Desulme departs as FosRich revamps pipe plant management
Published:Wednesday | July 15, 2020 | 12:05 AMNeville Graham/Business Reporter
Jean-Marie Desulme, who came out of retirement to run the PVC manufacturing unit at FosRich at the end of February has exited the company following a review of the management structure.
FosRich Company CEO Cecil Foster said the senior consultant, who once headed Thermo-Plastics Jamaica, was brought on to lend his years of experience to the nascent plastics extrusion business. Desulme was hired as general manager.
“He was brought on for a two-year contract, which came up for review at this time. We thought we would benefit from his experience, but the review showed that we are well resourced through others on the team,” Foster told the Financial Gleaner.
Still on the team, according to Foster, is Production Manager Wayne Cephas – another veteran of the Thermo Plastics operation, who was recently involved in setting up five extrusion machines in Haiti similar to the set-up at FosRich’s Maverley Avenue, Kingston plant.
Foster said Cephas, along with three other senior officers and 27 workers were deemed capable of carrying FosRich’s PVC manufacturing operation.
“He has brought a wealth of experience to the table with well over 20 years,” Foster said of Cephas.
“We see the need to use another structure that we have and save on some costs. All is in place. It is just that we are not using a general manager,” he said.
Desulme declined immediate comment about his separation from the company, saying he would get back in touch with the Financial Gleaner by today, Wednesday.
The pipe-manufacturing operation at FosRich came on stream in May 2019. It produces PVC pipes and conduits of various sizes, operating 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
FosRich sells its products under the brand name Solid PVC Pipes, mostly to the construction sector. Its conduits come in the standard 10-foot length, while the drain pipes are 20 feet long. The plant has the capacity for more than four million pieces of pipe per year, which Foster says is sufficient to supply local and export markets.