On a quest to becoming a one-stop shop for home development, Dunn’s Electrical Limited has, during the last four months, added the new segment of ready-mix concrete to its increasing line of products and services.

“We are into ready-mix concrete right now, that’s the latest venture, we’re just getting off the ground with it but we know it will be impactful,” stated Barbara Carter, operations manager, during an interview with the J amaica Observer last Thursday.

“We already have all the necessary infrastructure in place so with this service, customers can just order the concrete and instead of them having to mix— we will mix and have our trucks pour it for them,” she told the Sunday Finance.

This new line of business, which was started with a multimillion-dollar capital injection, of which the operations manager did not want to disclose the exact amount, will help the fast-growing entity to expand its reach in the home development arena while creating new job opportunities for drivers, mechanics and other workers within the construction services trade.

“We are currently in the process of securing two more trucks and we currently have about nine others. We also have about two plants needed to pump mixture into the trucks. We are coming good and ready and we are prepared for the market,” Carter said.

With operations expected to be conducted from a Spanish Town Road address, the ready-mix service aims to target commercial and residential developers.

According to statistics from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), the construction industry was one of the sectors to see continued growth even amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The latest data showed that the sector recorded growth of some seven per cent during the July-September quarter of last year. With this kind of growth, Dunn’s believes its latest foray into the field is a step in the right direction which will auger well for revenue growth in the coming years.

“We’re not getting into this business to stay small, we want to be competitive and on top of the game with other players. We want to carve out a sizable portion of the market share and build out a rewarding local presence for our company,” Carter said.

She said that while the company was not currently preoccupied with doing expansions to other locations locally or overseas, the addition of new products was definitely a part of its strategic direction.

Dunn’s currently operates three locations in the Corporate Area, from specialised outlets in Cross Roads, Portmore and its more recently constructed flagship along Red Hills Road.

Known for its lighting and electrical products, the company in recent times has also built out additional services in the distribution of plumbing, furniture, hardware and home décor products along with the subletting of some of its indoor spaces for commercial use. These include a juice bar, deli and recreational spaces which houses a gym and football field. Additionally, Carter said that the business was also looking at other areas to grow.

“We’re not yet doing tiles but we want to bring that in the near future. We are trying to offer our customers everything, we work a lot with contactors and developers, electricians and plumbers, so we want to be able to deliver in all areas. We want to be with customers from the starting of a building until it’s completely finished,” she said to the Sunday Finance.