Kingston, Jamaica – Eight employees of Newport-Fersan (Jamaica) Limited were honoured on August 25 for ten years of dedicated service in a commemorative pinning ceremony in the year of its 10th anniversary. The ceremony was held at the company’s plant in Newport East. The Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica, performed the ceremony honouring the staff members and delivered the keynote address.
Newport-Fersan (Jamaica) Limited (NFJ), which began its operations in Jamaica in November 2004 is the only local manufacturer of fertilizer and has worked in partnership with several organizations with the aim of contributing to the development of Jamaica’s agricultural sector. With an initial investment of US$10 million, NFJ has grown to become a leader in introducing cutting edge technology to the agricultural field, with a pioneering nutrition system dubbed “Precise Nutrition” which has been producing astounding results, particularly in the sugar, coffee and banana industries.
Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller in her address, praised Newport-Fersan for their dedication in producing fertilizer solutions for the agricultural sector: “Your fertilizer brand is well known and used by many of the over 230,000 farmers in Jamaica. In recent times, your innovation and creation of new products have resulted in significant greater local sugar cane yields. Congratulations, and thank you.”
The manufacturing company has also been a major contributor to Jamaica’s economy. The revenue generated by NFJ’s production has allowed them to contribute over US$10.6 million to date in income taxes. This, according to NFJ’s Managing Director, Dennis Valdez, is a demonstration of the company’s faith in Jamaica and in the future of the agricultural sector.
Continuing on the note of firmly setting roots in the country, Newport-Fersan boasts of a proud Jamaican team, with 53 Jamaicans currently employed by the company. Of these, 8 staff members have been with Newport-Fersan since inception, contributing to the development and success of the company. Mr. Valdez, in his address, lauded these employees for their dedication, highlighting that they “…quietly demonstrate the traits of the true Jamaican: resilience, honesty, ambition and good work ethics.”
Mr. Valdez closed his remarks by emphasizing the company’s continued commitment to strengthening the agricultural sector and contributing to the development of Jamaica: “Newport-Fersan Jamaica in chronological terms is a young company, but we have accumulated many stories and experiences through our close interaction with people in the agricultural sector and in building lives and strengthening communities. We have a decade of good work behind us and this gives us the sense of having run the distance and of being deeply embedded in the island’s social and economic milieu. We are on the journey with Jamaica to accomplish the Vision to be the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.”
The Prime Minister also commended the honorees for their dedication and long service, noting that they play a vital role in the manufacturing company’s success. She noted that: “It is good management and it is the hard work and dedication of good workers who ensure that Newport-Fersan continues to produce products that are so important for agricultural needs.”
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