Total
adding 8 stations in Jamaica
Business
Observer
The Jamaica
Observer
KINGSTON
Petroleumworldtt.com
06 25 06
F
rench oil company Total is aggressively expanding
its service stations in Jamaica to take the number
of outlets to 30 within a year, from the current
22. An additional 150 individuals are expected to
be employed by the company.
On
Monday, the latest addition to the Total brand was
formally unveiled at Brunswick in Spanish Town.
Two more are expected to be launched next month
- in Greenwood and Albian District, both in Montego
Bay.
The new Total Jamaica petroleum station at Brunswick,
St Catherine.
Luc
Maiche, managing director of Total Jamaica, in confirming
the expansion, told the Business Observer yesterday
that the other stations should be added by year-end.
However, Maiche declined to say how much the expansion
would cost his company.
The
stations, according to the managing director, will
be strategically located towards high traffic areas
along the north and south coasts of Jamaica - between
Negril and Ocho Rios in the north and May Pen and
Savanna La Mar in the south.
Maiche estimates Total's current market share at
10 to 15 per cent, but says that this level of penetration
does not represent the brand strong enought in the
Jamaican market, especially along the south corridor.
"If
you take into consideration the number of cars that
pass through these areas, the volumes are huge,"
he said.
As part of the programme to grab market share, Total
is also refurbishing all its stations, including
rebuilding the Mona, St. Andrew branch. This project
is expected to be completed within the next two
months.
"We
are putting in a new tank and a new building, so
it is a brand new (operation)," he says of
the branch on the Mona Road in Kingston.
Total
came to Jamaica in 2004 when local businessman Roy
d'Cambre sold his National chain of petroleum service
stations to the French conglomerate for an undisclosed
price that was later estimated within business circles
to be around $600 million.
That
deal gave the French 23 petrol stations which accounted
for about 10 per cent of the Jamaican market.
However, since the sale, both parties have been
haggling in public about the payments relating to
the transaction.
d'Cambre
has accused Total of owing him money from the sale,
and on two occasions blocked access to the Total
service station in Harbour View in Kingston to press
his case for payment.
d'Cambre
apparently owns the land surrounding the station
through which motorists must pass to gain access
to the pumps.
The maverick businessman used his 36-foot Carrera
speed boat to block the entrance to the station
and vowed to shadow the business until he was paid
the money he claims to be outstanding - US$800,000.
The matter is yet to be resolved.
The Jamaica
Observer
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Copyright
©2006 The Jamaica
Observer .
All Rights Reserved.
