BICO’s new factory to open next year

Barbadians can look forward to the opening of BICO Limited’s newly rebuilt ice-cream manufacturing plant, in early 2020.

Executive Chairman of BICO Limited, Edwin Thirlwell provided an update recently on the progress being made in rebuilding the factory, which was completely destroyed by fire in 2009.

“The new factory is in progress. We just cast the floor and we are going to line the walls. So we are scheduled to be open early in 2020. So everything is going well. We are pushing. We want to be open as soon as we possibly can, for production again,” Thirlwell told The Barbados Advocate.

Previous reported estimates suggested that the facility was to be built across 10 000 square feet, at a cost of $3 million. The plant it was said, would have the capacity to produce one million litres of ice cream, annually. It was only last year that Thirlwell confirmed that the company, located at Harbour Industrial Park, St. Michael was actively discussing the project, and had already started a restructuring exercise, to prepare for this and other projects.

Thirlwell had also reported that the delay in the rebuilding process came about, as the company was awaiting funds forthcoming from the legal process. Despite the judgement in favour of BICO granted by the High Court in 2016, the funds had not been forthcoming from the defendant, who claimed they have not been paid by their own insurer, to enable them to honour their obligations. Enforcement proceedings were therefore scheduled to be commenced.

The Executive Chairman had also noted that the company was still awaiting confirmation of concessions still available to manufacturers, after the repeal of the Fiscal Incentives Act. These concessions he said, were vital to BICO’s competitiveness in export markets in the region and beyond.

However, the rebuilding of the plant is now on stream and 2020 is the designated year for its reopening.
(RSM)