FosRich shaping the emerald

By November, lighting and electrical company FosRich will commence production of PVC pipes at Hayes, Clarendon, through a subsidiary called Blue Emerald.

It’s also making progress on plans to start manufacturing transformers in Jamaica, on behalf of a Canadian company.

The new PVC plant in which FosRich is investing $80 million to $100 million will manufacture industrial grade PVC pipes suitable for sewage systems, ranging from two inches to 12 inches in diameter, said Cecil Foster, CEO of FosRich Company Limited.

It would mark the third phase of their market entry into the manufacturing of pipe and fittings..

FosRich has hired 30 workers for the plant, which will ramp up production by late October or early November, marking the third phase of its market entry into the manufacturing of pipe and fittings. The pipes are done under the Solid brand, mainly from the company’s plant in Kingston.

The Clarendon complex is already manufacturing fittings as “a separate operation” under the second phase build-out of the PVC production unit, but it too falls under the Blue Emerald subsidiary. The PVC accessories plant also employs 30 people.

Blue Emerald Limited is 80 per cent owned by FosRich, said Foster. Companies Office records list him, Mario Foster and Peter Knibbs as the three directors and holders of shares. The complex sits on 25 acres with two buildings of 60,000 square feet each. One building houses the PVC plants and the other is dedicated to transformer repairs.

The transformer operation, with its 20 staff, started in July and is dedicated for now to repairs, but intends to quickly expand into the manufacturing of transformers, Foster told the Financial Gleaner.

FosRich, with the assistance of Ontario-based Campbell Transformers, or CamTran, is in the process of determining the scope of the transformer manufacturing operation, and the machinery it will require.

“CamTran is helping us with the research and the sourcing of machinery. They are also committed to the training and development of our staff,” Foster said.

CamTran is a large transformer manufacture and repairs company operating in Canada since 1982. Foster says the intention is to position Blue Emerald as an outsourcing company, with CamTran and the rest of the Caribbean as clients.

“We could export to CamTran a product that they could get cheaper than what they could ever get it for in that market. We would effectively become an outsource manufacturing plant for them,” Foster said.

Blue Emerald currently has a single transformer repair client, power utility Jamaica Public Service Company Limited, or JPS. By repairing its transformers in Jamaica, JPS is looking at potential savings of up to $1 billion over four years in shipping costs and foreign exchange, Foster said.

FosRich, through Blue Emerald, is the only transformer company in Jamaica, a business it entered through acquisition of the Clarendon complex.

neville.graham@gleanerjm.com