If he didn’t say you would probably not guess that Chris Persaud has built one of Guyana’s most successful agro-processing companies “from scratch.” He appears too youthful, too laid back and too ‘distracted’ by his family, an engaging wife and two busybody sons, to have mustered either the inclination or the discipline to ‘work’ all of the various ‘angles’ associated with building a business that has left its own unique mark on the local agro-processing sector.
Arguably his most noteworthy accomplishment up until now is his success in steadily building a market for the UMAMI brand in many of the smaller islands of the Caribbean. Once you understand the level of competition for the range of food seasonings offered by the company it eventually sinks in that UMAMI’s breakthrough successes on the regional market amount to a significant achievement.
You know that too from the seeming ease with which he manages his employees, coming across as ‘one of the boys,’ until you watch him issuing instructions with the deliberateness of a seasoned leader then moving on after he is persuaded that he has gotten his instructions across clearly.
Recent extensive renovation to UMAMI’s Lusignan Factory has meant that the company has significantly increased its production space so that the giant kettle in which raw material is cooked no longer appears cramped in its position and the slim but imposing metal machine used in the packaging process now has much more space across which to extend itself.
More space and enhanced machine efficiency have implications for profitability. On our way into the factory Chris slapped the lid of one of half a dozen barrels of tomato puree stored in a convenient space, awaiting its turn to be processed and packaged, probably for export. Before the recent renovation those drums would have monopolized a great deal of the factory space. On Tuesday when we visited they were lying in a spacious corridor.
We had visited UMAMI’s factory on earlier occasions. Then, there had been an aura of hustle and bustle. On Friday, the production team appeared diligent but unhurried and Chris, himself, seemingly satisfied that a sense of productive normalcy was prevailing appeared relaxed, even distracted.
Eventually he gestured to a piece of machinery with constantly moving parts that was filling and sealing the bottles of product. Then, for the first time since we had entered the factory, he appeared contemplative. The particular piece of machinery was made in Spain and these days, Chris’ preoccupation is with shifting his attention to a collaborative effort with engineers possessed of the relevant skills to build the machine locally. That, for the most part, is what he had invited the Stabroek Business to his factory to talk about. “Apart from the fact that it would be a considerable saving, the manufacturing of some types of machinery associated with the production and packaging of agro processing right here in Guyana is entirely possible,” he says.
These days, the UMAMI Company resting on a stable footing, Chris has begun to turn his attention to that sort of pursuit. Two University degrees, the latter a Masters’ Degree in Chemistry has spawned an inquiring mind that extends a good way beyond mundane entrepreneurial interests. Chris believes that he has an obligation to try to make some unique mark on the agro processing sector.
Inside the factory he shifts our conversation from his still incomplete factory expansion project to the mass of metal and tubes that comprises the plant that processes and packages the company’s products. The high cost of equipment can be the bane of agro processors’ existence and that, in large measure, is much of what is on Chris’ mind at this time. He talks animatedly about the success he has already secured out of collaborating with engineering minds to create important pieces of machinery. For him it is no small achievement. Beyond UMAMI it could well be a significant breakthrough for the agro processing sector as a whole. These days, once he gets past the tedium of production and satisfying his local and export markets, that is where his mind goes. During our conversation he disclosed just a little of his plan, not too far ‘down the road,’ to busy himself with a more focused collaborative venture aimed at seeking to replace some of the critical pieces of plant and machinery associated with the manufacturing process in the agro-processing industry with locally manufactured food and beverage manufacturing production systems.
His ‘distraction’ comes at a time when the inefficient, largely manual methods that have implications for both efficiency and food safety are among the major challenges confronting the future of the local agro-processing industry. That is why Chris is now turning his mind to the possibility of exploring the replacement of costly imported equipment and machinery with local substitutes. The gains in the area of operating could be significant, he says.
His interest, he says, is driven not just by the potential profitability of such a pursuit being a doorway to another worthwhile business investment but by the extent to which such a venture can change the entire face of the sector, improving production processes and simultaneously raising production levels to a point where both local and external market demand can be satisfied.
At Lusignan, he has already begun to investigate design details of key pieces of machinery associated with the agro-processing production process. In sum, he believes that his interest in exploring the possibility of creating a local capacity to manufacture machinery that are critical to the sector can significantly empower small local agro processors whose budgets render the acquisition of imported manufacturing inventory prohibitive.
He wants, he says, to go further. While he concedes that his own operations still leave room for further refinement he believes that even at this stage UMAMI’s operations represent a template that can be instructive to small agro processors. Accordingly, Chris disclosed to Stabroek Business that he is entirely disposed to engaging in exchanges with other smaller players in the agro processing sector with a view to offering such technical advice as he can that might improve their operations.
His quest for the further growth of UMAMI persists. The company’s search for market growth, particularly in the region, has become a permanent preoccupation. High intra-regional shipping costs, he says, is the bane of local exporters’ existence. Much of his export pursuits rely heavily on the consolidation of consignments in partnership with other exporters. An improved shipping regime, he says, could kick-start a fresh wave of local manufacturing interest given what he believes is still a potentially lucrative regional market for local agro produce.
