Tank-Weld breaks ground for 500,000 sq ft of warehousing

TANK-WELD Metals, one the largest companies of its kind in the region, has begun development of 500,000 square feet (sq ft) of new warehouse space. The development comprises 250,000 sq ft at its Rio Bueno facility in Trelawny, which will expand the company’s own inventory of essential building materials, and 250,000 sq ft at its Ferry facility in St Catherine, built for the commercial rental market. Together the two projects continue Tank-Weld Metals’ commitment to investing in infrastructure, so that building materials, and the space businesses need to store their own goods, stay available and affordable in Jamaica. The new capacity adds to the group’s existing network of approximately 1. 5 million sq ft of warehousing, its deep-water break-bulk port at Rio Bueno, and a fleet of about 120 heavy-duty trucks.

“Our first responsibility to customers is to have material available when they need it,” said chairman and CEO of Tank-Weld Chris Bicknell. “The port, the warehouses, the trucks and the manufacturing capacity were all built with that in mind. This expansion is about making sure we can keep supplying our customers reliably as demand grows,” added Bicknell. Tank-Weld was established in 1970 by David Bicknell and John Greaves as a small fabrication shop, with a $25,000 loan and 25 employees. It has grown into a group of more than 800 people, and Bicknell says that growth has rested on relationships as much as on assets. “In our early years, suppliers extended us credit when we needed it most, and we have not forgotten that,” he said. “We have honoured every obligation since, and that record is a large part of why suppliers ship to us in volume and on good terms. It also allows us to keep supply reliable and prices competitive for our customers,” added Bicknell. He…