BACKGROUND

Backus Corporation

In 1876, Jacob Backus and Howard Johnston, two U.S. citizens, established an ice factory in Lima that would become the Backus & Johnston Brewery Limited in 1879. In 1890, this company was sold to an English interest.

Led by Ricardo Bentin Mujica in 1954, a group of Peruvian entrepreneurs bought the Backus & Johnston S.A. Brewery (CBJ) and originated a nationalization by a private initiative that resulted in a widely-held stock company and was followed by the upgrading of corporate facilities and investment diversification. New companies were purchased or created around Peru that would turn the Backus corporate group into one of Peru's leading corporations.

A solid economic group comprised of 19 diversified companies (see Appendix 1), operating in various industrial, agro-industrial and services sectors, the Backus Corporation operates both in Peru and other countries on the subcontinent.

The company's history shows that the business philosophy created by its founders at the middle of the 20th century is still alive and is the backbone of the principles and values put in practice by the Backus founders. Throughout the years, the Backus Corporation has demonstrated a strong commitment with the Peruvian social development, even in the worst economical and political crisis in the country that caused 30,000 deaths during the 1990s because of the terrorist violence.

This philosophy circles around an ongoing concern for personnel development and professional growth.

Inspired by such corporate thinking, the Backus corporation's mission has been defined as follows:

“Our general mission is to cooperate in achieving personal excellence, also called happiness, among all those who work with or are related to the Corporation. Our specific mission is:

• To produce and bring to market goods and services of the best quality, mainly in the foods and beverages industry, both for local and export markets.

• To satisfy the effective needs of our customers, with an emphasis on the product quality and service that go with them.

• To create a continued change process that will maintain modern, efficient, profitable and world-class competitive production units.

• To contribute to national development.”

Thus is characterized the dynamic Backus Corporation, where all components are driven towards better results measured through personnel development, enhanced business capabilities and better returns. A strong corporate commitment to Peruvian development and community solidarity translates into specific initiatives in education, culture, health, ecologic and environmental issues, and sports.

"[The] Backus Corporation counts on leading people with a social and human view of development and is directed at attaining better quality of living for people," says Luis Calderón, Corporate Finance and Systems Manager.