Half Million Dollar furniture

By the end of this year residents of North Leeward will have a high quality, mass-producing furniture factory to boast about.
According to proprietor of DMG Furniture Enterprises, Montgomery Dyer, this new facility will offer a wider variety of furniture products for Vincentians to choose from.{{more}}
With an estimated value of some $500,000, Dyer said the new plant is an expansion of DMG Furniture Enterprises, a furniture company that has been in operation in Spring Village for the past 17 years.
The construction of the plant will make DMG the second largest furniture manufacturing facility in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to Dyer, the main aim behind the expansion of his company is to provide a larger quantity and higher quality of furniture for export to the regional market.
“With the impact of trade liberalisation we have to remain competitive so we are hoping, with the new plant, to protect and increase our market share,” Dyer stated.
According to the builder, the lands and equipment for DMG’s expansion have already been sorted out.
He boasted that his company, since its inception, has been one of the most stable sources of employment for employees in North Leeward.
“This new project gives me a sense of satisfaction, as North Leeward is seen as a non-productive or less developed area, but I am satisfied to know that DMG Enterprises is a part of changing that approach,” he expressed.
Dyer said he is grateful for the technical assistance from the OECS-EDU (Export Development Unit) for providing technical training in factory layout for the construction of his plant.
He admitted that although things seem to be in place for DMG Enterprises, funding is still a problem for the majority of small business operators in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“There is limited opportunity for large scale financing for small business. There are a lot of businesses that want to expand but cannot get access to large funding.
“It is not a problem for me now, but you have to struggle to reach this far,” he commented.
He also stressed that energy costs still remain a major problem among businesses: “We are faced with competition from international companies that produce at a very low production cost due to small labour and energy costs. Our high production cost here in St. Vincent only dampens our competitiveness in producing goods to supply the wider region.”
The businessman also lamented the shortage of skilled labourers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Dyer explained that although his manufacturing plant is based in North Leeward, some of his employees come from outside the area. “We train our staff and try to improve on the quality of work they produce, so I am appealing to persons who are skilled in woodwork to come in and fill the current vacancies at DMG Enterprises.”
DMG Enterprises currently furnishes homes from North Leeward to North Windward and as far as the Southern Grenadines.
But just in case, for some reason, you cannot get access to DMG Enterprises, provisions are being put in place to accommodate customers at a soon-to-be-built show-room on the Leeward Highway. Also, the creation of a website where customers can select from the artistic creations designed by DMG Enterprises is in the pipeline.