Local paint manufacturer EdgeChem Jamaica Limited is looking to tap into the fast growing Drax Hall community with the launch of its 26th store today.

The store, located at the popular Drax Hall C4 complex, along the busy north coast thoroughfare, was developed to service customers in St Ann’s Bay and other surrounding areas which previously had to endure long lines of traffic to travel to the Ocho Rios location in St Ann.

“We’re a company that brings our products to the people. With Drax Hall quickly becoming the new Ocho Rios, and in response to customer demand, we’ve opened this location to offer greater accessibility and convenience,” said Doreen Frankson, founder and executive deputy chairman of EdgeChem, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Thursday.

With Drax Hall poised to become a major commercial hub in the parish, EdgeChem’s presence adds to a growing list of companies — such as Courts, Starbucks, KFC, Knutsford Express, and others — that have expanded their operations in the vibrant area in recent years.

The new store, which spans just over 1,200 square feet of space was developed in just under two and a half weeks with an investment of approximately $5 million to $6 million.

As we continue to build out our footprint, our aim is to be wherever our customers are, giving them convenient access to our full range of products,” Frankson added.

Founded in 1991 with just two employees in Olympic Gardens, St Andrew, EdgeChem has, over three decades, grown into a major manufacturer of automotive, industrial, decorative, and furniture coatings. Today, the company operates with a team of more than 300 employees and distributes its products through more than 20 retail stores and 400 hardware and distribution outlets across Jamaica, the Caribbean, and the United States.

As EdgeChem pushes to increase its market share and evolve from an entrepreneurial venture into a full-fledged corporate entity, Frankson said the company — which now competes in a market dominated by larger multinational competitors such as Berger, BH Paints and Sherwin Williams — is actively undertaking steps to unlock its full potential.

“We are a proudly 100 per cent Jamaican company with humble beginnings, doing our best to grow and evolve. As we work to increase our market share, we have plans for additional store openings and are developing some innovative tools — which I won’t disclose just yet. Suffice it to say, we’ll be doing things a little differently as we continue transforming our operations to stay relevant,” she further told BusinessWeek, while dismissing talk of a potential public listing.

“At the moment we have no plans to list… we have gone in a different direction,” she stated.

Under the leadership of newly appointed CEO Ockino Petrie and through ongoing research and development, EdgeChem is not only in the process of building out its product line but also stepping up its export efforts as it goes in search of new markets to grow revenues.

“We have eight retail branches in the US and we now export to countries including St Martin, Belize, and the Caricom region. Export is a key focus for our future growth. Our research team is actively developing new products to meet market demand and there are some new products that we will be looking to launch this year so our customers can look forward to more amazing products. Just last year we rolled-out a new body filler,” Frankson noted.

“As we work to transform the business, we are looking at where the opportunities emerge to grab them and I think I have an excellent team in place that will help us to achieve this,” she added.