GRACE FOODS, SEPROD TOP JMEA’S M&E AWARDS

GRACE Foods Latin America and Caribbean (GF LACA) won the Prime Minister’s Award for Top Large Exporter and the Governor General’s Award for Exporter of the Year at the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association’s (JMEA) third staging of its M and E Awards.

GF LACA marketing services manager for the Central Caribbean, Rachel Browne Fung, collected the awards on behalf of the company and expressed her gratitude for the recognition.

“Grace Foods Latin America and Caribbean has been in the business of exporting Brand Jamaica for over 30 years. We stand by the quality of our Jamaican manufactured products and are proud to showcase them in the different Caribbean and Latin America territories. But we don’t do this job all on our own, it’s all about being focused and having the right team. We have gone through a very challenging year this year, but we have found that when we work together and look out for each other we are stronger and we will be alright, and we’re always happy to bring good taste to life,” she stated.

Under the theme ‘Leading Recovery with Manufacturing and Export’, the hybrid award event, hosted by Christopher “Johnny” Daley on Thursday last, is in recognition of the outstanding performances of the players in the manufacturing industry.

This year, Seprod Limited was able to reclaim the Governor General’s Award for Manufacturer of the Year.

“It’s extra special to be regaining this award in the year that Seprod just celebrated its 80th year in manufacturing. This award is a result of impressive teamwork and we’re very proud to be accepting it. With over 1,700 people employed to the Seprod Group, we’re very aware of the critical role that our people play in ensuring our success. We’re intent on improving that every single way as our goal is to create a world-class manufacturing environment,” said Amanda Watson, commercial manager for Seprod.

J Wray & Nephew Limited also came out on top and copped three of the 15 awards, namely, The National Certification Body of Jamaica Award

for Quality and Standards, Jamaica Public Service Award for Energy Efficiency, and Vision 2030 Corporate Social Responsibility Award.

Richard Pandohie, president of JMEA, in his welcome and opening remarks, indicated how fitting the award’s theme was given the unprecedented nature of the novel coronavirus pandemic and how industries alike had to pivot to survive.

“The theme for this year’s awards holds great importance as it speaks clearly to how we must progress as a nation as we plot our path for a sharp recovery. I salute the nominees and winners that we recognise tonight, your achievement is no simple feat and I applaud you wholeheartedly. To all the other hundreds of manufacturer and exporters who may not have won awards tonight, we encourage you to persevere and keep fighting the good fight. We’re resilient, we’re talent, we’re Jamaicans, and we will rise higher than we have ever been before,” he said.

Other top awardees included Jamaican Teas Limited for Best New Packaging Award and President’s Award for the Top Medium Exporter in Manufacturing; Red Stripe for the Robert Lightbourne Award for Productivity and Competitiveness; Caribbean Foods Limited for Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro) Award for the Champion Small Exporter for Manufacturing, and Quality Systems Solutions and Initiatives for Jampro Award for the Champion Small Exporter of Services.

Richard Pandohie (left), chief executive officer of Seprod Limited, and Amanda Watson, commercial manager at Seprod Limited, accept the Governor General’s Award for Manufacturer of the Year at the 2020 JMEA M&E Awards from Lisa Bell, managing director of EXIM Bank. Looking on is Imega Breese Mcnab, executive director at JMEA.

(Photos: JMEA) Tanikie Mcclarthy Allen (left), public affairs and sustainability director at J Wray & Nephew Limited, accepts the Vision 2030 Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the 2020 JMEA M&E Awards held on December 10, from Melissa Smith, corporate social responsibility officer at Vision 2030 Jamaica Secretariat.

Rachel Browne Fung (left), marketing services manager for the Central Caribbean for Grace Foods Latin America and Caribbean, accepts the Governor General’s Award for Exporter of the Year at the 2020 JMEA M&E Awards held Thursday (December 10) from Lisa Bell, managing director of EXIM Bank. Looking on is Richard Pandohie, president of the JMEA.

Jermaine Robinson (left), group commercial manager at Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake Jamaica Limited, accepts the Charles Henderson Davis Award for Breakthrough Product of the Year at the 2020 JMEA M&E Awards, from Craig Hendrickson, director of sales and marketing at National Baking Company .