bvc_june2017

82 83 MICRO MILLING, LTD. stores in Trinidad, Guyana, Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Antigua, where they have developed key relationships. Business View Magazine first spoke with de Verteuil in June 2015.We recently checked in on him to see how business has been doing these past two years. “Nowadays, the economy in Trinidad is in somewhat of a decline and you see that af- fecting your bottom line,” he begins. “Trinidad is heavily skewed toward the energy sector – a large portion of the government’s mon- ey comes from the energy sector and that is what has caused a lot of the downturn. The government doesn’t have as much money to spend and that’s where a lot of construction projects come from. So, if they aren’t doing housing projects, or high-rise buildings, or offices, that sector slows down greatly. If you look at the first quarter in 2017, it would be a bit lower than the first quarter of 2016. But we do things to combat that, and our eyes are on growth more than ever, and exports are a big focus of ours, now.” De Verteuil explains that while a majority of Micro Milling’s products are manufactured using local raw materials, the chemical ad- ditives that the company uses for its various blends have to be imported. And that means that the company needs more than just the Trinidadian dollar to do non-domestic business, which means selling more product abroad. “So, foreign exchange is a big concern,” he says. “A big part of this export push and why growth is so important in that sector is that we want to try and be self-sufficient where for- eign exchange is concerned; we want to generate our own.” In pursuit of that goal, the company has beefed up its personnel. “You get to a point where you need to hire more people because you can’t do it all on your own,” de Verteuil states. “In the past few years, we’ve filled a lot of gaps in middle management.” In addition, de Verteuil reports that the company’s website is now available in Spanish and French. “We’re making changes to our packaging, as well, so we can go beyond the English-speaking Ca- ribbean.We really want to look at those AT A GLANCE MICRO MILLING, LTD. WHAT: A manufacturer of thinset, grout, plaster, and concrete products WHERE: Point-a-Pierre, Trinidad, W.I. WEBSITE: www.micromillingtt.com