carib sand & stone ltd

Managing Director of Carib Sand & Stone Ltd, Jean-Yves Bonnaire talks candidly to Endeavour Magazine about overcoming industry-wide difficulties, working hard to retain a ‘local connection’ and what the future holds.

WRITTEN BY AMY TOCKNELL

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CARIB SAND & STONE LTD

001767 4400236 WWW.CARIBSANDANDSTONE.COM

With adequate financial support in place and an expert team on hand to run the day-to-day operations, CSSL acquired the desired quarry on July 19th

2006 by entering into a 15 year, renewable contract with the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Negotiations were so successful that the company is not hampered by any quantity limitations, allowing them to fulfill client requirements with ease. With specifically sought after geological and chemical characteristics proving to be prevalent in the mined raw material, CSSL set their sights on developing the local mining industry through the inclusion into new markets.

Discussing the everyday activities of the company, Jean-Yves Bonnaire drew attention to the chemical stability of the raw materials being excavated:

“Our business is based on a large and easily accessible deposit of high quality, chemically consistent, natural pozzolan. The 20million tons of material is ideally located along the west coast of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Over the past years, tremendous earthmoving works have been undertaken on the Solomon Pointe-Michel mine itself to secure long-term access to the quality raw material. The physical and chemical characteristics of the pozzolanic


Originally incorporated in 2005, Carib Sand & Stone Ltd (CSSL) began operating in earnest, in the field, in October 2006 with the backing of a strong shareholder base comprising of regional quarry specialists and Norwegian financial investors. The initial motivation for the company’s inception was to take control of, and redevelop, the small-scale Solomon Pointe-Michel quarry that was already in operation.

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materials have led to significant savings to the benefit of many of our clients, in particular those within the cement manufacturing industry.”

Currently mining between 240,000 and 300,000 metric tons per year, it quickly becomes evident that any savings made are on a large-scale, leading to 70% of material being exported worldwide with the remaining 30% being split between local domestic clients and the Government. To further highlight the sought after nature of the resources being mined, Bonnaire reveals that of the export sales, one third are exclusively made to the cement industry.

Turning our attention back to the company itself, Bonnaire is fully aware that without a cohesive and competent workforce, CSSL would not be making such inroads into a competitive industry. Expanding on the importance of staff development, he commented that:

“It’s extremely important. We have multi-million assets but heavily depend on the attitude of our employees towards their work. Dominica may not traditionally be a place where productivity requirements are a top priority but because we are export oriented and due to some of our clients being large-scale, major organisations,


we strive to encourage our employees to elevate themselves. Learning and meeting the requirements of modern business in terms of performance and quality of relationships with various business partners is something we look for in our staff.”

With stringent in-house standards exceeding far beyond those of regular, local, organisations, CSSL acknowledges that focussed technical training opportunities can be scarce. In a bid to prevent potential employees from being discouraged, administrative, financial and Human Resources training is readily available, offering clear career progression opportunities.

Despite having access to a widely sought after product, CSSL do not rest on their laurels where customer service is concerned and actively seek out initiatives to secure

client satisfaction and loyalty. Consistently striving to improve and streamline processes, through compliance to ISO 9001, Bonnaire notes that customer retention levels have been impressively high with few changes to the extensive client base.

Aiming to remain as one of the frontrunners of their industry, CSSL employs well thought out strategies, designed to continually improve both product and experience for all of its customers.

“The company’s focus is not on standard technical compliance, but technical

“The company’s focus is not on standard technical compliance, but technical knowledge of our material and its behaviour in cement manufacturing (both Portland and asphaltic concrete). Significant sums of money are allocated yearly to the in-depth testing of the material, with results being shared with our clients.”


knowledge of our material and its behaviour in cement manufacturing (both Portland and asphaltic concrete). Significant sums of money are allocated yearly to the in-depth testing of the material, with results being shared with our clients.

We also make sure that focus is placed on logistics and CSSL is one of the most flexible shippers in the region thanks to us developing an active network of clients, suppliers, shipping brokers, agents, engineers and traders and maintaining regular contact with them.”

Moving forward, CSSL have ambitious development goals including ISO 14001 certification within the next four years and an expansion project set to cost in the region of $9million. Bonnaire believes that these will impact dramatically on the success of the organisation:

“The company is seen locally and regionally as a player of significance in the quarrying sector. Tremendous work has already been completed to bring about product acceptance such as technical studies, client portfolio development and team building. Working with a strong base of Dominica nationals, trained to international

business standards, has created positive conditions for bringing the project to maturity, optimising financial performance and ultimately increasing success.”

He goes on to comment that: “In spite of continued challenging economic conditions, a much needed adaptation of the business environment in which the company operates, coupled with a significant capital investment will allow CSSL to become an even more solid and sustainable venture, recognised as a national flagship for Dominica in its field. Reaching our critical mass is essential

to becoming a significant and meaningful business partner to large industrial corporations.”

By committing to increasing productivity while aiming to reduce freight and operational costs, CSSL is fast becoming a business force to be reckoned with. Streamlining an already successful operation, which enjoys a vast bank of loyal clients, can only lead to marketplace domination, something with Bonnaire and his team eagerly look forward to in the coming years.

carib sand & stone ltd

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