Erich Huzenlaub

Erich Gustav Huzenlaub (1888-1964) was a Stuttgart (Württemberg), Germany born entrepreneur, scientist and inventor that is most widely known for "The Huzenlaub Process" which became Uncle Ben's Converted Rice. During his life, Huzenlaub studied chemistry in Germany, served in the German military, and emigrated to London, England where he became a British citizen. He traveled the world pursuing various enterprises, chief among these included the invention of numerous food improvement processes.[2] While in London, Huzenlaub founded the company Converted Rice, Ltd. where a form of parboiling rice designed to retain more of the nutrients in rice was invented, now known as the Huzenlaub Process. The process consisted first in vacuum drying the whole grain, then steaming, and finally vacuum drying and husking.[3][4] Besides increasing rice's nutritional value, it also made it resistant to weevils and reduced cooking time.[3] Together with Forrest Mars, Sr. they began two companies, "Rice Converted, Inc." and "Mars and Huzenlaub" in the United States. Erich Huzenlaub visited a number of rice millers in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi in the early to mid 1940s. They financed and built up a plant for parboiled rice in Houston, Texas. Rice Converted, Inc's sole client was the US military which needed Converted Rice, Inc's rice to airdrop to troops throughout World War II as it was resistant to infestation. Once the war ended, Rice Converted, Inc. rebranded as "Uncle Ben's Converted Rice," the first branded rice of its time.