The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

A LEADING bottled water manufacturer yesterday said its decision to cut public opening hours was "in the best interests of all", given a power bill that totalled $500,000 for the past two years and the inability of consumers "to bear another red cent" in costs.

Tina Knowles, principal at Chelsea's Choice, told Tribune Business that the company's decision to reduce public opening hours at its East-West Highway headquarters was designed to minimise staff overtime costs and eliminate traffic congestion that impacted raw material deliveries.

Arguing that there was "no way" any Bahamian entrepreneur would go into the manufacturing sector in the current business climate, Ms Knowles told this newspaper that the Bahamas' "number one priority" should be to reduce the cost of living - especially energy costs.

Explaining the rationale for Chelsea's Choice cutting its public opening hours to between 7.30am-2pm between Monday-Friday, and 7.30am-1pm on Saturday, Ms Knowles said the company's operating hours were being pushed ever later by BEC's frequent power outages.

This, in turn, was pushing its overtime costs ever-higher, and threatening to force Chelsea's Choice to increase the price of its products to consumers - something they would be unable to bear.

"We reduced the operating hours to the public because we have a very wide distribution base and have to ensure we can service all our customers," Ms Knowles told Tribune Business.

"We have been challenged by the power outages, which are extremely consistent, and if we stay open to the public until 4pm overtime goes through the roof.

"Because of the demand we still have to work when the shop is closed to the public, and we sometimes have to run until 9-10pm. It's very difficult to run that because of the cost of operating in the Bahamas and the overtime, and we're trying our best to keep things affordable, which is the right thing to do."

Ms Knowles added that an independent laboratory tested all Chelsea's Choice products for water purity and quality, and this facility and the manufacturer's own operations were often required to run from 7am in the morning to 9-10pm at night, producing bottles for the following day.

"The shifts and hours are too long because so many people are required to produce water," she explained, hence the reduction in public opening hours.

And Ms Knowles added: "With the recent upsurge in crime, the employees are not happy about working late at night. We have to act in the best interests of the company, and in the public interest, but there has to be a balance. No one wants to pay an increased cost for water."

Chelsea's Choice had invested in solar-powered pumps and panels in a bid to reduce its electricity costs, which had been running at $35,000 per month prior to their installation.

Ms Knowles told Tribune Business the move to renewable energy sources had shaved the company's power bill down to $25,000, a $10,000 or 28.6 per cent decrease.

She added: "Currently, it's about $23,000 per month, but $15,000 of that is the fuel bill. We only consume $7,000-$8,000 worth. Every manufacturer knows this, every household knows this. It's not possible to add on to that and burden the public with higher prices. It makes no sense, and we did what we thought was in the best interests of all."

Chelsea's Choice employs between 65-72 staff, and Ms Knowles told Tribune Business that BEC's outages had "fried a lot of our equipment". The company was also unable to install an automatic turn-on switch for its generator when the power went out, because it was unable to handle the load created by all the production lines.

"We have to switch some of the production off because we can't carry the whole load. We have to take some of the load off before the generator comes on," Ms Knowles explained.

This created further inefficiencies and delays in the water production process, especially when the purifier was turned off, causing the increased hours and overtime.

The Chelsea's Choice principal added that the public opening hours cut was also intended to improve operational efficiency by reducing traffic congestion around its Abundant Life Road entrance.

She explained that trailer deliveries to the company had been competing with customer cars for space, and that the firm had been unable to get containers in when it wanted. Now, with the reduced opening hours, trailer deliveries have been pushed back after 2pm, when consumers will no longer be there.

"That was not a good situation," Ms Knowles told Tribune Business. "It was no way to operate. We had to stall trailers at the dock so we could get customers in. They couldn't come in with all the consumers and trucks in the yard."

She conceded that there would likely be no need for the public hours cut were the operating environment better, particularly where crime and utility costs/efficiencies were concerned, but in the Bahamas these were "not as stable as they need to be".

"We try to be as efficient as we possibly can, but the environment is extremely challenging," Ms Knowles told Tribune Business. "I don't think any company right now is really able to stay in the black, as payments to BEC change that.

"I was making noise about BEC four years ago, and in the past two years I've spent close to $500,000 on it. And how does one stay in the black with all the other stuff going up?

"We're managing. We're not in a desperate state because we manage beforehand. We see things before they come. But I honestly believe the country cannot bear another red cent of anything. It's too much. We have to be forever mindful of that. Consumers cannot bear another penny."

Chelsea's Choice was "holding its own" when it came to sales and volumes, Ms Knowles said, but the Bahamian business climate and its high operating costs remained a major deterrent to manufacturing ventures.

"Manufacturing is awful," she added. "There's no way that given a choice anybody would readily go into manufacturing right now."

Ms Knowles added that the Government needed to "very quickly" work to reduce energy costs, saying this would produce "a better climate for working and living".

"That should be the number one priority for the country - to reduce the BEC cost," she said. "It's very important for the powers that be to reduce the cost of living so people have more in their pay cheque. We've got to reduce the cost of living for Bahamians."

Ms Knowles said she was especially concerned about the impact inflation/cost of living increases were having on Bahamians with fixed incomes, particularly the elderly, and added that persons living off pay cheques were finding they did not sufficiently cover living costs.

The latter situation, she added, was especially troubling in situations where pay cheques were also supporting those not working.