ARC Manufacturing Limited positively impacting the economy
Published:Friday | October 4, 2019 | 12:13 AMKeisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer
Jamaica’s manufacturing industry has proven to be deeply resilient and continues to make its mark at home and abroad. Identified as a key area for growth by the Jamaican Government, several incentives are now in place to encourage new investments in this sector.
Arising from significant changes and reflecting developments in world trade and shifts in economic policies in Jamaica, ARC Manufacturing Limited has synergised the manufacturing and trading industries, establishing a core for sustainable economic growth and enabling the success of the company for years to come.
“We started over from naught and took on the mission of identifying investors, corporations of interest, focusing on raising capital, and cementing raw material and commodity-supply contracts,” said ARC’s executive chairman, Norman Horne.
According to him, the company has developed its differentiators with a primary focus on service. This, he said, has altered the Jamaican market with game-changing initiatives focused on export and joint-venture agreements in other markets.
leading in jamaica
“We offer door-to-door delivery within 24 hours to your doorstep. Our products are on par with global industry standards, and this has positioned us as one of the leading manufacturing and distributorships in Jamaica. We have improved management, technology, labour production, and the training and development of our staff. That has contributed to our competitive edge,” Horne said.
In addition to the company’s expansive Kingston headquarters, which holds seven manufacturing plants for products such as chain-link fencing, nails, roofing, wire, fabric mesh, tracks and studs, and lumber treatment, along with warehousing and distribution hubs, the company continues to expand as a new factory is under construction.
The company is also a major distributor of steel and is best known for being a cement distributor, currently in a partnership with Carib Cement Company. For most of its product lines, ARC Manufacturing Limited has as much as 100 per cent of the market.
suppliers around the globe
As the company places less focus on the local markets, many of ARC’s customers and suppliers come from around the globe. “We buy from companies in Turkey, China, Sweden, and Brazil and sell to customers elsewhere, and because of lower expenses, [we are] able to export right back to the market [the product] originated in,” Horne said.
“Most of these countries where these companies produce have far more competitively priced products that we are interested in,” he added.
With a staff of over 350 employees across a wide spectrum of the organisation, Horne said that the company is aiming to become number one in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Currently, the company has three branches, with its head office on 19 acres of land at Bell Road in Kingston and warehouse space in Ferry Pen off the Mandela Highway, as well as a location in Ironshore in Montego Bay. Manufacturing at Arc goes on 24 hours per day, with night shifts going well past midnight. Several of the employees come from areas around the head office.
The company also keeps an eye on being energy-efficient, and energy costs are kept down via solar panels and its own fuel refilling station.