If your name is Parry and your family has lived in Welshpool for generations, there is a good chance that you are related to one of the world’s first entrepreneurs who launched a multi-billion pound empire in India!
Mywelshpool has discovered that Thomas Parry, the third son of Edward Parry and Anne Vaughan, of Leighton Hall, left the town in 1788 at the age of 20 to seek his fortune, and today the EID Parry name is part of an Indian sub-continent business group with an annual turnover in the billions... so start checking your family tree.
Even today, there are parts of the city of Chennai named after Mr. Parry and the company has revealed that its last quarter sales increased by an incredible 31 per cent.
Its current Vice President says “Parry is a cash-rich company” and it has become one of the world’s leading exporters of sugar and a corporate pioneer in reducing poverty and cheap labour in the world’s second most populous country.
But it all began on the streets of Welshpool over 220 years ago when a young man decided he could make it elsewhere.
Mr Parry arrived in India and immediately registered a goods and banking business which boomed. He died in 1824 of cholera but his son, thought to be called Robert, was already hands-on and added a sugar factory in 1842 to the burgeoning empire, leading to the company – EID Parry – becoming a household name across Asia.
And all of these years later, the company is still based on Parry’s Corner in Chennai’s business district, but the organisation has evolved.
In 1981, it became a part of the Murugappa Group but EID Parry has upheld the tradition of making plantation white sugar from sugarcane with one factory in Nellikuppam crushing 5,000 metric tonnes of sugar daily. It is estimated that up to one million people are either directly or indirectly employed through EID Parry.
EID Parry also has its own bio-products division, which manufactures plant fertiliser and a 'nutraceutical' (a portmanteau of the words 'nutrition' and 'pharmaceutical') division, making foods that are enhanced with wellbeing supplements.
Twice a year, the company holds workshops for its employees' children, focusing on learning and skills. Children are taught about employment opportunities in order to help them make informed decisions when they reach working age. It also runs an apprenticeship scheme, each year training 56 candidates in areas such as IT and engineering.
In addition, EID Parry runs training events for the farmers it works with, to build strong and mutually beneficial links with the agricultural community it depends on for raw material.
Are you a descendent of Thomas Parry or do you know more about his incredible story? If so, contact us at editor@mywelshpool.co.uk