A group of Antiguan government officials from various departments including the Office of the National Authorising Officer, Customs, the Bureau of Standards and the Ministries of Finance and Trade recently visited Harris Paints’ manufacturing plant and warehouse facilities.

The visit involved a guided tour of the facility, which has been operational for over three years since Harris Paints invested nearly $5 million EC to retrofit the former Leewind Paints site in Antigua and install state-of-the-art equipment.

Harris Paints’ Antigua factory is the company’s fifth manufacturing facility in the Caribbean region, where they have been manufacturing a wide range of emulsion paints, of which approximately 40% are exported. The manufacturing site has also been instrumental in the development and launch of Harris’ new patent-pending Quantum i12 technology, which is propelling the company to new markets beyond the Caribbean.

During the visit, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr Clarence Henry, expressed his satisfaction with the opportunity to observe Harris Paints’ operations and learn about the company’s production process and export markets.

He believes that the interaction with Harris Paints can be useful for the government to encourage and support industrial and sectoral development. The Chief Operating Officer for the Harris Paints Group, Mrs Marguerite Desir, also attended the event and provided a brief presentation on the company’s activities in Antigua since commencing operations there.

She shared Harris Paints’ commitment to local manufacturing, employment, and economic contributions made by operating factories across the region. Mrs Desir also showcased a series of photographs of community projects around Antigua that Harris has supported, including beautification projects where the company has donated paint.

Throughout the interactive tour, officials from the Antigua government and Harris Paints discussed ways in which they can collaborate more closely to promote local economic growth by creating more jobs and generating more foreign exchange through exports.