Meridian Caribbean Windows Inc. said it was in the process of expanding its operations and was constantly looking for new ways of doing business.
The window manufacturer has been operating in Barbados for over six years. It is among the main producers of uPVC windows on the island and currently exports its products to St Lucia, Trinidad and Antigua.
General manager Ziad Kazan said over the last year exports fell 20 to 25 per cent due to the “shutting down” of some construction projects in some of their major markets. However, they remained optimistic and were in the process of expanding their offerings.
“The company has been doing very well. We are equipped with high-technological machines and we are always trying to stay at the [cutting] edge of technology,” he said.
“We have great support from the local industry and we continue to . . . improve everything that we do.
“We are creating more and more jobs and we are expanding in new products and new innovative ways to do things.
“There are always challenges but as I say, we are proactive; we try to create our own destiny and go outside the box in our way of thinking,” said Kazan.
Meridian Windows currently employs 28 people.
Kazan said they have begun manufacturing fencing and were “also expanding into curtain wall systems”, noting that they have already established relationships with some overseas suppliers.
“Immediately, we are strengthening St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago; we want to get in there hard. We want to go into Grenada [and] Dominica. That is the immediate plan . . . and we have some products in the pipeline,” he said, opting not to go into detail.
Kazan said competition in the sector was stiff but it was good for the sector “because it keeps us on our toes”.
He said another aspect of the business they were in the process of fine-tuning was recycling the off cuts.
“Whether we are going to do it ourselves or whether we are going to work closely with one of the recycling people here locally it is still to be decided, but it is in the pipeline.
“Nothing is being sent to the landfill, everything is being stored until there is a proper plan . . . the details are still to be worked out,” he told BARBADOS?BUSINESS?AUTHORITY. (MM)
