Business View Caribbean - June 2016 55
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profit-sharing arrangement the existing staff of 100
full-time employees and another 35 to 50 on the
sales team.
Quality Dealers Group has branches in Montego
Bay, Mandeville, Port Antonio, Ocho Rios, Junction
and May Pen and is continuing efforts to expand its
reach through branches at strategic locations, with a
long-term aim toward continuing a pattern of growth,
development and excellence with great emphasis on
housing, manufacturing, exporting and the creation of
employment for the Jamaican people.
It all stays true to the mission statement, in which
the company dedicates itself to “the principle and
philosophyof being the leader in the roofing, hardware,
real estate and development industries” and strives to
“exceed the requirements and expectations of our
customers by continuous improvements.”
A planned rebranding and freshening of the overall
presentation is a particular pet project for Walker,
who holds degrees in architecture from both the
University of Florida and the University of Miami and
labels the transitioning process as a “rebirth.”
“It is an interesting dynamic and it’s been learned
along the way,” he said. “I’ve certainly learned how
choices you make in life can take you in different
directions. I saw the need to help out more in the
overall administration of the company to see where
we could maybe make improvements.”
Those improvements, he said, will be driven by a
leadership mandate to create a leaner organization
that’s better equipped to handle a turbulent economic
environment in Jamaica. Among the ways to do so
are by consolidating a bloated administrative wing and
considering various ways to refinance operations that
will enable the organization to operate in the event of
a sudden downturn.
“We were big in a time in a time when it was
impressive to be big: bigger offices, bigger spaces,
bigger this and that,”Walker said. “But now it’s all about
being lean and more efficient, and to trim all of that fat
is hard work. For us, now it’s about streamlining our
operations, focusing on our manufacturing, looking
at whatever new product lines and areas we want to
step into and enhance services.”
