Minister Shaw Welcomes the Commissioning of Caribbean Cement Company’s New Palletizer Machine

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon Audley Shaw has welcomed the commissioning of Caribbean Cement Company Limited’s new palletizer machine which has been installed at the company’s packaging plant, Rockfort, with a second machine to be subsequently commissioned soon.

The palletizer, which was officially commissioned into service on Monday (February 10), will now be able to turn out 55 thousand bags of cement per day instead of the previous average of 35 thousand bags, an increase of 57%.

The new machine, which is a significant milestone in the modernization and transformation of the plant, will now allow the cement company to meet growing consumer demand with a prompt response to client’s orders, while decreasing waiting time.

Minister Shaw, who was speaking at the official ceremony commissioning the new palletizer at the company in Rockfort on Monday (February 10), said he was impressed with the expanded operations, which reflect another commitment to the development of the construction industry in Jamaica by the company.

“This is a sign of progress; a sign of increased productivity. We want to see more and more of these kinds of investment. This is an important industry for Jamaica and, I am happy to see that you are stepping up to the demand because we are seeing now in Jamaica more than ever, an unprecedented level of investment in the construction sector,” the minister said.
Minister Shaw assured the management and staff of the Caribbean Cement Company Limited, “you have my 100 per cent support and the support of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries for the efforts that you have been making”.

“From what I have seen, the scope and extent to which you have decided to build out this plant signals an attempt to move out in the right direction, that is, to produce all that is required domestically and then move out into the export market where you can earn greater levels of foreign exchange. Any venture that embarks on that kind of strategy is the kind of venture that has to be supported. In this instance, you have my full support and backing,” the Minister stated.

In the meantime, General Manager, Carib Cement, Yago Castro informed that the company, over the last few years, has made multi-billion dollar investments in Jamaica.

“We have the right talent here in Jamaica and, we just have to find it, train it, and put it on top,” he said.

He further added that “the new palletizer is probably the most advanced that you can find anywhere in the world. We went to the market and got the best that we could get. This machine will certainly increase our production process tremendously”.

“This is something that we will keep on improving. Our production capacity as of today and before we install that second palletizer that will be coming very soon is now more than 100% of the total Jamaican market. We will be able to right now, before installing the second one, serve the whole Jamaican market. This is a very big market and, a market that is growing. We have a commitment with the country and we want to be a part of its development,” Mr. Castro added.

Caribbean Cement Company Ltd. has invested more than US$50 million in the company. Today, the company is part of the global organization CEMEX, which has operational presence in 50 countries, commercial trading in 100 countries, and more than 41,000 employees.

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