Wisynco Expands Plastic Products Factory -- Plans 250,000 Square-foot Warehouse

West Indies Synthetics, the plastic products manufacturing subsidiary of the Wisynco Group, is building a new 25,000 square-foot factory at its Central Village compound, for an investment that, eventually, will run to an estimated $110 million, officials say.

"We broke ground about three weeks ago and are hopeful that the factory will be completed by the end of August or early September," said William Mahfood, general manager of the Wisynco Group.

According to Mahfood, the building and ancillary facilities will cost about $60 million.

But over the next year the firm will invest another $50 million or so in equipment and machinery for the plant, whose capacity will be increased by about 50 per cent.

West Indies Synthetics manufactures a range of plastic disposable items, including cups, plates, forks, garbage bags, PET bottles as well as waterboots.

It now produces about 150 container loads of products monthly.

According to Mahfood, an Observer Business Leader nominee for 2002, the expansion will mean 25 to 30 new technical jobs to add to the 100 people currently employed at this Central Village factory. West Indies Synthetics, which operates three facilities, has, overall, 350 employees.

The entire Wisynco Group employs 900 people.

Wisynco, whose subsidiaries also manufacture the Bigga brand of soft drinks and Wata bottled water, also has on the drawing board, a 250,000 square-foot warehouse facility for which it expects to break ground later this year.
The size of this facility has grown substantially from when it was initially conceived, according to Mahfood.

"The building is going to have to be much bigger because of the growth we experienced in the last year," he said.

Over the past year Wisynco has expanded the range of its Bigga soft drink range and, according to Mahfood, opened "significant new markets . in Canada, The Bahamas, St Martin, The US Virgin Islands, Antigua, St Kitts and Panama".
The new facility allows for the consolidation of the company's warehousing operations, from most rented facilities in areas such as Marcus Garvey Drive, Nanse Pen, Spanish Town Road and Twickenham Park, Mahfood said.

In some cases, vacated warehouses may be converted to production facilities.

(Observer)