my children a very good knowledge of the world, which benefited them later in their education in the USA.
Our Speed Boat at Aqaba
101 | P a g e
Driving the speed boat
My grandson Faisal driving the speed boat
102 | P a g e
My grandson Faisal diving from the speed boat
Relaxing in a boat trip
103 | P a g e
28. Achievement and/or Success? (Positions and Jobs I Declined)
During every person’s career, he or she will receive offers of new positions
or jobs. Deciding whether to accept or decline is always a big decision to take, as it can change a person’s career for better or worse, as my experience so clearly shows.
One important position I declined was to be a Minister of Agriculture in
Jordan. As mentioned earlier I was a great friend of the late Prime Minister Wasfi El Tall.
He asked me to join his cabinet as Minister of Agriculture twice. And each
time my answer to him was that I was better off looking after and developing my business than being a Minister.
Moreover I knew I simply could not be in a position where I would be told
what to do, sometimes against my judgment.
In the early 1970’s Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was visiting Jordan and I was asked to meet him in his hotel. He surprised me by offering me the chance of working with him to develop his farm, including poultry production, and not as an employee but as a partner.
At that time my business in Jordan was booming and I was very hesitant to
accept this good offer. So I declined the offer which if I had accepted would have made me very rich as Prince Abdullah became the King of Saudi Arabia afterwards.
Nevertheless, as I mentioned at the start of my book: what is more
important in life, money or achievement of one’s goals?
104 | P a g e
Conclusion
In concluding I would like to stress a few important words of advice to our
young generation, hoping it will help them in their future careers.
Vision, determination, hard work, looking for a goal and achieving that goal is of prime importance in life, provided it is also accompanied by doing something you like to do and you believe in.
However, this should not affect your family life as family comes first in a
person’s life. In this instance I would like to mention that loyalty and belonging alleviates your hardships and gives you peace of mind. You should be loyal to your family, your tribe, your job, your employer and above all to your country.
The feeling of belonging gives you courage and stability and the incentive to be active in achieving your goals, helping to improve the life of your fellow citizens and contributing to the welfare of your country.
A special thanks goes to My Wife Josephine and to My Children Randa, Reem, George, Dina and Muna and to
my Sisters Jacqueline and Mimi, for their support and love which made my life worth living and allowed me to be
happy all through my life.
105 | P a g e
Summary of Achievements and Awards
I Entrepreneurship and Pioneering Projects
No. Year Achievement
1. 1960 First to introduce modern Poultry Industry in Jordan and some other Arab countries.
2. 1961 Establishing the first Feed Mill in Jordan. 3. 1962 Establishing the first Breeding Stock and Hatchery in Jordan.
4. 1972 Establishing the first Take Away chains of restaurants for deep fried chicken under the brand name “Quick Meal”.
5. 1973 First to plant Carnations on Commercial Scale.
6. 1975 Establishing the first Vegetable growing without use of soil, “Hydroponics”.
7. 1975 Establishing the first canning factory in Jordan for Beans, Hommos Bithini, etc… Under brand name “Farm Foods”.
8. 1975 Establishing and running the first Poultry Slaughter House in Jordan.
9. 1992 The first to produce Poultry Concentrate without using animal by products.
10. 1994 Establishing first Factory for producing chicken Boullion under brand name Knorr.
11. 1999 Establishing the first Industrial Estate under the Qualified Industrial Zones Status among the Private Sector.
12. 2001 Producing the first Artificial Stone for Buildings.
13. 2008 Establishing the first factory in the Middle East for production of concrete Light Weight Wall Panels.
106 | P a g e
II Directorships and other Board/Trustee Positions
No. Year 1. 1958 Head of Agriculture Department in UNRWA.
2. 1958 Founder and Chairman of Khayyat Agricultural and Trading Co. (Middle East Agricultural and Trading Co.).
3. 1961 Founder and Chairman of Arab Feed Manufacturing Co. 4. 1962 Founder and Chairman of Jordan Poultry Farms and Hatchery Co.
5. 1965 One of the Founders and Member of Board of Directors of Jordan Worsted Mills Co.
6. 1966 One of the Founders and Member of Board of Directors of Agriculture Engineers Association.
7. 1968 One of the Founders and Member of Board of Directors of Arab Detergent Co.
8. 1973 Founder and Chairman of Jordan Food Processing Co. 9. 1973 Representative in Jordan of World Poultry Science Association.
10. 1975 One of the Founders and Member of Board of Directors of Vapco Veterinary Co.
11. 1976 Founder and Chairman of Jordan Canning Co.
12. 1980 One of the Founders and Member of Trustees of Jordan Automobile Club.
13. 1981 Regional Manager and Vice Chairman of Arab Federation of Food Industries.
14. 1999 Founder and Chairman of Ad-Dulayl Industrial Park.
15. 2000 One of the Founders and Member of Board of Directors of National Poultry Co.
16. 2004 Founder and Chairman of Regional Food Processing Co. 17. 2008 Founder and Chairman of Al-Jedar Al Hadeeth Co.
107 | P a g e
III Awards
1. Amman Chamber of Industry Award of being a Pioneer in Industry. 2. Agriculture Engineers Association Award for Founders of the Association.
3. Arab Federation of Food Industries Award Best Poultry Production Developer.
4. American University of Beirut Award in Recognition of Outstanding Achievements in Agriculture.
5. Jordanian Businessmen Association Award for Serving the Country. 6. Royal Automobile Club of Jordan Award for Serving the aims of the Club.
7. Municipality of Ad-dulayl Award for Contribution in Developing the City.
108 | P a g e
Khayyat’s Family Tree
Since 1700 till 2011
Nour, Farah, Iman
& Maha
Jack
Farmer, Industrial & Trader
George
Farmer, Industrial & Trader
Jerries Khayyat
1700-1750
Joseph
(Never Married)
Well educated
1750-1800
Asaa’d
British consul in Palestine
Surgeon FRCS
William
British consul in Jerusalem
1800-1860
Ya’acoub
(Trader) Beirut
Jerries
(Trader) In Jaffa
Afif
Albert
Jaffa Customs Manager
Ya’acoub
British consul in Jaffa
1840-1900
Mary & Victoria
Alfred
Jaffa Finance Governor
Asaa’d
Cable & Wireless Co. Manager in
1900-1960
Josephine & Sumayya & Samira
George
Palestine Customs Manager then
company’s agent
Alfred
(Died as a
Farid
(Died young)
Jackline Maha (MIMI)
1890-1960
Randa, Ream, Dina
& Muna