Pure National ice factory awaiting BSJ sign-off
Expects to resume operations in October
Published:Friday | October 3, 2025 | 12:07 AM
Nearly a year after its plant was almost totally destroyed by fire, Pure National Limited, Jamaica’s largest manufacturer of ice, says it expects to restore operations shortly.
The company is in its final stages of testing its newly restored plant at Ashenheim Road in Kingston, not far from its old location at 214 Marcus Garvey Drive, which was damaged by fire November last year. The factory is expected to be back online this month.
“Pure National is currently in the final stages of production testing. We are awaiting formal approval from the Bureau of Standards Jamaica, BSJ, and expect to resume full operations within the next two to three weeks. Once we receive that clearance, we are prepared to scale quickly and return to full production,” said Managing Director Teresa Lindo.
Lindo said the total cost of the restoration is approximately $400 million. This includes the relocation, construction of the new facility, acquisition of upgraded equipment, and re-establishment of administrative operations.
As a major part of its restoration, Pure National acquired a new 70-ton Paktol ice maker which has already been installed at the rebuilt facility which is being outfitted for full operations in the coming weeks. With this upgrade, the company says it is positioned to increase its production capacity by one fifth.
“The restored plant will operate with approximately 20 per cent more daily production capacity compared to the facility that was lost in the fire. We have rebuilt from the ground up and incorporated more advanced systems that support faster output. The new layout was designed to increase workflow efficiency and allow room for expansion as demand grows,” Lindo said.
The company said that during the period of disruption it remained operational through alternative supply arrangements ensuring that ice remained accessible across the island. Now, the company is preparing to return to local production with improved technology and greater efficiency.
The alternative supply arrangements included the importation of ice by Pure National. This move surprised many persons but, when Pure National went offline, it left Jamaica with only one other ice-making company, the much-smaller May Pen Ice Company, which was unable to meet market demand.
Looking ahead, Lindo said Pure National would be expanding distribution of Happy Water, its bottled water product, and will be launching initiatives in some primary and secondary schools and exploring more opportunities to support sports in Jamaica.