6 months ago
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AMG Packaging & Paper Company Limited is considering a move away from Retirement Road in Kingston if it can find a location to hold all of its equipment.
The box maker is in the process of acquiring a corrugator and complementary equipment, which it says will greatly improve its productivity.
“We are considering the consolidation of our warehousing into one purpose-built factory, the upgrade of our main piece of equipment, which is our corrugator, and some other small pieces of equipment that would increase our productivity tenfold,” Chairman Metry Seaga said at the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.
Seaga said the company’s main focus for 2025 was to acquire the corrugator, but first, to find space that can hold the critical piece of equipment and the resources that support it.
“We do have a space problem,” the chairman advised shareholders of the packaging company. “We have done a lot with a little bit, and we want to give the team the space that they need. We want to give them all the tools they need to be even more productive and effective in what they are doing,” he said.
Seaga noted that AMG had facilities in buildings on both sides of Retirement Road, which affected the company’s operations.
“We are hopeful that we are going to solve that problem by moving to a different location,” he said, but added that a location had not yet been identified.
Export goal
AMG Packaging intends to export its products in the future, but declined to give a timeline.
“The ultimate aim would be for us to be able to lower prices, be able to produce more, and eventually – and I know this may be a stretch to some – but, eventually, to be able to export,” Seaga said.
General Manager Michael Chin said the expansion of the space and the acquisition of the corrugator would be critical to the export thrust.
“There are a lot of imports (of paper products) coming to Jamaica, unfortunately. That’s why we need to expand. If we can get a new corrugator and bring down prices, then we can compete with boxes coming from places like the Dominican Republic,” he said.
Asked about the cost of the corrugator, Seaga said it was in the “multiples of millions of US dollars”.
The company’s revenues for the three-month period to November 30, 2024 decreased by more than seven per cent, moving from $272.49 million to $252.64 million. “The major contributing factor to this is Tropical Cyclone Raphael, which interrupted the operations for a few days during the period,” the company said.
Net profit also fell 31 per cent, moving from $58.4 million to $40.3 million. But the company said a new piece of equipment, the 2 Color Flexo Folder, had been installed and would help to make the operations more efficient.
On an annual basis, AMG Packaging hauls in revenue of $1 billion, while its earning for year ending August 2024 amounted to more than $136 million. Its cash pile has grown to more than $380 million amid total assets of $1.76 billion as at last November.
English (US) ·