ANDRE ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson, a former JMMB and Proven trader, recently started his own anti-bacterial flooring and walling firm that prepares Caribbean exporters for international and other certification.

Essentially, Hutchinson provides flooring services to exporters and restaurants.

Usually these companies import these solutions from the US or Europe, according to the CEO of Caribbean Industrial Systems (CIS) in a Jamaica Observer interview.

These services are now readily available to Caribbean companies, he indicated.

“In order to export you have to meet certain standards,” said Hutchinson. “You can’t operate in the bare concrete world, where bacteria is in the air and your products are not of a high quality. In order to compete internationally you have to be equipped.”

CIS provides sealing solutions from floor to ceiling in order to kill bacteria upon contact. This is a necessary step in preparing exporters to meet standards including HACCP and International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), he said.

Hutchinson aims to grow the company’s flooring jobs from three to four a month, which would equate to 500,000 sq feet of industrial space on an annualised basis.

The flooring services company, which is already profitable, is led by Hutchinson and chief operating officer David Steele, an architect.

It was incorporated in Jamaica last year and has a St Lucia-based holding company — Allerdyce Capital Holding.

The directors includes a mix of family, lawyers and politicians, based on checks on the Companies Office of Jamaica, including Andre Hutchinson, Gordon Hutchinson, Fay Hutchinson, Leslie Campbell, and Gary Harris.

“We are in an economy now where it is hard for businesses to survive by continuing to sell to locals and throughout the Caribbean,” said Hutchinson. “So it is imperative that entrepreneurs start looking towards the First World and China as their market. They need to start exporting what they produce. We cannot keep continuing on this line of importing and exSr place in order to export, including Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname, and Dominica Republic. These countries are in a better place,” he indicated. “On a typical day, I get a call from a client in Bahamas, I get a call from a call in Guyana and Cayman. You are not limited by boundaries anymore.”

When asked about the state of readiness throughout the region, he diplomatically responded: “The quality of flooring throughout the region has improved with CIS.”

Hutchinson worked at Jamaica Money Market Brokers for five years, Guardian Holdings for two years and Proven Investments for another two years.

“I was never able to get my true value [at these firms]. As an entrepreneur, you can,” he indicated.

CIS credits its team with offering over 40 years of experience in concrete preparation, flooring installation, industrial painting and project management.