LOCAL food manufacturer and distribution company Cal’s has announced plans to build a new manufacturing plant in the Corporate Area.

Speaking recently at the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards Foodie Seminar, Director of administration and finance at Cal’s Lisa Watson said, “We want to construct our own manufacturing plant, presently we are located on Marcus Garvey Drive where we lease a total of 48,000 sq ft of factory space that’s equivalent to three factories.”

Watson was unable to give a timeline for the construction and opening of the new plant, noting that the company is still in dialogue regarding possible locations.

“We are in the process of speaking with government entities to get somewhere, some land or something to start constructing the plant. About three weeks ago we were supposed to meet with the government person to discuss and show him around our plants where we are now but we’re still waiting,” she stated.

“We prefer Kingston but I’m not really sure, maybe we’ll get something over St Catherine side too,” she continued.

She said the new plant will include more automation and new machinery, pointing out that Cal’s is currently looking into purchasing new equipment to enhance its operations.

“We are now working on new machinery, next month we have a packaging show in Chicago that we are attending as a team.”

She said a part of the expansion is to facilitate more exports which the company sees as a significant revenue driver.

“We do export on a small scale, persons will come in, purchase our products in large quantities and export it to countries such as the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, some parts of the UK, some parts of the US and Canada.”

With that said, the company is gearing up to take its export potential to the next level.

“We are going through a system called HACCP, this is management of food safety-related risks to prepare us for export,” said Watson.

In the meantime, she disclosed the company has its eyes set on going public.

“One of our future plans that we’re working on right now is to go public in a few years. Reasons Mr Watson wants to go public is for succession planning, business continuity, raising capital for future developments and improving our company’s financial position. Mr Watson’s dream is to be listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange,” she informed. “Mr Watson” refers to Carlton Watson, who is the founder and managing director of the Cal’s.

Cal’s Manufacturing, which was founded in August 1999, started from a backyard with just one tank mixing with one bag of sugar to produce its number one product, Cal’s Syrup. It was first sold in the community and to nearby businesses and post offices.

Fast forward 23 years later, Cal’s Manufacturing is now averaging around $3 billion a year in earnings.

The company is set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards tomorrow.