Mario Vulinovich. - File
SHELL Company W.I. is committed to Jamaica, and continues to make major investments here, says Mario Vulinovich, the country chairman.
Shell recently announced the sale of its fuels marketing business in Venezuela, Peru and Eastern Caribbean, excluding the French Islands. Mr. Vulinovitch said in a previous statement that this had caused some degree of interest about the future of the local operations.
"I can say unequivocally, Shell is fully committed to Jamaica," he stated. "I have recently gone on record advising of ongoing investments in Jamaica in the hundreds of millions of dollars."
PETROLEUM TANK
In the last year the company has constructed a multi-million litre bulk petroleum tank at the Rockfort plant to enable Shell to further import petroleum products directly to maintain continuity of supply to Jamaica. It has rebuilt the service station at Ocho Rios and is currently completing the rebuilding of service stations in St. James St, Montego Bay, St. Ann and Runaway Bay.
"We are upgrading our pumps and tanks at many service stations, to name but a few projects," Mr. Vulinovitch said. "Our leadership in the retail service station sector continues to grow, and we are leaders in the market in both retail and LPG and we aim to maintain our leadership."
Shell will maintain current partnerships with Jamaica Aids Support with its Shell HIV/AIDS education programme, he said. Support continues in raising funds for the Red Cross to aid in rebuilding Jamaica after Hurricane Ivan, for the HEART Trust sponsorship and mentoring programmes and the Jamaica Environmental Trust and the support to their School Environment Programme (SEP).
"We have and will continue to rationalise operating and manufacturing plants across our region, in such a way as to maintain our competitiveness, whilst improving our service to the customer," added Mr. Vulinovich
Finally, when asked if Shell is leaving Jamaica, or any other part of this region, Mr. Mario Vulinovich said. "Shell has publicly stated that it is currently reviewing its portfolio across the region. Like many major organisations, portfolio management is a critical part of business activity, to ensure your portfolio is aligned with your business aspirations. Portfolio reviews are ongoing and no final decisions on Jamaica have been made."
"Shell will continue to focus on our customers and improving our business and services to maintain our leadership in the Jamaican marketplace," he said. "With respect to our staff, they are and will continue to be a very important part of our company, and one of the main reasons we continue to be successful in Jamaica. As always, we at Shell maintain very open communication lines and persons are welcome to contact us to discuss any issues they may have."
