Therapedic Caribbean, a subsidiary of Jamaican furniture manufacturer, Morgans Group, has signed a $20-million bedding contract with Spanish development company, Hoteles Jamaica Pinero Limited (HOJAPI). Under the agreement, Therapedic is to supply Pinero with sleep systems and pillows for phase one of its three-phased 734-room Bahia Principé Hotel in St Ann.

According to Aswad Morgan, group-marketing director, the firm is currently reaping the dividends from its investments in efficient technology and prudent cost management over the years.

Aswad Morgan, group marketing director, displays one of Therapedic's adjustable massage beds at Morgans Group's corporate office on Lady Musgrave Road in Kingston. (Photo: Lionel Rookwood)

"I believe this was a result of our experience, production capacity and capabilities, staff and reputation we have gathered over the 30-plus years we have been manufacturing in Jamaica," Morgan told the Business Observer. "From the get-go we told Pinero to trust in us, and they did just that and awarded us the contract, and we have not disappointed them. this contract is for phase one of the project.

Based on our performance, we are very optimistic that we will also be awarded contracts for phases two and three."
Yesterday, the contract was hailed across local furniture manufacturing circles as a major coup for Therapedic and a ray of hope in an industry that has long been crippled by competition from cheaper imports.

According to data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) furniture imports increased by 53 per cent between 2000 and 2004. In 2004, Jamaica bought $2.2 billion worth of furniture and only exported $43 million.

However, even more meaningful for Therapedic is the fact that in securing this contract, the company is now in line to furnish the two latter stages of the multi-million dollar Bahia Principé project plus other hotel projects in Jamaica's booming tourism industry.

Morgans Group, one of the most reputable names in Jamaica's manufacturing sector, was founded by Kenneth and Joycelin Morgan in 1974. Through their flagship operation, Morgans Industries, they manufactured solid mahogany furniture for the local and international markets. Currently headquartered on Lady Musgrave Road in Kingston, Morgans Group has three major subsidiaries operating from sizeable production facilities within the corporate area:

. Polyflex Foam Limited - manufacturer of polyurethane foam from a 40,000 square-foot production facility located at 1 Padmore Drive in Kingston;
. Jumbolon Jamaica Limited - manufacturer of low-density polyethylene foam from a 35,000 square-foot plant on Elgin Road, Kingston; and
. Therapedic Caribbean - manufacturer of sleeping systems (mattresses, pillows, etc) from a 40,000 square-foot production facility in Naggo's Head, Portmore.

Therapedic Caribbean was formed in 1984 through a licensing agreement between Morgans Group and United States bedding manufacturer giants, Therapedic International. According to Aswad Morgan, having recognised the increasing competitiveness of the furniture market, Therapedic Caribbean has, over the last few years, invested heavily in major plant expansion exercises and upgrading of its machinery.

For example, in order to cut the long-term cost of importing quilted fabric, the company recently invested $20 million in three high-tech quilting machines.

"The reason why we have remained competitive is because we have consistently retooled to keep ahead of the market and be efficient," said Morgan. "You need these sorts of weapons to compete. Most major bedding manufacturers shy away from such a major investment and opt to outsource by importing quilted fabric. (Our investment) guarantees us a very high level of output and flexibility to serve the growing needs of our customers and the bedding market."

Morgan said that his firm's expansion initiative has been strategically aligned to take advantage of export markets (25 to 30 per cent of Morgans Group's total sales comes from exports) in the Caribbean while at the same time accommodating with supplies, the 14,000 rooms that are expected to be built in Jamaica's tourism sector over the next three to five years.
Morgan added that he was hopeful that this agreement with Pinero, which he said emerged from an investor/supplier linkage through JAMPRO, would act as a platform for other local furniture manufacturers.

"Pinero must be commended for buying from a local Jamaican manufacturer as these major hotel chains have very strong supply chain relationships all over the world," said Morgan. "We always recognised that we were never solely representing Therapedic, but instead Jamaica's wider manufacturing sector. If we deliver a high quality product at the right price, on a timely basis in a first-world and professional manner, we would have represented our sector well."

The Bahia Principé, being constructed on a 200-acre property at Pear Tree Bottom in St Ann, will be opened on December 15. Each phase was initially projected to cost between US$60 million and US$100 million. The Pinero Group is one of Spain's major hotel owners and operators, with hotels and other tourism-related ventures in Spain, Portugal, Russia, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico and Brazil.

Mothers can't father

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'