The GraceKennedy Group plans invest $1.85 million in plant and equipment to produce Grace and La Fe brand frozen and canned vegetables and fruits at a 60,000-square-foot facility leased from Factories Corporation of Jamaica in Denbigh, Clarendon.
The facility, which is already equipped to make value-added frozen food products, is being upgraded to meet international export requirements and obtain domestic regulatory approvals. It is scheduled to be up and running under the GK Foods banner by August of 2018.
The creation of approximately 90 new jobs is expected once GraceKennedy’s sixth manufacturing operation on the Caribbean island is in full swing. Breadfruit, green plantain and ripe plantain will be among products packed at the site.
“This project will have significant spin-off benefits for the local agricultural sector, as the company’s demands from contract farmers in terms of crop variety and quantity increase over time,” CEO Don Wehby told the Kingston-based Daily Gleaner newspaper.
Executive Changes
CEO Don Wehby expects that the new factory will add 90 jobs to the GK Foods payroll in Jamaica.Meanwhile, Wehby has announced a number of senior management changes that will take effect on January 1, 2018.
Andrea Coy will has been appointed as chief executive officer of GraceKennedy Foods’ international business operations, a position previously held by Ryan Mack. Manufacturing and distribution operations in the USA, Canada and the UK will fall under her remit, as will responsibility for the company’s continued expansion into West Africa and Europe. She will also be in charge of distribution operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ryan Mack will take up the role of chief executive officer of GK Foods’ domestic business. His portfolio includes Hi-Lo Food Stores as well as manufacturing operations in Jamaica and local distribution responsibilities for Grace Foods & Services, World Brands Services and the recently acquired Consumer Brands Limited.
