New complex for IMCA Caterpillar dealership

Heavy equipment company IMCA Jamaica, the agents for Caterpillar, is moving to reclaim turf and take advantage of opportunities in the construction and mining sectors, a centrepiece of which will be a new base of operation being developed on its behalf in the Kingston industrial belt, at a cost of more than US$8 million.

The HQ project is being backed by Sygnus Real Estate on a turnkey basis, according to vice president and head of real estate and project finance for Sygnus Group, David Cummings.

The new facility spanning 32,000 square feet is to be built by Relmac Construction. Sygnus will launch the project officially on Friday.

“This is an example of what we do at Sygnus Real Estate. We can take a project from a mere idea to property location, assembling a professional team, design, approvals, all along through execution to handing over the key,” Cummings said.

The 2.5-acre rectangular plot at 443-445 Spanish Town Road formerly housed the Ameco fleet management company. The IMCA complex, designed by architects Harold Morrison and Robert Woodstock, will incorporate offices, a display area, a spare parts division, a workshop with five covered work-bays, two semi-covered loading bays for heavy parts and a single open bay for super-duty repairs.

IMCA is presently located at 217 Spanish Town Road, an area commonly known as Two Miles. The location previously housed the old Bata shoe company factory before it was repurposed to the offices for Powertrac Jamaica, who were the previous local representatives for Caterpillar, before the dealership was taken over by the IMCA in 2008. IMCA Jamaica is foreign owned by Implementos Y Maquinarias Dominican Republic, a company operating in the heavy equipment and power market for over 75 years.

IMCA Jamaica Country Manager José Sasso says the old Bata location was never built for the purpose of showing and housing the type of equipment his company sells. It was never meant to be a permanent home for IMCA, he said, which leased the location when it took over the dealership.

“When we came here and took over from Powertrac, we were planning to move after a year, but the world crisis in 2009 affected mining and stalled our plans until now, with Sygnus coming along,” Sasso said.

As the local distributor for Caterpillar, IMCA Jamaica Limited also provides product support. That Caterpillar is the world’s top-selling heavy equipment brand, with 16 per cent of the market, followed by

Komatsu, second and John Deere third, according to International-construction.com.

“Caterpillar has a well-earned reputation and we provide a premium product. People who buy Caterpillar do so because they want hard-working, capable, long-lasting equipment. We stand behind what we sell for 20 or 30 years of ownership,” Sasso said.

Still, in the Jamaican market, brands such as Komatsu from Stewarts Industrial, Shantui from Tank-Weld Equipment and CHL from Tools Hardware Equipment have recently been stealing a march on IMCA. Prospective owners have also been turning to second-hand imports in a starved heavy equipment market. But Sasso says IMCA is not bothered by the competition.

“We’re not the only brand, but anywhere in the world you go we are number one, especially in construction and mining, and we back that up with finely tuned logistics and maintenance support, worldwide,” he said.

“With all that is happening there are huge opportunities and we want to be a part of that,” he said.

neville.graham@gleanerjm.com