Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the Government has commenced a programme of trade facilitation to increase Jamaica’s chances of global competitiveness.

He was speaking at the launch of ARC Manufacturing Limited’s metal slitting plant, at the company’s Bell Road address in Kingston, recently.

“Some weeks ago, the Cabinet approved a number of initiatives to further enhance and facilitate trade, including the elimination of a number of fees and charges that are no longer relevant but have been on the books and people have been collecting,” he said.

Mr. Shaw said this programme seeks to give local manufacturers a competitive advantage. “It cannot be that we are encouraging local value-added manufacturing, but encourage low duty importation of competitor goods. I am going to be focusing on trade facilitation. We have to make it easier for people who want to add value in Jamaica and create jobs and create prosperity in our country,” the Minister emphasized.

Another measure is the recently launched Jamaica Trade Information Portal (JTIP). The portal provides a single authoritative source for trade information relating to import-export regulations, requirements and processes, which businesses can easily access at any time.

Meanwhile, the Minister commended the management of ARC Manufacturing Limited for its state-of-the-art metal slitting plant valued at US$425,000, which he said, will support national development.

Mr. Shaw argued that establishment of the metal slitting plant comes at an opportune time, as with the increased activity in the local construction sector, this service will meet the demands of the manufacturing sector, specifically the building materials industry.

For his part, Executive Chairman, ARC Manufacturing Limited, Norman Horne, pointed out that the plant is the first of its kind in Jamaica, and that investment in the facility seeks to meet the demand of the local manufacturing industry.

“We have invested in two slitters. They both can do the same thing. One is high speed and the other is medium speed. This industry is new to Jamaica. In our country, we don’t have all the dynamics aligned that are ideal for manufacturing; therefore, we have to look to our advantages and try to capitalize on those,” he said.

Metal slitting refers to the process by which metal sheets are fed lengthwise through a slitter machine and cut into narrow coils. It is an essential manufacturing process which is used in the production of essential building materials, including guttering, roofing tiles, barrel capping, purlins, tracks and studs.

Published by The Jamaica Information Service (JIS).

A US$1-million metal slitting plant is now up and running at Arc Manufacturing Limited, which Executive Chairman Norman Horne says is the only one of its kind in Jamaica.

Arc will produce guttering for drainage, roofing tiles, and tracks and studs used in walls and partitions, among other products, from sheet-metal rolled into coils cut from larger imported stock.

“These machines provide us with tremendous fungibility, in that we can take whatever we want from the coils itself. That eases the burden of being over-inventoried on one side while being short in others,” Horne told the Financial Gleaner.

“With that we can better manage the cash flow,” he said.

The two 15-metre-long machines with rolling cutters are capable of slitting metal sheeting into coils of desired widths, which can be further processed. One of the machines produces sheeting at a rate of 90 feet per minute, while the other, a medium-speed set-up installed for redundancy, produces at the rate of 60 feet per minute, Horne said.

He estimates that by doing the slitting in Jamaica, instead of importing from as far as India, the savings to his company could top 70 per cent.

“It costs about US$90 per ton in the overseas market to have the coils pre-cut. To do it in Jamaica is about US$22 per ton. We’re therefore saving US$68, or at least US$60, per ton,” Horne said.

He told a touring party Wednesday that the machines should increase production by about 50 per cent, since the raw material needed for further processing would be more readily available.

Horne also announced that the commissioning of the slitting plant was a prelude to more installations. He noted that two weeks ago, the company installed a machine capable of producing metal fabric for the construction industry. The fabric can be produced in rolls or in sheets made to specifications.

Additionally, Arc Manufacturing will start producing metal hollow section in various sizes within the next two years, he added.

Published by The Jamaica Gleaner

Executive Chairman at ARC Manufacturing, Norman Horne recently presented grade one students at the Dupont Primary & Infant School with a selection of books.

He explained that the initiative came as a result of joining the global conversation around reading.

Horne urged the captivated audience of four and five-year-olds to ”use these books as your tools to become the policeman, the doctor, nurses, and lawyers you want to be when you grow up”.

“We are here to guide you our future leaders along that journey, and it all starts here, with these books, that I am sure you will treasure,” Horne told the students.

This initiative is one of many taken by the manufacturing giant in its efforts to help improve the quality of education provided to students.

“Our children are at a stage where they soak up everything around them. So we are happy to have role models in our community who assist us with providing quality education for our students,” shared Principal Andrew Rowe as he thanked the ARC team for their contribution.

“We are grateful for the assistance of this nature, which we can use to make a significant and lasting impact,” Rowe posited.

ARC Manufacturing Ltd. is Jamaica’s leading manufacturer of premium-quality building materials and serves both domestic and international markets.

ARC is the employer of choice for more than 350 workers, with 70% of its workforce originating from surrounding communities.

Published by Loop Jamaica.

Executive Chairman of ARC Manufacturing, Norman Horne and members of his team entered an uncharted territory recently, presenting to Grade 1 students at Dupont Primary & Infant School and gifting them with a selection of reading books.

The move, Horne said, was a result of joining the global conversation about reading — a powerful tool to further education and inspire future leaders.

“Use these books as your tools to become the policemen, the doctors, nurses, and lawyers you want to be when you grow up, “ he told the students.

“We are here to guide you, our future leaders, along that journey, and it all starts here, with these books, that I am sure you will treasure,” he added.

ARC is one of the country’s leading manufacturers of fencing, roofing and other building materials and serves both domestic and international markets.

With some 70% of its 350-strong workforce originating from communities in proximity to its Bell Road/Development Road main office, ARC said it is committed to community development and added that the book donation to Dupont Primary and Infant was another example.

For Principal Andrew Rowe, the contribution was well appreciated.

“Our children are at a stage where they soak up everything around them. So, we are happy to have role models in our community who assist us with providing quality education for our students,” he said.

“We are grateful for assistance of this nature, which we can use to make a significant and lasting impact,” Rowe added.

Published in The Jamaica Observer.

From being team leaders to operating machines, the women at ARC Manufacturing Ltd are in charge.

As one of the largest building material suppliers and distributors in the region, hiring female workers to operate in a male-dominated field was a no-brainer for management, who say they are not afraid to embrace the growing phenomenon of gender equality in the workplace.

Team effort and personal development are factors that contribute to the women’s successes, and Nicola Livermore, one of the team leaders at the Roofing Plant, can attest to this.

“I have been at ARC for the past 10 years, and it’s one of the best things I have done in my life,” she explained.

She said there is no task in her department that she is unable to perform, as they “all work as a team and help each other to grow”.

“I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge being at ARC working across departments — that is, from the Cement Warehouse to the Retail Operations Department. Now I operate machines in the Roofing Plant, all because I work hard,” Livermore continued.

Published by The Jamaica Observer

Following a rigorous and extensive series of company-wide audits by the National Certification Body of Jamaica (NCBJ), ARC Manufacturing Limited has been awarded the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 certificate of conformity for its comprehensive quality management system, the company has announced.

This ISO certification signifies that ARC Manufacturing Limited has demonstrated its ability to consistently provide products and services that meet both customer and regulatory requirements.

In the release, the company said the certification augurs well for consumers’ confidence that ARC’s products and services are safe, qualified and reliable.

Given the company’s burgeoning efforts towards the export markets, Executive Chairman of ARC Manufacturing Limited, Norman Horne, stated that this ISO certification could not have been a more opportune achievement.

“There is tremendous potential in the export market for building materials, and ARC strives to take advantage of this,” Horne stated. “This ISO certification is globally recognised and respected, so we have no doubt that this will enhance the competitiveness of our business, and provide credible proof that the products and services meet acceptable global standards.”

Horne continued, “This achievement is a testament to the hard work of the team at ARC, and our commitment to providing our customers with product and service consistency. We have been doing business for over twenty years, and throughout that time, we have worked tirelessly on continuously improving our processes, and investing in the most efficient systems for the business. So I’m very excited about the prospects that this brings.”

The certification comes on the heels of ARC’s recent victory at the first annual Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association Awards Gala, where the building materials manufacturer copped the NCBJ Quality and Standards Award.

Over the past 18 months, ARC said it has been focused on reinforcing the company’s culture of quality among its employees with regularly-held awareness trainings and seminars, ISO awareness sessions, internal auditing and other related sensitisation efforts.

Michelle Sturridge, Manager at NCBJ, congratulated the manufacturing company on its achievement, saying: “ARC Manufacturing Company Limited, achieving ISO 9001:2015 Certification, is commendable, as there is a need for more Jamaican Manufacturers to increase their efficiency and productivity while they play a pivotal role as major contributors to wealth creation, employment and sustainable development for the country. The ISO 9001 certification will contribute to the greatness of this organization as it seeks to compete in the local and international sphere.”

Published by Loop News. 

A visit to ARC Manufacturing Ltd on Bell Road in Kington proved to be a huge source of inspiration for a group of over 50 students from Hanover.

The group toured the ARC Manufacturing plant recently, as part of an initiative by the Hanover Hope Foundation.

Intrigued by the operations they were introduced to on the tour, quite a number of students expressed interest in pursuing careers in the manufacturing industry. Even one young aspiring lawyer shared that she was seriously contemplating making a switch to the sciences so that she could earn the requisite qualifications to become an engineer.

“Normally, a lot of people don’t think about all the careers out there other than the usual doctor, lawyer, teacher and police,” shared Julian Blagrove, a student from Rose Hall High School. “But at ARC, we got to see so many other professionals at work, even in some careers we never knew existed before. I’m definitely inspired and very happy that I got to come and see it for myself.”

Another student, Ovando Bates from Green Island High School, was shocked to see a female forklift operator at work.

“I never knew women did those kinds of jobs,” said Bates. “But it’s really cool to see women doing those things and it just shows you that there really are no limits to what people can do, whether they are men or women.”

Katrin Casserly, a member of the Hanover Hope Foundation, noted: “We wanted to expose the students to manufacturing and other non-traditional careers, and we thought ARC would be perfect for that. The students were able to see first-hand how a manufacturing plant works, and they got the chance to talk to the people who work there, ask them questions and learn how things work.”

Casserly added, “Many of the students have never been to Kingston before, and even those who have may not necessarily have gotten exposure to this side of the town. So I am glad the students got the opportunity to come and see it for themselves, and I am even more happy about how inspired they are to use what they have learnt in their own lives. It really gives us a lot of hope, and that is the kind of experience we want to create for Hanover youths through the Foundation.”

Over 50 students from Rusea’s, Rhodes Hall, Green Island and Hopewell High Schools in Hanover participated in the tour, which started at ARC Manufacturing Ltd. The group also visited several iconic spots in Kingston, including the National Gallery and the Caribbean Maritime Institute.

Published by Loop Jamaica.