Farfan & Mendes, TT firm launch...

have an all-Guyanese staff, including management.

Another example of a partnership where the Guyanese company benefitted tremendously was the one between F&M and the Canadian company Crosbie.

“Last year, during COVID, we merged with the Crosbie Group out of Canada and even though the merger wasn’t completed they helped us. So much so that our company actually performed better last year and we didn’t even have to think about cutting salaries or laying anyone off”,” Mendes disclosed.

And as the company expanded into oil and gas and was one of the first local companies to form a partnership with an oil and gas service provider when it entered into an agreement with Panthera Solutions, Mendes said that partnership strengthened his business overall.

“We brought in experts and trained locals for Panthera to work offshore. But you can’t work a business with two levels so. So we looked at improving our management structure for the growth that was going to come because growth that is going to come here will be huge. Growth can also destroy a company because if you don’t plan and manage then you get dragged overboard. This year in our business we are looking at building strong systems in-house. Oil and gas we are preparing for but businesses in the forestry, agriculture, and other sectors will perform better because we are managing it better. That is the bigger benefit. So as you build internally and in other sectors, if you should have a sudden demand on the oil and gas side, you can pull from the others to fill there.

For his part, Chief Executive Officer of FT Farfan and Managing Director of ICON, Alan Fitzwilliam, said that ICON will take a simple approach to its operations here and do all it can to effectively manage the company as Guyana’s economy grows from oil and gas.

“Managing growth is what I like to call a nice problem because growth is sought by many but well managed by few,” he opined.