Company earmarks $150 million for construction activities

Jamaican manufacturing company, Jamaican Teas has got the green light to start its long-awaited expansion of its factory at 2E Bell Road in Kingston. 

The expansion will see the factory increasing its output by 50 per cent more non-tea products arising from the factory space expanding from 22,000 square feet to 34,000 square feet, when completed. 

Construction is slated to start next year.

In addition to expanding its factory space, Jamaican Teas announced plans to relocate the manufacturing division of its soup and spices activities from its Bell Road factory complex to a new location in the Richmond Park area of Kingston. This relocation is set to take place next year.  

Jamaican Teas, which is split into manufacturing, investment and real estate divisions, reported a 13 per cent increase in local manufacturing sales for the three-month to September 2021, pushing the division back to performance levels it had pre-COVID-19.  Exports accounted for 59 per cent of total sales in the quarter but reflected a decline of 12 per cent, compared to the corresponding period of 2020.

Aggressive product development

In the meantime, Jamaican Teas is embarking on an aggressive production development programme, as the management seeks to grow the business whilst increasing revenue.

Managing Director John Mahfood said that, come 2022, several new products and designs will be launched to supplement the business.

“We are increasing the production of our dry pot products such as soup and spices; this stand-alone business will operate out of our new facility located near to our factory,” Mahfood advised shareholders at the recent annual general meeting (AGM).

He highlighted that “a major challenge during the 2020 financial year was keeping up with the demands of our overseas customers and increasing production. We did a relatively good job in meeting those demands. However, in 2021, the challenge was logistics, getting the raw materials in place so we could produce the products needed”.

Bad second half of 2021

He admitting that the second half of the 2021 financial year was a bad one for the company, as it “suffered badly in terms of stock-outs and lost sales. We are, however getting on top of that situation; hence I expect that in the first quarter of the FY2022, we’ll see an improvement in logistics”.