2006 - Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange

Group Chief Executive Officer’s Report and Management Discussionof slings in that company’s history. Production couldhave been even higher had there not been raw materialshipping delays. The firm’s diversification into themanufacturing of jumbo bags was also hampered dueto inconsistent quality of the raw material supplied.Although the plant produced 89% more jumbo bagsthan in 2005, TPM was unable to meet its targetedoutput.During November, the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau ofStandards (TTBS) conducted re-certification audits ofthe ISO 9001:2000 quality systems at TPL and TPM andin December, both companies achieved re-certificationfor a further three year period.theme, the short-term strategies are centered onthe optimisation of existing production throughoperational enhancement and reliability improvementprogrammes, such as the Manufacturing ExcellenceTransformation (MET) and Energy Optimisationprogrammes. In addition to enhancing productionvolumes, these programmes will impact favourablyon the plants’ unit production cost. The longer-termprojects are being scheduled and managed in a mannerthat satisfies the market demand requirements,mindful always of the financial and human resourceconstraints. These will provide significant improvementin both production levels and cost.4.4 Lime, Gypsum & PozzolanIn 2006, JGQ produced 392,237 tonnes of gypsumand 158,217 tonnes of pozzolan, both abovethe previous year’s volumes by 29% and 72%respectively. The total output of pozzolan producedwas sold to Carib Cement for the manufacture ofCarib Plus. With respect to lime production, theArawak Lime Division produced 6,066 tonnes ofquicklime and 1,862 tonnes of hydrated lime in 2006,which represented a respective 33% decline and 21%increase in production from 2005 outputs. Quicklimeproduction throughout the first three quarters of2006 was constrained by market demand. In aneffort to reduce fuel costs, the lime plant initiated theburning of waste oil for fuel. However, due to lowavailability, waste oil only represented 31% of thefuel consumed, as the plant was required to continueutilising the high-cost Bunker C fuel.5.0 Group Developmental ActivitiesThe Group’s manufacturing strategy continues to befocused on consolidation of existing capacity andplanning for the medium term growth, with the aimalso of lowering unit production costs. As a general5.1 Energy OptimisationThe Group’s current activities and projects with respectto its Energy Optimisation Programme have beendesigned to enhance the environmental and corporateimaging, and more fundamentally, to provide theGroup with internationally competitive conversioncosts for its cement subsidiaries.Waste Derived Fuels: The focus continues to be onthe use of waste-derived fuels in the kilns of the threecement-producing subsidiaries and the lime plant atArawak. Since the programme was formally launchedin 2004, three waste streams were targeted – usedtyres, used petroleum base oils and plastics. So far, onlyused petroleum base oils are being burnt in the kilnsat Carib Cement and the Lime Plant at Arawak. Atthe end of 2006 approximately 1,500,000 litres wereburnt, resulting in savings of US$449,000. At ArawakCement, waste oil was primarily burnt at the LimeKiln. The quantity burnt in 2006 was 522,244 litres,with a consequently positive environmental impact.In Barbados, the Government is primarily responsiblefor the collection and transportation of used oil toArawak, so the plant secures a high percentage ofthe locally available waste fuel. On the other hand,the extent of waste oils burnt was below projectionsat Carib Cement, as there was an increased numberAnnual Report 200629