FosRich readies Clarendon plant for new products

Following its maiden export to Barbados in December, FosRich is moving forward with plans to begin manufacturing new PVC products as well as expand its offering to the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) from its Blue Emerald factories in Hayes, Clarendon.

Located on seven acres, Blue Emerald operates two 60,000-square-foot factories on the property. At present, FosRich has dedicated one of the factories to the repair of JPS pole-mounted and pad-mounted transformers.

"So we have a contract to repair approximately 2,000 transformers per year — that's one of the business we're doing there," managing director of FosRich Cecil Foster informed the Jamaica Observer, adding that the contract should last another four years.

"So we are doing the transformer repairs in one section and also we will be looking at another phase… We are hoping that within 2022 we can start the process of making the coils that are used in the transformers," he added.

JPS has some 40,000 transformers in its electricity distribution network.

To kick-start the second phase, FosRich has entered into a partnership with Canada-based Cam Tran to train its employees over a six-month period in the manufacturing of transformer coils, during which time it will begin acquiring the necessary equipment. With approximately 36 employees, Blue Emerald's staff complement includes senior engineers, junior engineers and HEART Trust-trained electricians.

In the meantime, the company has retrofitted the second factory to manufacture PVC sewer pipes and conduits, as detailed in its annual report for 2020.

"These are pipes from two inches up to 12 inches that we will be making in that plant. All the machines that are to be used for that activity are in place already. What is happening is that we are installing and doing the testing so that hopefully, by the end of this month, we will start production," Foster told Business Observer.

The managing director has indicated that within the first quarter of the calendar year the plant will begin manufacturing about 14 new products, adding another 16 new products over the remainder.

"By the end of the year, we should be manufacturing most of the product types that are required by the market," Foster shared.

So far, the plant has 10 employees and will increase the number to 30 for the roll-out of new PVC products. In total, Blue Emerald will have between 70 and 80 individuals on its payroll.

While he couldn't provide an estimate of the total capital expenditure for Clarendon upon request, Foster revealed that the company has financed the projects with a combination of its own cash resources and loans.

He added that the shipment of PVC sewer and drainage pipes to Barbados in early December has added urgency to begin manufacturing in Clarendon as the company could not, at the time, fulfil the client's order.

"We are trying to get the factory up to get those products supplied [because we have other orders that are not yet supplied," Foster said.

He added: "Since then we have been in very, very strong negotiations with a Trinidadian company which, we think, will come through by the end of this month into next month."

While Foster expects to engage other Caribbean companies, he said FosRich is working towards securing ISO 9001 certification for all its manufacturing by the end of this month.

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