Continental Baking (National) has announced the names of the 11 “Bold Ones” who will be showcased in their sponsored programme to recognize outstanding new Jamaican manufacturers.

The eleven companies, officially presented at a breakfast briefing at the Knutsford Court hotel on Wednesday are Adduci Jamaican Cigars, AMG Packaging, Banyan Creations, Chocolate Dreams, Country House Products, Home Choice Enterprise, Pastry Passions, Spur Tree Spices, The Jerk Place and Restaurant, West Indies Gypsum and Yono Industries. National chairman Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson, addressing the briefing, said that National was very proud to be associated with the group of manufacturers.

“These entrepreneurs have chosen to act on their creative impulses and accumulated expertise rather than sit on their assets, to introduce and promote products that have been made in Jamaica, largely with Jamaican resources,” he said, adding “The fact that we can proudly declare ‘Made in Jamaica’ is what gives real meaning to this campaign.”

The finalists were selected from a field of 18 candidates drawn from a cross-section of industries. Describing the selection process as “very close”, National operations manager Steven Sykes paid tribute to all 18 candidates.

“Each of the companies that we visited during this process provided an important opportunity for dialogue about manufacturing and business in general,” he said.

There were four broad-based criteria for selection: companies that were seven years or younger, employed at least five people, were tax compliant and use indigenous resources.

The chosen companies will be part of the National Baking pavilion at EXPO Jamaica 2010, scheduled for June 17 through June 20 at the National Arena, with each company having its own space within the Pavilion. The companies will also be showcased on the panels of National Baking’s fleet of trucks as they criss-cross the island, as well as a series of broadcast and print media features.

The $25 million ‘Bold Ones’ programme aims to motivate aspiring Jamaicans to consider the creation of their own enterprise as a viable career path and to promote manufacturing and production as the solution to Jamaica’s future growth.

National is the leading manufacturer of baked goods in Jamaica offering a wide range of products under three distinctive brands: National, HTB, and HoMade. The company began in 1952 as a family-owned bread bakery and from its humble beginnings it has expanded to become the top producer of breads, buns crackers and other baked products in Jamaica.