Stanley Borg Cardona, director of Borg Cardona & Co. Ltd, paid tribute to company founder Maurice C. Borg Cardona, his father, during a reception held recently at Capo Crudo, Valletta.

For Borg Cardona & Co. it was a double celebration: 70 years since Maurice Borg Cardona set up the firm and 30 years since the company began to represent the renowned Royal Canin brand of dog and cat food in Malta and Gozo.
“My father pioneered the pet trade and the commercial poultry industry,” Stanley said. “Maurice had foresight and an incredible business acumen, that we today are building on and striving to carry forward.”
Referring to the long relationship with Royal Canin, Stanley said: “It has always been our company policy, from my father’s days, that only the best for the welfare of the animal is handled by us, no matter the price or the packaging.”
With the liberalisation of import restrictions in 1987, he had to make a major decision: which company manufacturing pet food he was to import and introduce on the local market. “I finally decided to approach Royal Canin, a decision I have definitely not regretted.”

Nigel and Andrew with Royal Canin representatives (from left) M. Lilian Bourras, Export Manager Bruno Saboa and M. Ludovic de Meulemeester

Royal Canin SA Export Manager Bruno Saboa, who headed a delegation of five employees of the French manufacturer, said he felt honoured to be present. “People count,” he affirmed. For the two companies, it had been a human and business adventure because Royal Canin attaches a lot of importance to its relationships with people, apart from working for their mutual business success.
He said it was “absolutely incredible” to have a partnership that had extended for 30 years and was the secret of their individual success. He also noted that a clear indication of the common values the two companies upheld was the fact that its employees all had long service records. Mr Saboa himself is about to celebrate his 34th anniversary with Royal Canin.
Among those present for the reception were company directors, members of the Borg Cardona family, over 30 members of staff, their spouses and partners, and members of the media. Author Malcolm J. Naudi, who has been commissioned to compile a company history, outlined the background to the love for animals of the Borg Cardonas through the decades and various humorous incidents experienced.

Magali Bouvier-Julien, Ludovic de Meulemeester, Lilian Bourras, Nigel Borg Cardona, Export Manager Bruno Saboa, Stanley Borg Cardona, Marielle Bethune and Andrew Borg Cardona

Mementoes were presented to the visitors from Royal Canin, along with a book on 7,000 years of Maltese history to be displayed in the Malta Meeting Room in Royal Canin’s head office in Aimargues. Royal Canin, in turn, presented its latest publication, an encyclopaedia on cats, which has been three years in the making.
The employees of Borg Cardona & Co. also presented a watch to Mr Stanley Borg Cardona, who himself celebrated his 70th birthday on 3 September, while the book,  ‘Disappearing Malta’, was given to him by the company Borg Cardona & Co. Ltd in appreciation of his dedication and hard work. The event came to an end with the cutting of a cake.