Thirty-five years ago, Mings Products & Services Ltd. was little more than an idea, a rented space on Urquhart Street and a three-person team determined to build something that would last.
Today, that small beginning has become a distinctly Guyanese story of entrepreneurship, perseverance, community and service—a story the company celebrated on August 8 under the fitting theme: “Thank You, Guyana.”
Founded in 1990 by Stanley Ming and Dr. Michele Ming, Mings Products & Services Ltd. (MPS) has grown from its modest beginnings into a diversified business serving customers across Guyana and developing relationships with international manufacturers and local communities.
But as MPS celebrated 35 years, the company’s message was not simply about how far it had come.
It was about the people who helped it get there.
A dream begins in Urquhart Street
According to an anniversary account reported by Guyana Graphic, MPS began in rented premises on Urquhart Street, with space provided by June Mendes of Farfan and Mendes.
There was no guarantee that the business would survive, much less flourish for three decades.
But Stanley and Michele Ming built the company around a straightforward belief: success should be measured not only by what a business earns, but by what it contributes to the people and community around it.
That philosophy became particularly important in Tiger Bay, the Georgetown community that surrounded the company in its formative years.
Thirty-five years later, MPS says that relationship remains part of its DNA.
When a community stood with a business
Perhaps nothing better illustrates that bond than what happened in 2011.
When fire struck the MPS premises, residents of Tiger Bay did not stand by and watch.
They acted.
Vehicles, motorcycles and equipment were moved from the burning premises to the compound of School of the Nations in an effort to protect the company’s assets.
When MPS subsequently reconciled its inventory, every single item that had been removed was accounted for.
The company reopened the very next day.
For MPS, that was more than an extraordinary response to a crisis. It was evidence of something that cannot be bought: trust.
The company had invested in its community, and when disaster struck, the community stood with the company.
Over the years, MPS helped provide health insurance for Tiger Bay children and, with School of the Nations, supported additional classes in computer science and other subjects.
The relationship became a two-way partnership—one in which business and community grew together.
Building a reputation beyond Guyana
MPS also built its reputation by bringing international products and technology to Guyanese consumers.
The company researched, tested and imported products from the United States, Canada, Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand and India.
Its association with Yamaha became particularly significant, with MPS marketing outboard engines, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, generators, water pumps, fiberglass boats and other products.
The company’s commitment to service earned recognition from Yamaha Motor Co. in Japan.
In a 1997 communication, Yamaha reportedly praised MPS for its administration, communication and responsiveness, describing its team as among the most pleasant and professional in the Caribbean and worldwide.
For a Guyanese company that had begun only seven years earlier, the recognition represented an important achievement.
Success measured in people
Behind the products and services, however, are the people who built the company.
MPS says it currently has 66 employees, with 28 having served for more than a decade.
Seven employees have been with the company for more than 30 years.
Others have reached 20-, 15- and 10-year milestones.
That longevity is itself a reflection of the company’s philosophy toward its workforce.
MPS says it has invested in leadership training, mentorship, health and life insurance, tuition reimbursement, maternity leave and opportunities for internal promotion.
The anniversary also provided an opportunity to recognise employees who carried the company through the extraordinary challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and to remember its late Technical Director, Colin Ming, whose life was tragically cut short.
Taking service to Guyana’s waterways
The MPS story also reaches far beyond Georgetown.
Through MPS and its associated businesses—including FMC Products & Services, The M Group, MDepot and Mings Optical—the group has served communities along the Berbice, Demerara, Essequibo and Pomeroon rivers.
In some cases, MPS worked alongside Banks DIH and other partners to provide boats, engines, fuel and life jackets at no cost to children living in riverain communities so they could travel safely between their homes and schools.
These efforts reflect a broader idea of what it means to do business in Guyana: to create value while helping others move forward.
A new generation, a bigger vision
The 35th anniversary is also a transition point.
The next chapter of MPS is being led by Calvin Ming as Chairman and John Chin as Chief Executive Officer, supported by Directors Audrey Ford, Samuel Ming, Dr. Michele Ming and Stanley Ming.
The new leadership is expected to expand the company’s products and services while advancing a particularly ambitious vision: ISIKA.
The Amerindian word means “to give” or “to share,” and MPS envisions ISIKA as a state-of-the-art, inclusive, multicultural and multireligious community on the Essequibo River.
The plans, which are expected to move toward groundbreaking in 2027, include schools, hospitals, a marina and other facilities, with the long-term vision of creating a community owned and operated by the people who call it home.
More than 35 years
The story of Mings Products & Services is ultimately a story about what can happen when a small beginning is matched by determination, innovation and faith in people.
From three people on Urquhart Street to a company serving customers across Guyana; from international partnerships to community initiatives; from surviving a devastating fire to preparing for a new generation of leadership—the journey has been defined by resilience.
And perhaps that is why the company chose “Thank You, Guyana” as the theme for its 35th anniversary.
Because behind every successful Guyanese enterprise are customers who believed in it, employees who stayed with it, communities that supported it and a country that gave it room to dream.
As MPS enters its next chapter, its greatest achievement may not be the number of products it has sold or the years it has survived.
It may be the relationships it has built along the way.
Thirty-five years ago, MPS started small. Thirty-five years later, it is still looking ahead—and still giving back to the country it calls home.
