BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHETHER through a humble bus shelter or the imposingly magnificent Marriott resort, Construction Technologies Development and Trading (CONTEC DT) has been instrumental in laying a concrete foundation for infrastructure in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Over the last two decades, the nation has seen a transformation of construction and engineering technologies with a greater ownership and involvement by locals. In 1992, a lowly business began when two young men, Lincoln Pemberton and Troy Douglas, weighed their risks and came on the business scene with practical objectives and a passion that outweighed their insufficient financial backing.
That same year, Pemberton and Douglas started CONTEC as a construction company, providing ready-mix concrete to small domestic projects and an intermittent larger project. As the construction sector boomed and demand for ready-mix products simultaneously skyrocketed, CONTEC would begin to see growth it did not initially imagine.
Within the ensuing decade, the company began seeing other companies mushrooming to complement the work of CONTEC. Companies formed included CONLEC, NEVCON and Block Tech, which supply ready-mix concrete and concrete blocks in St. Kitts and Nevis. It was only a few years after that the owners launched PSM, Federal Quarries, CONTEC Mortgage Finance, and Heavy Equipment Supply and Services (HESS) to cater to growing market demands and to provide facilities in almost every area of the construction sector.
In 2008, it became necessary to establish a central business to effectively manage and market the affairs of all eight associated enterprises. Thus, CONTEC Development and Trading was born.
This December marks one full year of the existence of that central company and though the work of its associated enterprises exceed one decade, Management Consultant Stanley Franks Jr. has expressed his excitement with the progress made by CONTEC DT and the high quality of the eight companies under its umbrella.
“We are very excited about this accomplishment because we are doing major construction projects and people who go and see the projects say, ‘at last a local engineering company can handle a job like that’. Once upon a time when projects of this size and nature were going on, we would rely on regional companies. We have now moved into the area where we can now provide those services for our people,” Franks told SKNVibes.
The company has made a remarkable transition from simply providing ready-mix concrete to owning, providing and servicing all the necessary facilities in the construction sector – an achievement that management is very proud of.
In fact, Franks said the accomplishments of CONTEC DT could be “just the impetus” for others to take the risk and get involved in business.
“People with entrepreneurial vision must understand that a certain amount of risk-taking is involved. You might fail. Businesses may take couple years before they really get on the move, but you have to stick with it.
“Coming from an impoverished background, we always saw one group getting into business and we didn’t really see ourselves there. But, we took the risks, got some blows and recovered... I think this is the exciting part of it and that we can be an example to others,” he added.
Management and staff of CONTEC DT are celebrating the one-year achievement with a week of activities that began on Sunday (Dec. 13) at the Moravian Church. Throughout this week, regular customers will be given discounts and the company will host an awards dinner at the Diamond Cut restaurant on December 17 to recognize the contributions of individuals to the company.
Today, CONTEC DT has grown to a staff of some 130 employees, owning a fleet of over 40 vehicles. The company boasts ready-mix concrete trucks, pumps and loaders, excavators, backhoes, forklifts, block-making machines, batching plants, generating sources, stone crushers and advanced servicing equipment.
Apart from contributing to many of the major development projects in the Federation, the company has also given back substantially to the community through sponsorship and support of the St. Kitts Music Festival, National Carnival and Culturama.
CONTEC DT is now poised to purchase more new trucks and heavy machinery in the New Year and is also expecting to install a bulk cement plant and machinery for asphalt road construction in early 2010.
So, when you walk along the Taiwanese fishing projects, through Springfield Cemetery, take a tour at Riva Ridge at Conaree Heights or Beacon Heights Development or Beaumont Park, the high quality work of CONTEC DT is a constant reminder that risk-taking and prudent business planning can give a concrete foundation for future growth.
