Business gives up over $20m project

A GRAND Bahama-based employer has threatened to walk away from its $20 million investment as a result of the island´s electricity service and costs, ending prospects for a solar panel manufacturing joint venture that could have added a combined 300 construction/full-time jobs.

Warning that potentially up to 500 jobs may be lost, Steve Howes, chief executive of Queen´s Highway-based Fenestration and Glass Services, said Grand Bahama Power Company charged "six times the price" of electricity the company would be billed for in North Carolina, where it plans to relocate. In that US state, it would be charged $0.058 per kilowatt hour.

Blaming power outages, spikes and surges for destroying equipment important to the company, and accusing Grand Bahama Power Company of sending a "threatening letter" and "cease and desist demand" to stop Fenestration and Glass Services from running its own electricity generators, Mr Howes said he and his partner had "given up" on their Bahamian investment.

In a March 14, 2010, open letter to Grand Bahama residents, Mr Howes traced a brief three-year history that began when he and his partners decided to invest in Grand Bahama, obtaining the necessary permits and licences to construct its factory on the Queen´s Highway.

After constructing the factory, which builds hurricane-protective windows, security and decorative glass for doors, Mr Howes said they placed plans for a rubber gasket factory in China on hold to focus on the Grand Bahama operation.

"Our business plan and potential work force was multiplied ten-fold, potentially bringing more than 300 jobs locally, giving Grand Bahama a huge economic boost it so desperately needed," Mr Howes wrote.

"Since then, plans to build a factory in joint venture with a German company to manufacture solar panels are in place. We already have the Port Authority license and the land picked out. Potentially another 100 jobs in construction and 200 factory production jobs. Our German joint partners are here next month.

"Three years later, two factories are now in production and growing larger every week. The window factory has started exporting finished goods, and companies here no longer have to import hurricane products. They are made on this island by local people for local people."

Fenestration and Glass Services, he added, had installed five production lines at its rubber factory, two of which were running at 24 hours per day, three days per week. They also operated for eight hours on a fourth day.

"We are adding new people almost every week (24 just this last month), giving them training in careers never before seen in the Bahamas," Mr Howes wrote.

"The sales of our products are growing worldwide even in this bad economy. That is due to the wonderful quality of our product made by our local people, and the good sales force we have built across the world.

"In the last few months we have grown our production from 35,000 feet a week to over 200,000 feet per week, a fantastic achievement by our personnel. We have had visits from prospective customers from Germany, Switzerland, UK, Canada, USA and other countries who want to buy our products, giving us a real future as a large international manufacturing company."

Now, it seems, that future has come to an abrupt end. If Fenestration and Glass Services did depart from the Bahamas, closing its factories, it would not only be a massive immediate blow to the Freeport economy in terms of lost jobs and investment, especially given that the city´s economy has been mired in recession since 2004, but also risks inflicting severe damage on this nation´s - and Freeport´s and Grand Bahama´s - reputation as an investment, pro-business haven.

The company´s departure would be especially damaging to Freeport´s, and the Grand Bahama Port Authority´s, ability to attract new manufacturing businesses to the island and retain existing ones, especially since the Port area - with its investment incentives - is continually touted as the ideal location for these activities.

Directing his full ire at the Grand Bahama Power Company, Mr Howes said the utility was alleging that Fenestration and Glass Services owed it $120,000. He argued that the reality was the electricity supplier owed it $170,000 for damaged equipment.

"Every time we have spiking and outages (almost a daily occurrence) it costs us thousands of dollars just to re-start up our lines and pay for the lost product," Mr Howes alleged.

"They [Grand Bahama Power Company] charge six times the price of power in North Carolina, 5.8 cents per kwh, (where we are moving to) and three times the price it´s costing us to run our own generators. They are in absolute panic that other commercial customers will find out the real cost of running their own power and to not have regular outages and damages.

Mr Howes said: "We are tired of fighting to bring business and prosperity to this island. In all my business life, with operations in the UK, US and China, we have been successful and grown our companies, but for the first time I have given up. I´ve never had to fight to bring jobs anywhere before. It´s so sad and a huge blow to this island and its future."

Fenestration and Glass Services said it planned to keep a "small satellite window factory" on Grand Bahama.

Grand Bahama Power Company, in statement issued yesterday, denied Mr Howes´s claims and said it wanted to "amicably resolve" the situation with the company.

It added that it had undertaken an independent energy audit with Fenestration and Glass Services, and said it had requested a detailed breakdown on destroyed equipment, but none had been forthcoming.