Former president of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), Metry Seaga, has joined the board of directors of Paramount Trading (Jamaica) Limited.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Metry Seaga to the Paramount Trading Board. He brings a wealth of experience and I am certain that his contribution to the board will be one of great value. I look forward to us working together, as we continue to take Paramount to new heights,” the company’s chairman, Radcliff Knibbs, said.

He noted Seaga’s “invaluable” addition to Paramount Trading board of directors, as he comes with over three decades of experience in several sectors including retail, manufacturing and finance.

After graduating from the Florida International University (FIU), Seaga held a number of positions in both private and public sector entities.

In 1993, he became the youngest president of the U-Drive Association and after servicing as president of the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA) since 2008 and presiding over its extension to become the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) in 20018, he was succeeded by Seprod’s Richard Pandohie earlier this year.

Seaga also holds several board positions, including managing director of Jamaica Fibreglass Products Limited, chairman of the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA), director of AMG Packaging & Paper Company Limited, and deputy chairman of JAMPRO.

Paramount is the industry leader in the manufacture and distribution of chemical raw materials, bleach, and lubricants in Jamaica, as well as the local distributor of Sika Construction Products and Allegheny petroleum lubricants and other products.

Paramount Trading (Jamaica) Limited began operating in Kingston on February 21, 1991 as a manufacturers’ representative and commission agent.

The company was founded by Managing Director Hugh Graham with the support of directors Daryl Fong Kong and Richard Rogers.

On December 31, 2012, Paramount Trading (Ja) Ltd became a publicly traded company by listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s Junior Market.

Other directors include Juici Patty’s Jukie Chin, Sharon Donaldson Levine and Barbara Kudis.

It has had steady growth since then to include raw material chemical distribution, Stamina Trucking & Transport haulage services, the distribution of Sika construction products and more recently, Allegheny Petroleum lubricants and oils.

This growth has resulted in the company’s gross profit moving from $229.3 million in 2014 to $426.3 million in 2018, with sales skyrocketing from $709 million in 2014 to $1.3 billion in 2018.

Paramount operates from two facilities: 39 Waltham Park Road, Kingston 13 and 8 East Bell Road, Kingston 11.

The company has been continuing its expansion and has renewed its commitment to nation-building, through growth in the number of persons employed and also through corporate responsibility to the communities surrounding these operations.