DIANE BOURNE-DANIEL (right) accepts her Sector Development Award – Craft from Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley for her 38 years in craft production.

DESPITE AN ONGOING DECLINE in manufacturing in Barbados, that sector still managed to carry home the lion's share of this year's National Industrial Awards.

When the 36th Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) award ceremony was held at the Barbados Hilton recently, 29 of the 38 awards handed out that night went to companies involved in small to large-scale manufacturing.

Despite changing hands several times over its 111-year existence, The Advocate was one of six manufacturers to take home a Longevity Award for achieving more than 100-years' continuous existence and being pioneers in their respective businesses.

Jeweller Angela Went, owner of Angelique Custom Creations, received the Best Craft Design Award for a signature piece from her Caribbean Blooms collection.

Arawak Cement Ltd saw two of its management team take home two National Productivity Council-sponsored awards as Alfred Stuart copped Manufacturing Supervisor of the Year, and Dawn Jemmott, Manufacturing Manager of the Year.

Asphalt Processors Inc. won the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)-sponsored Small Business Exporter of the Year award for the second year running as its 2005 export sales grew by $1.7 million over 2004 figures.

The awards ceremony coincided with Barbados celebrating 50 years of industrial development, and 25-year-old Aqua Sol Components Ltd was one of the four recipients of the BIDC's 50th Anniversary Awards for Innovation, which were presented to those who had made pioneering strides in the sector.

Banks (Barbados) Breweries Ltd was recognised with an Exceptional Quality Award for the improvements it made in its operation last year by adopting Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points quality control systems, and won an Innovation Award for their beer in PET bottles – a first for the region.

Its sister company,Barbados Bottling Company Ltd, also took home an Exceptional Quality Award for surpassing all its quality targets and earning the first 'A' grade ever awarded to a Caribbean bottling company by the Coca Cola Audit Group.

BICO Ltd, the 105-year-old ice-cream manufacturer, also took home a Longevity Award.

Caribbean Label Craft received the Trailblazer Award for its extraordinary performance in penetrating new and non-traditional markets.

In five years, the company has grown its extra-regional exports by 40 per cent.

Coles Printery, which is approaching its 150th anniversary, also received a Longevity Award.

Can manufacturer Crown Packaging Barbados Ltd, a subsidiary of American Crown Holdings Inc., received the Environmental Stewardship Award for its exemplary environmental and safety practices; and the BIDC Estate Award for being a model tenant during the 11 years it has operated from the
Six Roads Industrial Estate.

Cottage industry stalwart Diane Bourne-Daniel took home a Sector Development Award for almost four decades of craft work, despite the challenges faced by the sector.

Harris Paints founder Ralph Johnson was one of five recipients of the Icons of Industry Award, which went to individuals who had spent more than 30 years developing and charting the path of their respective industries.

The late solar technologist Professor Oliver Headley was the only individual to be granted the 50th Anniversary Award for Innovation.

Ansar Juman was also recognised as an icon of industry for carrying on the legacy of his father M. I. Juman, who founded Mico Garment Factory 42 years ago.

Lewis Kirton received a Sector Development Award for his involvement in the island's furniture industry for more than 42 years.

Lenstec Barbados Inc. saw one of its quality control technicians, Wendy Alleyne, cop the award for Manufacturing Employee of the Year.

Ulric Mapp, founder of the 43-year-old Mapps Garment Factory, now Uniforms Unlimited, was another recipient of the Icons of Industry Award.

The 300-year-old Mount Gay Rum Refinery received a Longevity Award, while Mount Gay Distilleries Ltd took the much-coveted Pillar of Industry Award for being a leader in the sector for more than 20 years and earning millions of dollars in foreign exchange for Barbados.

With more than 30 years each in the industry, pioneering solar water heater manufacturers Solar Dynamics Barbados Ltd and Sun Power Hot Water Systems were the other two recipients of the 50th Anniversary Awards for Innovation.

Building on the 1999 success of its "smart tie", Smart Tie Inc. received an Innovation Award in the small business category for its new game, Economic Conquest.

Biscuit and cookie manufacturer WIBISCO was another recipient of the Longevity Award and one of its founders, Sir Kenneth Hunte, received a posthumous Icons of Industry Award for his contributions to the establishment of not only WIBISCO, but Roberts Manufacturing as well.

Trowel Plastics (Barbados) Ltd also took home one of the Exceptional Quality Awards for keeping up-to-date in its use of modern equipment and technology.

The 113-year-old West Indies Rum Distillery Ltd took home a Longevity Award and the Manufacturing Exporter of the Year Award for surpassing the $20 million mark in export sales, with 90 per cent of its product shipped to extra-regional markets.

The 46-year-old Yankee Garments also received a Sector Award for its contributions to garment manufacturing.

The services sector was not left out as NCO Financial Services (Barbados) SRL took home awards for Employee of the Year and Supervisor of the Year in their sector, thanks to Jamilia Goring and Kimmelle Austin. Peter Thompson of TMR Sales & Services Ltd took Manager of the Year, and Consulting Engineers Partnership Ltd received one of the Exceptional Quality awards.

Hinds Transport founder Harold Hinds was the lone awardee from his sector, taking an Icons of Industry Award for his 49-year-old business. (CH)