Precision Woodworking Limited has scooped the coveted Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year 2001 Award, the first time a Guyanese company has won it.

Co-Managing Director of Precision Woodworking, Ronald Bulkan won the award on Saturday from among fifteen finalists including five Guyanese.

Precision Woodworking won for pioneering value-added wood products in uncharted territory

The other Guyanese finalists in the Manufacturing and Food Processing category were Pritipaul Singh of Pritipaul Singh Investments Inc and Dennis Morgan Mudlier of Denmor Garments Manufacturers' Inc.

The other two finalists were Gerald Gouveia of Roraima Airways Inc in the Tourism, Hospitality and Entertainment category and Mayfield French of Mae's School in the Services category.

In his acceptance speech at the Trinidad Hilton in Port-of-Spain, Bulkan said that he accepted the award on behalf of his colleague and Co-Managing Director Rustum Bulkan and each of the hardworking employees at Precision.

He noted that the company started as an "experiment" attempting to get into furniture production on an industrial scale which had never been done before in the country. It was to them uncharted territory and finding bankers to sign on to the vision was not an easy proposition. Because of this, he said, the award was especially gratifying and satisfying.

In an overview of the development of Precision it was noted that from producing and exporting mop-sticks, broomsticks and novelty items to regional markets, Precision Woodworking now designed and exported a line of garden and leisure furniture to some of the most exclusive retailers in the United Kingdom including Harrods, the John Lewis Partnerships and Marks and Spencer.

Bulkan told Stabroek News in his Ruimveldt Industrial Estate office yesterday that 90% of Precision's products are exported to the UK and it is believed to be among the top ten producers of outdoor furniture in the world. Its competitors are companies operating in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Chile and Ghana.

Asserting that Precision Woodworking has pioneered the way in furniture as opposed to furniture craft, Bulkan said that to achieve this the company had had to import the skills of expatriate furniture production specialists from England to impart wood-making skills and techniques over a six-year period. "That was the price we had to pay", he said, for producing furniture of a high standard.

Noting that other companies can use Precision Woodworking as an example to move in the direction of value added products and aid in the development of the country and a higher standard of living through exports, Bulkan said that "our success has come as a result of applying the cutting edge of technology allied to personal values, such as the right work ethic and dedication to individual tasks."

Next month November 17 next mark 18 years since the company has been in operation. It is now nine years since it began exporting furniture products to Ireland and five years since it began to penetrate markets in England.

Last month, Precision Woodworking copped the President's Exporters' Award for the year 2000 at the Guyana Manufacturers' Association annual awards ceremony.

The Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year scheme is sponsored by Ernst & Young, CIBC and Republic Bank.