Kemtek

KEMTEK

BUILDING DIFFERENT

URECON / LOGSTOR

|1

KEMTEK

BUILDING DIFFERENT

Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Garwin Tulloch, Director of Operations at Kemtek Development & Construction Limited, about quality, affordable housing for Jamaicans, training employees, and investing in the community.

2 | URECON / LOGSTOR

St. Mary-based real estate developer Kemtek Development & Construction Ltd have been offering families across Jamaica the opportunity to own a home for thirty years this year. Founded in June 1989 by current Managing Director and Chairman Sylvester Tulloch, Kemtek revolutionized the real estate industry in 2004, when they developed a more efficient, cost-effective building system, which allowed them to take housing units to the market at a significantly reduced price, allowing lower- and middle-income buyers access to housing they would not otherwise have been able to afford. Today, Kemtek have offices in St. Mary, St. Ann, Trelawny, and Kingston, and they continue to construct quality housing at an affordable price.

INNOVATIVE MODEL Kemtek’s first project was the Keystone development, a residential community located in the town of St. Catherine, which took three years to complete. After constructing Keystone, Kemtek worked on a number of smaller projects in St. Ann and along Jamaica’s north coast. However, it was Greenwich Estates in 2004 which changed everything for Kemtek. “That project was really our pioneering one,” says Garwin Tulloch, Director of Operations and son of Kemtek founder Sylvester Tulloch. “It changed how we looked at marketing and how we looked at delivering a product.

Formerly, we built houses for people in middle to high income brackets. What we did with Greenwich Estates was we departed from conventional ‘block’ or brick-andmortar houses, and we adopted a system that provided much greater efficiency. As a result, we were able to offer a lower-priced unit to the general Jamaican public.”

The 128-unit Greenwich Estates development in St. Ann Parish offered many Jamaicans their first opportunity to buy a URECON / LOGSTOR

|3

4 | URECON / LOGSTOR

URECON / LOGSTOR

|5

KEMTEK

OMNI INDUSTRIES LIMITED Manufacturers of THERMOPLASTIC Products

Your source for PVC pipes and fittings, houseware and Laundry plastic products and a wide assortment of industrial plastic products.

“BY 11 A.M. ON THE FOLLOWING MONDAY ALL UNITS WERE SOLD OUT. IT TOOK JUST HOURS, REALLY. ”

OMNI INDUSTRIES LIMITED. Twickenham Park, Spanish Town, Jamaica Tel: (876) 984-3061-4 • Fax: (876) 984-5486 • email: Omni@cwjamaica.com

www.omniindustriesltd.com house. “The opening day of advertising for Greenwich Estates was a Saturday,” says Mr. Tulloch. “By 11 a.m. on the following Monday all units were sold out. It took just hours, really. Realtors said to us that the houses were too cheap, but we figured it was in our interest to make a statement. It also afforded an opportunity for the average Jamaican to purchase a house. It means a lot to us, that we can serve that demographic. Ultimately, this market is bigger than where we were

6 | URECON / LOGSTOR

before, in terms of the numbers of people who could buy those units. So, since Greenwich Estates, we’ve been building houses for the average Jamaican, and we have had great success.”

STONEBROOK MANOR Since 2001, Kemtek have successfully applied the same formula, developing projects where improved efficiencies reduce the costs, allowing them to sell to ordinary Jamaicans. Today, the company is working

on their biggest project yet. Stonebrook Manor is an 895-unit development that has already had to pause sales in order for construction to catch up. “Stonebrook Manor consists of a mix of three-bedroom-threebathroom, three-bedroom-two-bathroom, and two-bedroom-two-bathroom homes,” says Mr. Tulloch. “The uptake right now is going extremely well. Sales were so good, we actually stopped selling at one point, to ensure we could deliver the units people were paying for. But now we’re in phase

URECON / LOGSTOR

|7

KEMTEK

THE CLEAR CHOICE FOR VALUE SINCE 2006 Sunlight Windows and Doors Limited is happy to partner with Kemtek development to provide Jamaican homeowners with a clear choice of value.

Sunlight Windows & Doors Ltd. 284 Spanish Town Rd. Kingston 11 Tel. 1-076.934.6008 / 934.6469 / 619.1335/6 Fax. 933.4918 info@sunlightwindowsdoors.com sunlightwindowsdoors.com

five, selling again, and the houses are flying out.”

Stonebrook Manor is Kemtek’s third development in Trelawny. Previously, the company built the 782-unit Stonebrook Vista, and the 152-unit Stonebrook Estate, both in the same area. “The market has shown us that we’re among the best in terms of quality,” says Mr. Tulloch. “But it’s not just the quality of our builds. We’re also able to offer that quality at affordable prices.

When you look around the marketplace and look at square feet relative to final 8 | URECON / LOGSTOR

price, we’re among the best in the market.

We are confident in every single one of our houses, and that’s because the market has confidence in us.”

SHARING SKILLS The challenge for Kemtek is finding sufficient skilled labor to execute their vision of quality, affordable homes. “You find that the workforce is stretched thinly across the island, so when you find people who have the aptitude to learn, you have to train them,” says Mr. Tulloch. “Even if they’re not competent

initially, they can be trained to be competent.

Training is really important, because there aren’t many people in Jamaica who are already skilled in this industry. We need to have a new generation at Kemtek for the company to grow, so investing in these youngsters is a necessity. And once they are part of Kemtek there are plenty of opportunities. Of course, training comes with its own risks, because you may train an individual who may not stick with the company, which is a loss of investment.

But we look on the bright side: The way we see it, it means we’re training an individual

WE ARE THE PREFERRED CONTRACTOR/ SUB-CONTRACTOR FOR SOLAR WATER INSTALLATIONS WITHIN JAMAICA. PV (Solar Power) System at a residence inSt. Ann, Jamaica.

At CONSERVE IT, we specialize in the supply and installation of: • Solar Water Heater • Solar Power (Photovoltaic (‘PV’) Systems) • Solar Pool Heating • Wind Power • Inverter Air Conditioning (‘A/C’) Unit Since our inception in 2003, we are known in the marketplace for delivering renewable energy solutions that are cost effective and environmentally friendly.

12 Truman Ave, Kingston 10, Jamaica, W.I. +1(876)754-0220-1 | info@conserveitja.com | www.conserveitja.com

URECON / LOGSTOR

|9

KEMTEK

Driven t

o Delive th

r

e bes t in Se rvice.

Jamaica’s leading mobile diesel fuelling provider.

We offer a wide variety of services aimed at improving your operation’s fuel procurement, fuel delivery and fuel management services.

(876)564-FUEL(3835) • www.rapidrefuelling.com csa@rapidonsiterefuelling.com

who can then contribute to wider society and Jamaica’s economy as a whole, and that’s a good thing.”

Human capital is at the heart of how Kemtek ensures completed projects meet their demanding requirements. The best quality materials mean little without welltrained, skilled employees to make use of them. “A ton of steel is a ton of steel, but

10 | URECON / LOGSTOR

the quality of the steel fixer, the quality of mason or the technician that puts up the systems, is more important than anything else,” explains Mr. Tulloch. “Investing in human capital and paying them a competitive wage is essential to us. One of the advantages we have is that we’re always working. A worker who comes to us knows that he doesn’t have to run all

about the place looking for work. He has security with Kemtek. And when he’s with the company and realizes he can work constantly for years, he recognizes that we offer quality not just to our clients but to our staff as well.”

COMMUNITY GIVING Kemtek doesn’t just build communities from scratch; for several years now, the company has also been contributing to local charitable and community development efforts. “Recently, Kemtek had the opportunity to help the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, so we purchased a whole range of machines for them, including incubators and blood pressure machines,” says Mr. Tulloch. “The health sector is severely under-financed in Jamaica, so we feel contributions like that one go a long way. We’re also big fans of sport. Not only do we sponsor the local football league in St. Ann but we also sponsor the Mount Pleasant Football Academy team, which has just entered Jamaica’s top league.

In addition this, we’re keen to support upand-coming individuals through scholarships.

For the last seven years, we have given four scholarships each year to students who

Johnson Wiggins & Associates Ltd. congratulates Kemtek on celebrating 30 years of

turning the dream of owning a home, into a reality for so many.

Johnson Wiggins & Associates has been proud to be a part of that journey for over seven years. Kemtek continues to lead the industry in innovations and best practices that set them apart and these attributes make them an example to their partners, suppliers and employees.

Johnson Wiggins & Associates Ltd. is confident that Kemtek will continue to grow from strength to strength, leading the way in making its mark on the Jamaican Landscape.

Johnson Wiggins & Associates Ltd. Shop 5, R & J Pharmacy, 16 Bravo Street, P.O. Box 4514, St. Ann's Bay P.O., St. Ann, Jamaica W.I.

Cal. (876) 972 1580 / (876) 810 4163

URECON / LOGSTOR

| 11

KEMTEK

“INVESTING IN HUMAN CAPITAL AND PAYING THEM A COMPETITIVE WAGE IS ESSENTIAL TO US.”

12 | URECON / LOGSTOR

Weld-On Solvent cements for pvc pipes.

DISTRIBUTED BY

1 Villa Road, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica Tel: 1 876 962 8573 - 5 Fax: 1 876 962 0877

showed an aptitude in academics and are in need of financial assistance. Each of those scholarships are for courses in mathematics at the Mico University College, where my father did his teacher training. We believe it’s important to sacrifice and to contribute, because we want to live in a society where we can support the nation’s overall health and development.”

After thirty years of building up a reputation for quality and affordability, Kemtek intend to continue doing what they do best: Building homes. “We are currently waiting for approvals on plans for a new estate in St. Catherine,” says Mr. Tulloch.

“We are moving out and doing another project about two or three miles from Old Harbour. That’s called Colbeck Manor and will be in excess of 1,000 two- and threebed units, mostly geared towards two-bed units. We expect to begin groundwork in January 2020, and we are currently negotiating with a lot of agents to get large parts of the land to development. We’re proud of our history and the projects we have completed, and we’re going to continue building homes for the average Jamaican for many years to come.” c URECON / LOGSTOR

| 13

Kemtek Shop #6E, Pompano Commercial Complex, Tower Isle P.O. St. Mary o: (876) 975-4576 www.kemtekjahomes.com

SUSTAINABLE

B U S I N E S S

M A G A Z I N E

SBM Media Ltd, The Henderson Business Centre, 51 Ivy Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR5 8BF, UK T: +44 (0)1603 516519 E:mail: info@sustainablebusinessmagazine.net www.sustainablebusinessmagazine.net

14 | URECON / LOGSTOR