KSM Investment opens automated block-making plant

Apr 18, 2017 News

As government continues to look for investments to stimulate much needed growth across the country, KSM Investment Incorporated has made a timely intervention.

Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin (2nd right) assists as a member of the Panchu family cuts the ribbon to open the new plant. At right is KSM Investment’s CEO, Mahadeo Panchu.

Last week, the Panchu family opened an automated block making plant, and according to Mahadeo Panchu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KSM Inc., this fully automated Plant is a product of Chinese and German engineering, and meets all European quality standards in its design and manufacture.
Apart from the block making plant, the company also has a Pavers and Curbstone-making Plant along with a Cement Warehouse.
The CEO said the Siemens Control system and its precision weighing systems mean that every product manufactured has exactly the same high quality and strength per batch, and exactly the same size.
Located at Good Hope on the East Coast of Demerara, the plant which was built at a substantial cost provides direct and indirect employment for more than 200 persons.
Panchu, who has been involved in rice sector for a number of years, said after much consultation with manufacturers and personal inspections of similar operational plants in Germany, China and Brazil, the decision was taken to construct a similar edifice locally.
Panchu said although the family struggled with the decision as to whether an investment in the rice industry was not a better option, a decision was taken to have a forthright look into the state of the construction sector in Guyana.
The businessman reflected that “in Guyana, we have grown accustomed over the years to using extremely poor quality hand-made blocks, and low quality machine made blocks in the construction of buildings. It is this low bar that has been set in the sector that has damaged and restricted growth and modernization in this field”.
The CEO asserted that “many individuals and families, chasing the dream of owning their own homes, have been burdened instead with substandard work, cracked walls and floors, which they must spend years correcting, when they should rather be enjoying the best years of their investments”.
Panchu said the basic minimum standards for concrete products are not being enforced because of the non-availability of quality concrete products in Guyana.
This means that important projects are being completed with substandard materials that do not meet the minimum international standards for concrete products for the various types of construction projects, particularly those undertaken by the government of Guyana.
KSM blocks and pavers have been tested by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s Work Services Group and the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Technology, and this was done to verify the psi (pound per square inch or pound-force per square inch) strength of the products; the results revealed that they have greatly exceeded the inferior products currently on the market.

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