“We are an electrical technology or electrical contractor,” explains Shavana, Executive Assitant, who supports the company’s leadership team.“We supply electrical products and also carry out construction for electrical works—installations, design. We supply across the Caribbean and we’re based here in Cayman, which is where we do most of the servicing of products and working on construction sites.” From that base in Grand Cayman, the company has grown from a small, service-led operation into a multi-disciplinary electrical powerhouse with an in-house engineering department, 16 major product lines, and a central role in many of the island’s largest commercial and hospitality projects. Along the way, it has weathered an economic downturn, a global pandemic, and some of the most volatile supplychain conditions in modern memory. SUPPLY CHAIN REALITY CHECK: NO EASY REVERSAL ON PRICING While lead times have improved since the peak of the pandemic, the underlying pressures that reshaped global supply chains have hardly evaporated. “Supply chain challenges still exist,” says Managing Director David Johnston. “There are still material shortages. We’re seeing tariffs, increasing costs, and market uncertainty. Lead times have improved, and many manufacturers have streamlined their processes, but I’m not seeing any real ease in pricing. Shipping costs are still challenging.” With the Cayman Islands depending heavily on imported materials, shipping logistics are more than an inconvenience; they’re a strategic constraint.The company has been forced to get creative, exploring new routes and sourcing options to bring product into Cayman more efficiently and cost-effectively. “We’re looking at ways to get products to Cayman without going through the States,” Johnston notes. “We’re being forced to rely more on new partnerships, new relationships, new supply chains, new processes, new technology. It’s all part and parcel of what’s transpired inside the last five years.” What hasn’t changed is the fundamental imperative: remain competitive in a market where everyone is sharpening their edge.The result is a more deliberate approach to both purchasing and pricing, buttressed by deeper relationships with manufacturers and a broader portfolio of brands. HIGH COST OF LIVING, HIGHER STAKES FOR BUSINESS Grand Cayman consistently ranks among the top three most expensive places to live globally. For a labour-intensive, service-driven business, that reality permeates every decision. “If you were to Google the highest cost of living, you’d quickly realize that Grand Cayman is either one, two, or maybe third on the list,” Johnston points out. 29 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 12 CORPORATE ELECTRIC
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