JPI Expands Operations to Satisfy Local Demand

Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, has welcomed expansion of the Jamaica Packaging Industries (JPI) operations in Jamaica, with its new 130,000-sq. ft. complex located at 693 Spanish Town Road.

It is the latest acquisition by the company, resulting in the consolidation of its manufacturing, distribution and retail sales operations under one roof.

Speaking with JIS News during a tour of the company’s factory space on Thursday (October 24), Minister Hill said an estimated 60 per cent of cartons used in Jamaica were imported over the last year.

He noted that the company’s expansion augurs well for domestic industries, providing locally produced corrugated packaging.

“They have put in enough capacity to make sure they can make enough to cover that 60 per cent and to cover more later on as the market grows. We are looking for this expansion to employ a lot more people. This is an important new investment in the Jamaican manufacturing landscape,” he said.

The facility represents a total investment of approximately $2 billion financed by 50 per cent shareholders and with the support of Scotiabank.

This investment covers property, plant, machinery and equipment, which includes a state-of-the-art corrugator; a high-speed folder gluer machine capable of high-quality printing, slotting, gluing, and folding of cartons; a modern die-cut machine capable of producing more complex display cartons and display trays; and an effluent treatment plant.

Chairman, JPI, Conrad George, said the facility, located on Kingston’s major industrial belt, is a strategic move that will be beneficial to the country and its local manufacturing, distribution and export sectors.

“We can compete on price, so given that we are price competitive, quality competitive, reliability and capacity are competitive and our proximity, we would like to think that we are in a very good place, so far as taking out that 60 per cent is concerned,” he said.

This investment increases JPI production capacity by 250 per cent.

Jamaica Packaging Industries has been the leading manufacturer and distributor of corrugated paper-based packaging material for 70 years, playing a vital role in supporting the nation’s manufacturing and export sectors.

It is a subsidiary of the Canadian Overseas Packaging Industries (COPI), which also owns and operates similar corrugated manufacturing plants in Trinidad and Tobago, Kenya, and a distribution facility in Barbados.