The overall production and output at the St. Kitts Masonry Products Limited (SKMP) is now more advanced following the recent instalment of new equipment at the plant located in the Canada Industrial and Commercial Estate.
The announcement was made by Managing Director, Mr. Earle Kelly, following a recent walk through at the factory, where the Columbia Model 22 System was replaced by an automated Columbia 16 System.
With the innovative engineering technology, the plant can now manufacture concrete blocks at a faster rate, a much higher quality and strength, and even quicker curing time. The new model boasts the capacity to produce eight thousand six hundred and forty (8640) eight (8) inch blocks in an eight-hour time frame, whereas eleven thousand five hundred (11, 500) six (6) inch blocks are made in the same period.
These statistics equate to three (3) eight (8) inch and four (4) six (6) inch blocks being made every nine seconds, thereby making the process more efficient, while reducing expenses and wastage.
Mr. Kelly further disclosed that “the facility upgrade cost three million Eastern Caribbean Dollars and will complement the existing machinery, as the company continues to focus primarily on meeting and better serving the immediate needs of the local market, and hopefully exporting products to the neighbouring islands in the near future.”
The St. Kitts Masonry Products Limited (SKMP) has over forty-two (42) years of cemented experience and also produces ready-mix concrete, core mix, washed stones, as well as, aggregates, and operates as part of a joint partnership with the TDC Group of Companies and S. L. Horsford and Company Limited.