September 2015 Issue Business View Caribbean

24 September 2015 - Business View Caribbean The Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association Serving the industrial sector with excellence since 1947 The Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) was formed in 1947, by eight manufacturers who wanted to provide support to local businesses while encour- aging the island’s population to buy Jamaican-made goods. Brian Pengelley, Brian Pengelley, JMA’s former President who stepped down this past June, explains: “The manufacturing industry in Jamaica emerged out of necessity. Because when you go back to the pre- and post-colonial years, agriculture was basically the bedrock of our economy. We had a shortage of lo- cally manufactured goods which were being filled by imports.” But after World War II, Pengelley points out that there was a decline in imports. So, goods that were previously supplied by imports now had to be produced locally. Almost seven decades later, the original “Buy Jamai- can” campaign is still going strong and the JMA’s mem- bership has grown to 365 members who represent all sub-sectors of the island’s economy. JMA’s mandate is to promote the development of the country’s manu- facturing sector by providing relevant services to its