William Mahfood: Living the Wisynco Family Tradition

"What was key for us was that whatever we did, must definitely convey the 'proud to be Jamaican' message ¬ Mahfood

IF YOU have a name like Mahfood in Jamaica, the assumption is that you have both feet in the door of opportunity. However, it was not all smooth sailing for 40-year-old William Mahfood, managing director of the West Indies Synthetics Company (Wisynco) Group, located at Spanish Town Road in Kingston.

The company, which is in its fifth decade, was started by brothers Joseph, Sam, Ferdie and Robin Mahfood, but young William Mahfood, son of Joseph Mahfood, began in 1988 after completing a degree in industrial engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Wisynco employs more than 900 persons and manufactures a range of plastic and Styrofoam disposable items including garbage bags, egg cartons, soup/porridge bowls, assorted plastic bottles for juice companies, forks, spoons, cups, lunch boxes, plates and trays as well as plastic bags used by supermarkets to protect vegetables and fruits.

BIGGA SOFT DRINKS BRAND

The company also manufactures 12 regular and five diet flavours under the Bigga soft drinks brand. There are also Likkle Bigga, Wata and Likkle Wata. Wisynco supplies a roster of impressive customers such as the SuperClubs hotel chain, Island Grill restaurants, Margaritavile, Wendy's and Air Jamaica.

The source of the company's bottled water is a well-established underground spring which leads to wells on the property.

Formerly distributors of another brand, the aggressive and forward-thinking Mahfood clan thought of ways to produce their own.

"What was key for us was that whatever we did, must definitely convey the 'proud to be Jamaican' message. My cousin came up with the name and we worked to bring to market, products that were tasty and of the highest quality. We adopted the same approach when it came to naming the bottled water - the name must be distinctly Jamaican," Mr. Mahfood told The Gleaner. And the rest is now history; customers love the products.

However, Mr. Mahfood came well prepared for the task of taking the company into the 21st century having been taken to work by his father every summer vacation since age 12. He had to earn his pocket money but he also learnt the valuable lesson of not spending what is not his. Young William used to place his two lunches daily on his dad's tab until the elder Mahfood deducted the entire cost from his son's weekly wages, thus sending him home without the princely sum of $20.

"Dad took me in that first year and put me at the machine to pack cups," he told The Gleaner, "so it was not simply a matter of being born with the proverbial gold spoon in my mouth. I worked my way up from loading trucks at the warehouses to sales, purchasing and other departments, so when the time came to be managing director in 1994, I was prepared."

HURDLES

In a country where we constantly hear complaints about the downside of manufacturing such as high cost of electricity, security, foreign exchange as well as having to deal with endless red tape, what are some of the challenges faced by Mr. Mahfood and how does he cope?

With a business that relies on having a reliable power supply 24 hours a day, he lamented the high cost of electricity and said there seems to be no control over what the power company decides to charge consumers.

"With that 35-year exclusive arrangement, who do they answer to?" asked Mr. Mahfood. "But manufacturing is still a large part of our business, more than 50 per cent in fact and we have integrated it with the beverages and bottled water now. Through our marketing and sales arms, we distribute imported items but we are proud to be Jamaican manufacturers. The challenge for us was taking an established business to another level."

LONG WAIT

Mr. Mahfood said it took eight years to get branding and employee welfare to almost where they want it to be. But along with cousin Andrew Mahfood, the group's financial director; Devon Reynolds, manager for plastics, and Francis Chalifours, managing director of Jamaica Drinks, working with the rest of the management team, they were up to the task.

They distribute popular foreign brands including Welches, Ocean Spray, the General Mills line, Canagra line and Georgia Pacific products and one major local manufacturer has come on board after being impressed with their efficient approach to business.

Does Wisynco have a five or 10-year expansion plan? The Gleaner asked.

In spite of prevailing conditions, the company did well last year, hiring 90 new members of staff when layoffs were the order of the day in areas of the manufacturing sector. Mr. Mahfood is cognizant of the foundation laid by his father and uncles and is not willing to wait that long but is pressing ahead to continue in an expansion mode in the next 12 months.

"In six months, we will expand the soft drinks and bottled water lines. In 12 months, we will build a new complex of an additional 200 square feet of warehouse and distribution space. Ground will be broken soon on the 50-acre property we have acquired and this will mean new jobs for people. We are on track to double revenues and I will be able to focus on being less hands-on as I prepare the younger guys to take over. Succession plan is key to any organisation."

But Mr. Mahfood joins all Jamaicans in his concern about the high crime rate in Jamaica. During this interview, word reached him about the murder of someone he'd known for a long time.

"I have to be concerned. Three of our factories operate round the clock and we have to transport staff home late at nights. Many of them live in areas affected by crime so their safety is important to us. We do not seem to have any control over crime," he said.

INSPIRATION AND VISION

His biggest inspiration was his uncle Sam Mahfood, who took him on trips all over the country and taught him how to deal with and respect people. The savvy businessman supports several local health, education, cultural and educational charities and regards his staff as family members whose quality of life he tries to improve.

"I want them to feel motivated when they come to work daily and to see them uplifted educationally and socially so we can all be lifted up as a people," said Mr. Mahfood. "I would like to see good parenting and family values return so that our children learn to turn the other cheek instead of being abusive; I'd like to see us speak lovingly and carefully to each other and by setting this example at work, I hope it will have a trickle-down effect on society."

(Gleaner)