Inspiring employees to become active shareholders in a company's vision of success is a serious endeavour and great leadership is the vital starting point. Recognising that fact, Brandram Henderson (W.I.) Limited, a leading supplier of paints in Jamaica, recently invested in an eight week leadership training course that focused on team building, goal setting, prioritisation, communication, and time management. And to ensure that they put their training into practice, the eight participants each maintain a Personal Success Planner that helps them to set goals and track their progress.

The training course was conducted by Dawn Grant of Effective Leadership Management, local affiliate of Leadership Management International, (LMI) sited in Texas, USA. The leadership training course is comprehensive and based on the LMI concept of the Total Leader who drives for excellence in all facets of leadership. Essentially, to become a total leader, one must master 4 critical areas: personal productivity, and personal, motivational and strategic leadership. The course simplifies the process and provides the tools to achieve mastery.

David Tindale, Harris Paints Group Managing Director & Vice President of Operations, and Weston Wright, B-H Sales Manager, awarded certificates to the participants who diligently committed several evenings to complete the course.

For this paint manufacturing company competing in a dynamic environment, the training was a worthwhile investment. As part of Harris Paints (Barbados), B-H is also developing the company and its leadership team to take their place in the regional marketplace. Ryan Peralto, General Manager, expressed pleasure at the results to date. "The course has empowered our managers to grasp their leadership responsibilities with more confidence and purposefulness". With a well-deserved reputation for value for money and superior quality after close to five decades in business, B-H is clearly set to soar higher through great leadership.

Photo Caption: (Back Row, L-R): Errol Grant, Accountant; Roger Smith, Trainee Production Manager; Ryan Peralto (Jnr.) General Manager (Front Row, L-R): Marcia Wright, Warehouse Supervisor; Walton Palmer, Materials Supervisor; Cynthia Hermitt, Office Manager; Helen Samuels, Secretary/ HR & Purchasing Coordinator

Have you ever wondered about the roots of  B-H?

Well, Brandram-Henderson (West Indies) Limited, was originally part of a Brandram-Henderson, a Canadian company that started by making paints in 1878.

The company proudly advertised in 1902 that B-H Anchor Marine paints sailed the Atlantic as the exclusive protective coating for the schooner, the Bluenose, which won that year's Fisherman’s Race Trophy. You can find that ad on the website of Nova Scotia Archive & Records Management.

B-H started its Jamaican operation in 1961, and quickly became the standard for paint.

B-H was also the first Jamaican paint manufacturer to produce non-toxic paints in the late 1970's.

In the late 1980's B-H became a Jamaican-owned company, and it performed well during the ensuing 20 years, when the Jamaican economy began to open up to imports.

We continue to make quality paints, and every decorative brand is certified by the Bureau of Standards.

On December 15 2006, B-H came under the ownership of Harris Paints, a Caricom-wide paint company based in Barbados. Just click on www.harris.bb to learn more about our parent company, who has succeeded in providing painting solutions in 14 Caribbean countries over the past 34 years.

B-H continues to post improving sales volumes by working hard to have product available in its faster-moving decorative colours. We are not perfect, but we are striving towards near perfection, and we will attain that goal by working closely with our hardware customers and listening to end consumers.

As B-H crosses into its 46^th year in Jamaica, and as Jamaica prepares to welcome the world, The Beautiful Paint is working to provide many more years of pleasing colour for our colourful people.

When B-H got a fax asking for help to paint a school in Trinityville, St. Thomas, we thought this would be a routine job.

Little did we know that we were about to become in volved in a high-tech fast-paced supply chain exercise.

Have a look at one of the photos we got in, and tune in next week for the details..........