Growth and Jobs | Cal’s prepares for JSE listing as it eyes export market
Published:Tuesday | November 15, 2022 | 12:06 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
WITH AN eye on global markets, local manufacturer and distribution company Cal’s Manufacturing Limited intends to enter the food processing industry within the next three years, opening the door for the export of more Jamaican-made products.
The company, which had a modest beginning 23 years ago making syrup in a backyard, with just one tank and one bag of sugar, has since grown to 14 food products, eight of which it manufactures and the others it distributes. They include lime juice, fruit wine, vinegar, tomato ketchup, bag juices, water, and canned foods.
Roshane Douse, chief operations officer at Cal’s, disclosed that the company is advance in its preparation for listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).
He added that Cal’s is 90 per cent ready for its public listing.
But to expand and further diversify the company’s offerings, Douse said that “it’s a real challenge for us based on the space and all that comes with it”. Currently, the company operates in 54,000 square feet of factory space located at the Garmex Freezone Complex, 76 Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston, with 250 employees.
Recently, Douse, along with Chief Executive Officer Carlton Watson and other members the Cal’s team, took Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles, Jr on a tour of the company’s facilities.
The purpose of the tour was to show the minister the company’s operational procedures, the difficulties encountered, and to discuss future goals.
Charles said that the Government welcomed public-private partnerships.
“I think that it is an opportunity for us as Government to see how we can help to resolve some of the issues, while creating a framework for other companies to also be able to [benefit],” he said.
Charles further stated that the Government is looking towards infrastructure developments as a priority, such as storage facilities, warehouses, and pounds for livestock, that will facilitate building “a resilient agricultural sector”.
To ready itself for export potential, the company is currently undertaking the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification programme.
Watson stated that “we definitely have a lot of developing products in the pipeline,” which correlates with the demand expected once the company goes public.
He informed The Gleaner that the company did not export often, only occasionally and on a small scale with other Caribbean nations. That, he said, limited sales to the local market.
“We have to do forward thinking now and really look at how we are going to accommodate all of this growth,” he said of plans to find larger factory space.
Watson said that the company plans to work with local farmers to produce spice blends, jerk sauces, bottled peppers, sauces, and beverages.
He has called for the Government’s assistance to acquire land for expnasion.
Charles said that the Government is encouraging the production of more Jamaican-made products as it pushes for self-sufficiency to reduce the country’s import bill.
That, he said, creates “a whole platform of opportunities for our farmers”.
“You really should see the Caribbean as your oyster, because as part of the CARICOM group we have the benefit of being able to access [this market] through regulations. A lot of opportunities, with first choice in terms of selling to our partners; and we have not, in my estimation, exploited that as much as we ought to,” he said.