82 April 2015 - Business View Caribbean
Riding the Workflow Wave
Junior Sammy Group well-positioned in turbulent Trinidadian market
Navigating the business climate in any country is a
challenge.
But assessing and reacting to changes in a place
where leadership transitions tend to have a significant
impact on the ebb and flow of work – namely, the twin-
island nation of Trinidad & Tobago – has become par
for the course over time for the Junior Sammy Group.
“We work on an election-to-election basis,” said Hugh
Murphy, president of the multi-pronged operation,
which ranks as the largest private general contrac-
tor in the country of 1.2 million people of the north-
eastern coast of South America. “We'll look and see if
there's going to be a change or if we're going to have
the same government. If there's a change, there's al-
ways a change in policies, so that dictates how compa-
nies are going to manage and factor in budgets for the
coming years. It'll also affect the private sector, so we'll
wait and see how the political climate goes.
“But if everything stays the same, we'll look to consoli-
date what we've got and grow in our core businesses
where we can. That's what we do.”
Murphy said a typical one- or two-year stretch in the
country will feature a wave of public-sector investment
and significant projects, prior to a significant slowdown
as the market adjusts.
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