Managing Director at Delta Supply Company Ltd, General Manager at Delta Supply Company Ltd & Manager Director at Elarc Welding Products Ltd (Delta Supply Company Limited & Elarc Welding Products)

HBR: Jamaica has always been an interesting investment destination considering the size of the market in the Caribbean. However, competition has risen from the surrounding islands – Cuba for tourism, and Trinidad and Tobago for its financial positioning. At Harvard Business Review, we would like to know the comparative advantages Jamaica has to offer to the investment community worldwide.

Jonathan Swire: The main competitive advantage of Jamaica is undoubtedly our people. Confident and innovative, Jamaicans have a knack for confronting obstacles and overcoming adversity. Our music and our cuisine are fascinating testaments to our triumphs and struggles, and though we may be geographically tiny, our cultural imprint is immense. Our island has left an indelible mark on the world stage as a premier tourism destination, a musical dynamo and a sporting powerhouse. The country is young, full of energy and teeming with amazing ideas: our next generation of entrepreneurs eager to launch forward-thinking, technologically-savvy enterprises. On the heels of a strong economic performance in 2015, the global business community is beginning to see Jamaica as more than mere sand and sea, and discovering the attractive investment opportunities that exist in the island.


HBR: In your opinion, which sectors in the Jamaican market offer interesting investment opportunities for the global business community?  

Jonathan Swire: Taking advantage of our strategic location between North and South America, the Jamaican government has outlined an ambitious plan to establish the country as a logistics hub. If the project materializes, the island would serve as gateway between the two continents, positioned at the heart of a lucrative transnational trade. Additionally, there is an on-going push to transition from traditional agriculture to a more sophisticated agro-processing sector. As increasing numbers of local farmers embrace new husbandry methods and new technology, the industry, as a whole, stands ready to enjoy greater yields and an increased profit margin. With interest already high on the international market for Jamaican crops and products, the sector is keen to attract FDI inflows to improve operational efficiency and ramp up production.


HBR: Delta Supply Company Ltd was established in 1972 and is the sole authorized distributor in Jamaica for several high profile, international manufacturers. Could you share how you first got into the business?  

George Swire: I previously worked for a company, which primarily sold welding equipment. As I was completing a project, one of the contractors approached me about purchasing a significant overstock of items he had brought into the country. After some negotiation, he accepted my offer of JMD$ 27,000, which was my total bank account balance at the time. Once we came to an agreement, I had just two months to find storage for $250,000 worth of materials and figure out my business plan.  I decided to approach construction companies about the excess inventory and eventually sold off the stock over a ten year period.   


HBR: In your opinion, why are you widely regarded as an expert within your field?

George Swire: What sets me a part from others is my extensive product knowledge, my ability to connect with people and my level of productivity. In 1967, I had the opportunity to attend a Dale Carnegie sales course, which had a profound effect on me. The programme delved into the importance of truly understanding the customer’s needs and seeking solutions for any challenges they might face. I also walked away with another valuable lesson about efficiently utilizing my time. The only thing a salesman, or any individual for that matter, has to sell is his time. With this in mind, I’ve always adopted a targeted approach in everything I do, working smarter rather than harder, and seeking maximum impact from minimal input.


HBR: Tell us about Delta Supply’s sister company, ELARC Welding Products Ltd?

LeRoy Morris: ELARC was conceived as Electric Arc (Jamaica) Ltd. in 1972, the name symbolizing the bright light produced during electric welding. The company’s moniker, however, was not well understood by its clients and severely limited the business focus to a narrow product range. In contrast, its registered brand, ELARC, was catchy and visually appealing. In an effort to raise its profile within the local marketplace, a decade ago, the decision was taken to retire the original company name in favour of ELARC Welding Products Ltd.

In the early 1990s, when the de-liberalization of the domestic market began in earnest, ELARC found the level of its tariff protection as a Jamaican manufacturer slashed throughout CARICOM. The company had to become nimbler and more efficient in its production processes to survive. ELARC changed its strategic focus during this period from manufacturing-centered to customer-centered. In so doing, any hubris of knowing what its customers wanted was discarded and the firm is now focused on first determining its clients’ needs and then adjusting its formulations to develop products that exceed their expectations.

Today, the company's transformation is on-going. ELARC is no longer just a manufacturer, it is a brand. The organization is already lending itself to a range of related welding accessories and safety gear, and its potential, new product ranges are practically limitless. The present strategic plan is to grow ELARC's core business of manufacturing welding consumables but this product line will still form a minority of its revenues within five years. Currently, the company exports approximately 60% of its production volumes throughout CARICOM, Central & South America, and Africa. ELARC is on the cusp of an exciting phase of its journey where the possibilities are endless and the world is indeed its oyster.


HBR: Over the course of its 44 year history, Delta has transformed from a single industry supplier to a multi-sector service provider. Why was this a critical move for the company?

George Swire: When Delta Supply was established in 1972, bauxite had dethroned sugar as the undisputed king in Jamaica. Our business plan was simple: we would provide a comprehensive selection of products to the major players within the sector. By 2008, on the eve of the global financial crisis, this singular approach was no longer tenable and we set out to diversify our portfolio. Over time, we successfully expanded our core business in construction, welding, fabrication, agriculture and landscaping, and ventured into exciting new industries spanning cleaning solutions, safety & material handling, and irrigation.  Always aiming to add value to our customers’ operations, we strive to align ourselves with premium brands, including Hilti, Rainbird, Karcher, Wacker Neuson and Stihl.


HBR: The partnership with Stihl has been particularly successful for Delta Supply. How did this fruitful relationship begin?

George Swire: In 1982, the Jamaican hospitality industry imported 67% of its beef. Curious to understand the preference for foreign fare, I did some research and learned our outdated farming practices was at the root of the problem. Here, cattle walked for its food, developing muscles and giving rise to undesirably firm meat. In more advanced economies, farmers had abandoned vast fields in favour of feedlots. Housed in large buildings with long troughs, cattle grazed in a stationary position, rapidly gaining weight within a short timeframe and by stark contrast, producing mouthwateringly tender meat.

Armed with this information, I decided to try my hand at cattle rearing. After obtaining a 600 acre lot, I purchased a chainsaw to clear the land. Eight weeks in, the chainsaw broke down and following numerous attempts, I was unable to get the machine repaired. Frustrated, I reached out to Stihl, a well-respected, German manufacturer, and proposed a partnership that would establish Delta Supply as its authorized dealer in Jamaica.

In the years since we acquired the Stihl distributorship for the Jamaican market, we’ve embarked on a targeted strategy to market the chainsaws & brushcutters to small entrepreneurs and increase brand awareness amongst students at technical schools across the country. As a direct result of this measured approach, today, Stihl commands a staggering 90% of the chainsaw market, and 70% of the brushcutter market in the island.  


HBR: What makes Delta Supply different from other companies?

Jonathan Swire: Product knowledge is incredibly important to our business: it empowers our staff, enlightens our customers and differentiates us from our competitors. It is such a vital component of our corporate culture that improving our brand expertise is an engrained activity in our weekly schedule. Every Monday, team members gather for a highly interactive class, complete with role play and demos, to learn about the features and benefits of our product line.  Here, we emphasize to our staff that the sale is not about them, it’s about the customer and customer applications. We encourage them to recognize that our work goes far beyond the transaction business and is essentially a consultancy. When a customer comes through our doors, we aim to offer a holistic, educational experience. This tactic is highly beneficial as it allows us to sow the seeds of a long-term relationship with our client base, from providing useful insight for the initial purchase to offering technical support during the maintenance phase.