Paramount Trading (Jamaica) Limited (PTL) held the groundbreaking of its new state-of-the-art lubricants blending facility in Kingston, Jamaica, last week. The new plant will include a laboratory, which will allow the company to conduct oil analysis in house, instead of sending oil samples overseas.

“This means that we would be able to provide custom blends to the market, according to particular customer specifications, instead of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach,” said Managing Director of Paramount Trading Hugh Graham. “It’s the only facility in Jamaica that will be able to analyse oils,” he said.

The lubricants blending plant will be built in partnership with Wilmerding, Penn., U.S.A.-based Allegheny Petroleum Products Co. Paramount Trading imports and distributes industrial and food-grade lubricants. Paramount Trading became the sole distributor of Allegheny Petroleum in Jamaica in 2014.

Under the 50-50 partnership, Allegheny Petroleum will supply the equipment for the factory. The plant, which will blend industrial and food-grade lubricants, will have an annual capacity of 200,000 gallons (757,082 litres) of lubricants. It will supply not only the domestic market, but also the export market.

The construction project will provide 70 jobs, while the factory will employ 30 full-time people when it comes on stream. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

“By six months we should start operating,” said Hugh Graham, managing director of Paramount Trading. He said that the plant, which will be located on a roughly one and a half acre site, could be expanded in the future.

Paramount Trading is listed in the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.