Consequent on its successful initial public offering, and with plans to expand its offerings and build capacity, Spur Trees Spices will embark on a rationalisation exercise that will shift processing of raw materials at its factory at the Garmex Freezone to a St Elizabeth-based facility.

CEO of Spur Tree Spices Albert Bailey said the transfer of processing raw materials will create space for the facility to increase its production of finished goods and add new product lines.

“It’s because we have these plans why we’re rationalising here. So right now, we’re operating an eight-hour shift. We have the capacity right here — because I’ve always maintained that when you put so much investment in equipment and infrastructure and if you only use that for eight hours, you’re really not maximising your return on that,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“So the truth of the matter is that we can triple [production] with the rationalisation of the operations here to concentrate on finished products. And we have tested the night shift already when we are under pressure and it works nicely,” Bailey added.

As the Spur Tree Spices frees up space in its current 20,000 square-foot factory with a view to ramp up production of finished goods, the company will also introduce dry spices, festival mixes, juices, and soups to its production. With an increase in production also comes the need for more employees, and so the company has plans to increase its staff complement.

According to Bailey, the rationalisation exercise will redound to its stakeholders, especially farmers who would no longer need to travel to Kingston to deliver produce. Instead, farmers will now deliver their goods to a facility in Holland Bamboo, St Elizabeth, which Spur Tree Spices has contracted for the preprocessing of raw material.

“We have a production agreement with a company in St Elizabeth that will manage preprocessing. So we want to rationalise the operation here so that … we’re gonna take all the preprocessing out of this operation [at Garmex Freesozone] and then focus on the production of finished goods,” he continued, pointing to details in the company’s recent prospectus.

According to the prospectus, “Spur Tree Spices is in the process of finalising an agreement with its main supplier of local raw materials, Holland Bamboo Limited.”

Describing the partnership as a related party transaction, the prospectus also outlined that some existing shareholders and directors of Spur Tree Spices have active interest and responsibility to Holland Bamboo Limited. In addition to listing reduced travel time for farmers as an advantage, the company said the agreement will also save time and cost as well as “allocate premium space and resources for receiving, processing and storing incoming raw materials.

“Holland Bamboo Limited instead delivers preprocessed raw material in large storage containers ready to be processed into finished products,” the prospectus elaborated.

Bailey pointed out that at present Spur Tree Spices manufactures more than 30 different items in varying sizes and shapes, depending on market needs, including for export. The CEO added that the introduction of new products is consistent with the vision: “To be the premier manufacturer and distributor of Jamaicans flavours to the world.”

“So all that we’re doing is consistent with our vision statement. We might have started with seasoning and sauces, but our vision is much wider than that. We want to look at what is uniquely Jamaican, what is loved in this country, what sets us apart, and use the capacity that we have — use the experience and the passion that we have —to create products from those flavours,” Bailey explained to the Business Observer.

“If you look at the prospectus, you will see a wide range of other complementary items that are pulling on this idea of using that which is uniquely Jamaican and taking that to the world.”