Rod Shepherd
31st July 1950 – 27th January 2010
“The Founder and the Story of Rice Bran Feeds”
It started with a view,
And then a thought,
Followed by a vision in the mind,
Where a dream was conceived,
And thence a lifelong passion borne,
Which developed into a strong commitment,
To actualize the vision.
It had since taken flight in countries far and wide,
Such was the humble beginnings....
In the mid 1990s’ Rod Shepherd left Gold Coast, Australia and chose Malaysia to expand his business interest in the Equestrian industry. In one of his business travels, he saw the vast span of rice fields in the Northern States of Peninsula Malaysia. It is the famous “Rice Bowl’ located in Alor Star where paddy fields stretched as far as the eyes could see.
Rod Shepherd saw the vast potential of rice bran (a by-product obtained from milling of the brown rice) as a horse feed concentrate because of its extensive innate benefits. He carried out feasibility studies and the best manufacturing process to bring out the optimum benefits of rice bran. With the technical assistance provided by reputable nutritionist from Australia, the “Vitamite” range of Rice Bran Feeds derived from Stream Extrusion process have since found its way and fed to some of the well known stables with great success.
Rod had developed a range of 7 different types of rice bran feeds to cater for different needs of the racing and equestrian market. "COOL PERFORMER" carrying the flagship of Rod’s innovation was the sire that achieved international recognition through BETA in 2008. These products are now available in international markets such as United Kingdom, Sweden, Middle East, Europe, Oceania and Asia.