Apr 2013 Financial News

Neal & Massy taps Gas Pro boss to run IGL

Apr 10, 2013

Effective May 1, Peter Graham will begin new duties in Trinidad as chief executive officer of Industrial Gases Limited, a larger portfolio than his current job as head of Gas Products Limited based in Jamaica.

Industrial Gases Limited (IGL) is owned by Neal & Massy Holdings as majority shareholder and partner, Air Liquide International SA of France, which is one of the largest industrial gas companies in the world.

IGL's core business is the manufacture, sale and distribution of a number of industrial gases, namely: nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, acetylene, helium, ammonia and other specialty gases.

"After six and one-half years of having the distinct privilege of leading the team at Gas Pro, I have accepted a new assignment - with some persuasion - in the Neal & Massy group," Graham said.

He replaces Doon Beepath as CEO of IGL in Trinidad. Beepath has been assigned to a senior position in Neal & Massy's Energy & Industrial Gases Business Unit. Both IGL and Gas Pro fall under the unit.

Graham's replacement in Jamaica is to be announced.

The business done by IGL is twice that of Gas Pro, which markets household and commercial liquid petroleum gas, he said. The Jamaican gas operation, owned 100 per cent by Neal & Massy, has averaged J$4 billion in turnover in the last two years.

GROWING PROJECTS

Graham's current focus was on selling propane to commercial customers for non-cooking applications, a promotion that he said had been gaining traction in the hotel sector as well as manufacturing plants and bakeries. The expansion of the company's Freeport facility in Montego Bay, which he also oversaw, is meant to leverage market share for propane, especially in the city's tourism belt.

The project grew the terminal's capacity from 12,000 to 18,000 barrels.

"Many customers have converted water heating, steam generation, laundry operations to utilise LPG and that drove volume growth," he said.

Graham maintained a record of safety in a business that can be volatile but that was broken last November 27 when a female pedestrian was crushed to death by one of Gas Pro's tankers.

Neal & Massy, in its 2012 yearend financial report, said the tanker wagon was contracted to an external party to transport LPG.

"The circumstances surrounding the incident are being thoroughly investigated by an independent investigation team and local police, with full cooperation from Gas Pro. Based on findings from the investigations, Gas Pro will make any necessary changes to ensure that this calamity is not repeated," said Neal & Massy president and group CEO, Gervase Warner, in his statement to shareholders.

"Prior to this incident, Gas Pro maintained an incident-free safety record for the past six years," Warner said.

Major industries served by IGL include upstream and downstream energy, petroleum, medical institutions, steel, power generation, manufacturing, food and beverage. The company operates from the Point Lisas Industrial Estate in Trinidad.

"IGL is also the preferred supplier of ISBT-grade carbon dioxide to the Coca-Cola plants in the English-speaking Caribbean. Its products are certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2008 standards and exported to the islands of the Caribbean and also to South America," Graham said.

The departing CEO said he is pleased with his record at Gas Pro, including 15 per cent growth on average in annual revenues and project successes, which he attributes to the performance of team members.

"We saw compound profit growth over 15 per cent for the past five years. We also won the LPG-supply agreement to all the Spanish hotels built during my tenure," Graham said.

The Gas Pro team led the effort to "drive growth by utilising LPG for non-cooking applications," he adds.

Before joining Gas Pro, Graham headed Goodyear Jamaica Limited as general manager, from August 1998 to March 2006, when the American-owned tyre company exited the Jamaican market.

In the final two years, Graham's job included overseeing additional markets in the English-speaking Caribbean.


Source:
Avia Collinder, Business Writer
business@gleanerjm.com
Jamaica Gleaner
Wednesday April 10, 2013

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