Leonardo Blair, Staff Reporter
LOCAL UNIFORM manufacturers are now banding capital and skills together in a bid to keep lucrative multimillion dollar contracts out of the hands of overseas interests.
In response to a recent report that uniform contracts were still being won by overseas companies, Laurence Heffes, managing director of Heffes Sales, told The Gleaner in an interview yesterday that his company is leading a charge of garment manufacturers to take back the market.
"We are coming together under the lead group Heffes Sales," said Mr. Heffes. "We currently have two other factories and we are working with five other manufacturers. We are also open to work with others who are willing to come on board."
STILL LOSING CONTRACTS
Referring to comments made by Post Master General Dr. Blossom O'Meally-Nelson that local firms are still losing contracts to overseas firms because of poor manufacturing standards, Mr. Heffes told The Gleaner that, "given sufficient lead time and the same criteria given to the overseas manufacturers we can produce as good or even better products."
He explained that many of the garment companies here are working with their own capital because of the difficulty in sourcing funds for expansion projects in the industry.
Despite the situation, his team of manufacturers along with others who want to join his team are quite prepared to rise to the challenge of any company prepared to buy Jamaican and invest in the local economy Mr. Heffes said.
Last year uniform manufacturers told The Sunday Gleaner that an increasing number of banks, including the Bank of Jamaica, Government agencies and business corporations were taking their contracts overseas leaving local manufacturers out in the cold.
Since then, local manufacturers have been voicing their disapproval of the outsourcing of these contracts citing unfair advantage being enjoyed by their foreign competitors.
