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PLEASE PLACE ON ALL COMPANY NOTICE BOARDS
APRIL 7thth, 2015 VOL 32 | NO. 62
Thebhlgroup.com has gone “under the knife” THE BHL WEBSITE has undergone a drastic transformation and is sporting a new look. What commenced with minor adjustments to update the almost 14 year old website’s content, blossomed into a comprehensive redevelopment project, which saw an upgrade not only to the appearance of the site and content but in its functionality. Digital Content Coordinator, Reva Graham cited an audit conducted by the PR Department as the rationale for the undertaking. “The audit yielded valuable information in terms of how users were engaging with the site and its strengths but also highlighted a number of inadequacies which we have rectified with the site’s redevelopment. BHL has done a stellar job in maintaining the previous site’s content but it had reached its full potential and its efficiency started to wane. It was imperative that it be modified to create something that could adequately service the group for many years to come.” Visitors to the site are now met with a more modern design, which creates a clean and aesthetically
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pleasing appearance. Despite its makeover however, the site is even more robust and there has also been a greater emphasis on current trends, Search Engine Optimization, navigation, performance and the overall user experience. “User experience has been improved in part through streamlined navigation, faster load times and the introduction of more interactive elements.” Ms. Graham noted, while specially referencing the Beverage Portfolio pages which serve as a digital catalogue, as one example of a feature designed to bolster user engagement. The website can be accessed via www.thebhlgroup.com.
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From Left: A view of the mobile version of the website and desktop view of the Beverage Portfolio main page. The homepage of the new BHL website.
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Send articles, photos and other information for the publication to news@thebhlgroup.com or contact the P.R. Department at Ext. 6705. We are eager to share what’s happening within the BHL Group. For regular updates & staff information, visit: http://now.thebhlgroup.com
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Apr 7th, 2015
Vol 32| No. 62
FRUTEE’s newest Flava Goes Viral innovation given its launch on April Fools Day while one commenter noted that while it was possibly a joke, the flavour should be considered since “Yah JUST might be able to make it palatable and seasonal.” Later in the afternoon, further disclosure came regarding the seaweed beverage, confirming what some had earlier speculated. The posts regarding the newly introduced flavour were all a part of a well-‐designed prank executed by the brand. At the end of the day, the posts had reached 18,105 people, received 112 shares and 112 likes, testament to the fact that FRUTEE’s “newest flavour” had indeed gone viral. SEAWEED SURPRISE ANNOUNCED as FRUTEE’s newest flavour! In an unprecedented move on Wednesday, April 1st, Seaweed Surprise was unveiled on the FRUTEE Facebook page as the second expression in FRUTEE’s ‘Mad Flava’ campaign. The posts which accompanied the artwork for the new flavour, noted that it was introduced to bolster the efforts of the National Conservation Commission (NCC) and the Ministry of Transport & Works (MTW) in removing tonnes of sargassum
seaweed from Barbados’ north and east shores. Seaweed Surprise, which was described as having a striking neon green colour and a taste profile of refreshing sea moss with bubbles, became quite the Internet sensation with Facebook fans eagerly enquiring of its availability in stores. By midday, the post had created quite the ‘buzz’, garnering attention from over 4000 people with the number of likes and comments increasing during the course of the day. Some of the comments received questioned the legitimacy of the introduction of the newest
Above: The artwork which featured heavily on the FRUTEE Facebook page.
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Apr 7th, 2015
Vol 32| No. 62
PINEHILL Offerings at NAPSAC IT WASN’T CALLED PINEHILL NAPSAC for nothing! Children from primary schools across Barbados blazed up the track at the National Stadium for the annual National Primary School Athletic Championships (NAPSAC). And those who were not competing brought the party to the stands while cheering on their favourite athletes. Charles F. Broome snagged the girls’ title from last year’s champions St. Stephen’s and West Terrace Primary defended their title to again walk away with the Boys’ Championship. PINEHILL’s offerings formed a big part of the festivities and all across the Stadium children could be seen with either a juice or milk from our buddy pack range. Category Manager Henry Yearwood said PINEHILL will continue to support sports at the junior level. “The importance of supporting our athletes at this level is tantamount to us making a contribution to their overall development and I think that they understand that PINEHILL has a vested interest in them. That they
also genuinely enjoy our offerings is a plus and NAPSAC was the perfect avenue for us to continue to connect with our core demographic. It goes without saying that we will continue to explore avenues to connect with our children.” Chairman of the NAPSAC committee Wayne Robinson in his opening remarks at the finals on Wednesday referred to PINEHILL milk as responsible for strengthening the bones of NAPSAC. He lauded PINEHILL’s commitment as key to the success these championships were enjoying. “PINEHILL is happy to play its role in being an active contributor in the proverbial village it takes to raise a child. The PINEHILL product continues to offer the benefits of milk and provide good nutrition to the nation’s children as they develop in the varied disciplines in track and field.” Clockwise from Left: A young spectator enjoying a PINEHILL juice beverage. Sports Reporter Ann-‐Marie Burke interviewing one of the young athletes.
The boys sprinting down the homestretch in the 4x100 meters relay. The PINEHILL stop clock showing one of the winning times. One young patron is all smiles after receiving a number of PINEHILL products.
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Apr 7th, 2015 BBC KNOWS how to celebrate its employees! During a company-‐wide staff meeting on Friday, March 27th, several employees were recognized for their hard work, dedication and long service to the company. The Asset Care Department proved that they are a force to be reckoned with and had not one but two nominations hailing from their Department. Anton Atwell and Isaiah White received high praise for their work in facilitating the upgrade of the Anton-‐Paar system. “The AntonPaar system in our filling area which is critical to our quality was failing – the parts were obsolete and we had to make a quick decision, said Asset Care Manager, Sardasai Gangaram. “Anton and Isaiah were tasked with upgrading the system and dedicated many long hours to the task. “They worked hard in getting us to the point where when the engineer arrived, it was a smooth process. Anton and Isaiah must be congratulated for a job well done.” Antonala Williams of the Production Department joined Anton and Isaiah in winners’ row and also received Employee of the Month for January for her work on the recently concluded Sandals project. To thunderous applause, Production Manager Ricardo Alleyne recounted the work that garnered Antonala the nomination. “During the period of January, the Production Department was challenged with producing juices for Sandals for the first time. During that period Antonala worked really close with [Research and Development Manager] Paula Rose sometimes throughout the night and into the morning and we were able to produce the flavours for Sandals. At present we have done 2 production runs and continue to improve as we go forward. February also belonged to the Production Department and Ricardo Clarke showed his confidence and ability when he bravely volunteered to fix the Robopac machine. “Both Production and Warehouse personnel would have been aware of these rolls that production was rejecting because they were too long and not fitting on the Robopac machine. One night Ricardo came and said “Do you know that that problem is easy to solve? I can fix it.” So said so done. I saw him in the Robopac machine making some adjustments and after that we have not rejected any rolls since then.”
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BBC Awards Outstanding Employees Human Resources Officer, Gracelyn Barker also used the opportunity to formally acknowledge the achievement of her colleague and Office Attendant, Mary Bryan. Mary received her certificate in Microsoft Office with a B Grade from the Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity (BIMAP). BBC’s long serving employees were also awarded. Process Support Specialist Ricardo Gilkes and Quality Assurance Technician Marc Haynes, both received 10 year tenure awards. Amidst much shouts and screams of support, all of the awardees were then saluted in a moving power point presentation that ended with a fitting tribute to Marc, who is also BBC’s Employee of the Year.
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1. Office Attendant Mary Bryan receiving her Certificate in Microsoft Office from HRO Gracelyn Barker. 2. Ruthlyn Small making a presentation to Marc Haynes for his 10 years of service. 3. Process Support Specialist Ricardo Alleyne accepts his award from Senior Production Shift Leader (Ag.) Ricardo Alleyne. 4. Ricardo Clarke was all smiles accepting his certificate from Production Shift Leader Lyndell Applewhaite. 5. Yvonne Yearwood accepted the certificate for EOM on behalf of Antonala Williams. 6. Asset Care Zone Leader Isaiah White accepts his certificate from Asset Care Manager Sardasai Gangaram
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Apr 7th, 2015
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CEO addresses BBC Staff BBC STAFF heard from Managing Director and CEO, Richard Cozier when the subsidiary hosted its staff meeting on Friday, March 27th. Our CEO covered a range of subjects in his address including the Group’s performance in and outside of its local operations and progress related to the standardization of palettes. It was noted that the Group generated a combined profit from local operations of just under BBD$5.5 million which exceeded the budgeted figure of BBD$4.7 million. While comparing this year’s performance with last year’s, Mr. Cozier confirmed that the performance was significantly better. STANDARDIZATION OF PALETTES In response to a query raised on the standardization of palettes, the CEO noted that the entire process stemmed from an effort to be efficient across all aspects of the Group’s operations. Noting that each of the three plants had distinctly different palettes which presented problems for our distribution entity, Mr. Cozier informed that all palettes were in the process of being standardized to the Pinehill Dairy palette. In conjunction with this, it was also noted that BHL’s
Board of Directors had approved a program to replace the aging fleet of trucks using a phased three year approach. An order for 15 trucks had already been processed and due to arrive in Barbados in August and available for the trade as early as September of this year. FUTURE Mr. Cozier also shed light on the way forward for the Group. “We have a Group-‐wide cost structure with some 300 million dollars or thereabouts invested across the BHL Group. It is a requirement from the Board of Directors and our shareholders for an adequate return on that. An adequate return is around 10% or 12.5% and so down the road, we have to find the means of getting our profits from the 12 million dollars which we reported last year to more like 25 or 30 million dollars within the next year or two. It is not impossible to do in the short to medium term.” Mr. Cozier further shared that there are some non-‐performing assets within the Group and also provided an update on the sale of the property at Wildey. Noting that
verbal enquiries had been forthcoming, as recently as within the week prior to his address, he shared that the potential buyers had engaged architects and engineers at their own expense but had not yet made a formal offer in writing. He informed that the Group is continually seeking ways to improve the returns on such assets or alternatively seek ways to address how the Group could divest itself of such. This, he noted, also related to overseas investments. Mr. Cozier ended his address by acknowledging Barbados’ challenging environment, noting however that key stakeholders were beginning to project growth. Informing that pricing of beverages will continue to be an issue, he encouraged those present not to compromise on the quality and strength of the Group’s brands and the service that is provided. Above: The CEO took the time out to chat with the BBC staff that packed the training room and listened intently.
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Apr 7th, 2015
More Milk in Stores
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MOVE OVER COMPETITION, there is now even ‘MOOORE PINEHILL Milk” on supermarket shelves island-‐wide. Given the demands of the market, the 200ml PINEHILL flavoured milks were forced to “grow up” and have been replaced by a larger 250ml, convenient to carry buddy pak. All of the existing flavours are available in the larger size and at no additional cost. Right: A size comparison between the 200ml Vanilla Flavoured Milk and the new 250ml version.
Heather is an Influential Woman FORMER QA MANAGER AT PINEHILL, HEATHER FARRELL-‐CLARKE was recently featured in Shabeau Magazine as their “Influential Woman.” Now Operations Manager at Roberts Manufacturing, she recounted the many experiences that led to her success. Her life’s struggles and achievements are chronicled in the lengthy three page article which also outlines her constant quest for knowledge and love for family. Her unwavering faith is also dominant throughout the article. “There is a song we sing at church that says ‘Be bold, be strong, for the Lord thy God is with thee.’ You have to get up
and go and k nock on doors and challenge the status quo and grab those opportunities, however slight they might seem and you must never give up…Keep your hands clean and your heart pure and God will do the rest,” she said. Her time at PINEHILL is also listed as a defining moment in her life including her promotion to Lab Technician and then later Research and Development Officer. She cites these along with her educational pursuits as rounding out her professional development. You can catch the article and the spring 2015 issue of Shabeau Magazine at http://www.shabeaumagazine .com/Spring2015/.
Above: A portion of the 4-‐page spread featuring Heather Farrell-‐Clarke in the Spring 2015 issue of Shabeau Magazine.
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