Born in the small village of Haraculi (Good Hope) Kimbia in the Berbice River, William Andrew Boyle has come a far way and his commitment and perseverance over the years have seen him establishing Eureka Medical Laboratory, one of the best known in the country. This, coupled with his benevolence, saw him being awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement.
Coming months after he received the Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence entrepreneurship, Boyle sees it as the crowning of being recognised by his country and it is one he will forever hold dear.
“My years have been unfolding and getting better and better… Last year, I was privileged to receive the entrepreneurial award of the Caribbean and that was a tremendous moment for me… When I received this award, it was a similar feeling,” he said.
He was quick to state that all the kudos should really go to his family, friends and his staff as he is surrounded by “fantastic people and they are the ones who keep pushing me”. He now has in his employ about 80 persons. The list also includes his ex-wife Dr Karen Gordon-Boyle who is co-owner of the laboratory.
The journey to this moment has been long and filled with bumps including being turned down by the bank when he applied for a loan to start his business, but it is one he would walk again if needs be. Today it is not just Eureka Medical Laboratories, which has branches in Parika, Anna Regina, Diamond, Rose Hall, New Amsterdam and Bartica, that he owns. He also has solar and farming businesses. Eureka is also regional as a branch has been opened in St Vincent where his brother, who is a vet, lives.
“… I am very humble, easy going and I think I am a happy, easygoing person,” were the words he used to describe himself during a sit down with the Sunday Stabroek.
The third of ten children for his parents, Boyle spent his formative years in the Berbice River. He left to attend the New Amsterdam Multilateral School and it was then that life as he knew it changed. During that time, Boyle said, over a seven-year period, he and his brother must have lived in seven different homes.
“We moved homes because of several reasons, either not being comfortable or so many other reasons…,” he said while adding that adapting to the new way of life was difficult. He noted that while they grew up in poverty they never saw it that way because they were a “little better off” than some around them “and I felt like we were living like kings and so to move from that to go and live with someone else it was not easy.” It was also “a culture shock” for the siblings and because of where they came from, they were “seriously ridiculed”.
There were also embarrassing moments that he now can look back and laugh at, one of which saw him dropping to the floor and crying out ‘Oh God!’ while watching his first ever movie. It was a James Bond film and 007 had pointed to the screen and started shooting. Being a “real country man,” Boyle said he found it difficult as wear slippers; they were barefooted all the time except on Sundays when they attended church.
“Looking back it was an underprivileged sort of existence but I would love to live it again because it was such a lovely atmosphere, a feeling of love and togetherness,” Boyle said of his childhood days, revealing that the family remains closely knit and even though many of them live overseas they remain in touch every “single day of the week”.
In secondary school he was intrigued by science and later was granted a scholarship to study microbiology in Cuba. On his return, he worked with the government for five years but the seed of opening a laboratory was already planted and took growth. During those years and even later he taught at the University as Guyana as well.
‘A hole in Waterloo Street’
And so it was that 24 years ago, what is known as Eureka started out in “a hole in Waterloo Street,” he said.
He recalled that he and Dr Gordon-Boyle had a difficulty finding a name. The ‘light bulb moment’ came while they were watching television and saw an advertisement for Eureka vacuum cleaner. They looked at each other and knew that would be the name of the lab.
Eureka is Greek in origin and is really the expression of triumph on a discovery, it means ‘I have found it!’
“I found my dream and really this was my dream come true so I can say ‘Eureka I have found it’. Personally, I would like to say that when you find us you can say Eureka as well and when I find what is wrong with someone, I say Eureka. So, it has a multi-faceted connotation,” Boyle explained.
But ‘finding it’ was not easy as Boyle recalled that he was forced to sell some cattle and with help from family members he came up with the $5 million needed to start the business and even with that and a very good proposal his loan application was turned down by a bank manager.
“I felt small, I felt deflated…I was going there thinking I have this $5 million and we can start this thing but man it didn’t work out and I was so upset and I said under my breath ‘I am going to show you’,” he said of the experience.
Exactly five years later he received his first loan when he wanted to purchase a piece of land on Thomas Street which now houses the headquarters for the business. And today, he said, banks now approach him to take loans.
His experiences now see him talking to young people telling them not to be deflated as the difficulties they face are “stumbling blocks or bumps on the road.”
Over the years he received several requests to open branches of the businesses in various parts of the country and he has obliged.
“We have climbed by leaps and bounds. We have transcended boundaries. We have grown tremendously, and Eureka is still growing and over the years I have had fantastic team members… I have persons who have been here for 20 years and they are all part of the Eureka family,” Boyle said.
However, the company still faces problems with customs when clearing items it imports. “It has been a struggle and at one point we had issues with foreign exchange, sending foreign exchange to buy reagents and equipment. All those have been struggles over the years, there were numerous hurdles but then as I said earlier, we have definitely persevered,” he said.
Fifteen years ago, the lab was certified by the National Bureau of Standards and has been certified every year since. Three years ago, it was the first in Guyana to become internationally accredited and Boyle described it as a “massive achievement” which they have maintained over the years.
The lab also has “amazing collaborative ventures” with overseas labs, which helps it to facilitate DNA testing; this is done through the DNA Diagnostic Center in the US. He noted that it is not feasible to do the testing in Guyana since they get about four or five requests a week even though there are some peak seasons.
The international partnerships also assist with “exotic testing” or testing for rare diseases.
‘First love’
But it is not just the lab, Boyle said his first love was really solar since he built a solar cooker as a secondary school student, today he is involved in solar power. With President David Granger’s call for the country to go green, Boyle said, he started to really look at the option and today he is the owner of Caribbean Wind and Sun through which he outfits homes with solar systems. He noted that going this route can be expensive as the lowest system can cost around $600,000 and it can go as high as $48 million. His two facilities in Georgetown are about 70% solar powered, his home is completely solar powered and also his lab in Anna Regina and his mom’s home in the Berbice River. He also has a farm on the highway that is solar powered.
Boyle’s Amazonia Farms started as a joint venture with his siblings in the Berbice River and initially it was poultry farming. But this was not feasible because of the distance and there was sometimes spoilage, so they decided to just produce eggs. His siblings eventually “fell off the radar” since they are overseas, and he faced some difficulty maintaining the farm at the location as feed had to be purchased and taken there and it was proving to be very costly.
He was forced to move to the highway a year ago and now supplies eggs to all of the Georgetown supermarkets. Down the road, he plans to move into other areas of farming.
His business horizon continues to expand as a year ago he was approached by a group of Canadians associated with Atlantic Offshore Medical Services, who expressed an interest to partner with him to provide occupational, health and safety services to the oil companies.
Eureka Atlantic Offshore Medical Services came into being and is in the process of becoming equipped. It will be headquartered right at Thomas Street and will partner with other persons to provide the needed services.
In all of this Boyle does not forget his corporate social responsibilities and at present he is excited about a project he is working on to provide seven computers to the Kimbia Primary School (his alma mater). The building that will house the computers will be fully solar powered and he would provide internet through satellite.
“The students would be able to dream like I did and be able to connect with outside world,” Boyle said.
He revealed that the Anthony Sabga award came with a monetary aspect and part that sum is being used to set up the computer laboratory as a means to give back his community as promised.
Boyle is the father of three children all of whom are studying overseas. The last one is doing her pre-med studies, the second is about do his Masters in psychology and the first born studied management.
“I am hoping one they would come back to take over the reigns [of his business empire],” Boyle said.
He gives his ex-wife kudos for raising three amazing children and also for contributing tremendously to the growth of the business over the years.
And Boyle said he does not work all the time as he is very involved in Rotary Club of Georgetown and the Central Freemasons Lodge. The latter he said is also involved in a lot of work with the ordinary people but do not make it public. Boyle also loves to fish and plays the saxophone
He likes a good movie from time to time and relaxing with friends and just chatting.
