Haier Guyana opens US$2M assembly line

Haier Guyana is not concerned with the human capacity, but rather the high cost of electricity locally, a top official of the company said last week Friday as they opened a US$ 2 million assembly line at its Industrial Estate, Ruimveldt complex.
Brian James, of Haier Guyana, stated that it is the cost of utilities that may interfere with the company’s ability to keep costs low. James noted that “the cost of electricity is one of the highest here”. He continued that Haier’s Chinese delegation was sufficiently pleased with the work of the Guyanese technicians, so they “are not concerned with the ability to produce quality”, James stated.
James noted that the assembly line will operate 24 hours, and the Guyana Power and Light Inc’s inability to provide consistent and regulated power was one of the reasons that the company decided to ensure that it equipped the building with solar power as well as a generator.
James stated that the assembly line and the building’s utilities bills are bound to be high; however with Haier’s focus on ecology, the company remains committed to addressing the power consumption and output with its own technology.
It was said that the company will be accumulating solar energy for at least eight hours a day. This energy will then help to alleviate the cost of electricity used by the company. Haier will be assessing the output of energy as well as the energy consumption on which GPL will be notified.
James noted that the assembly line, which will be responsible for assembling 10 laptop components, will help keep the prices of products as low as possible. James said that Haier “will be retaining some of the money here instead of sending it away… the duty and taxes we hope to save on”.
He continued that currently imports are subjected to 20 per cent duty at Customs and an additional 16 per cent VAT. He told Guyana Times International that “the near 40 per cent could mean a compounding savings in the base price of products”, because assembly in Guyana will cut that cost completely.
James also stated that Haier will be looking into expansion across the Caribbean and will also be venturing into the Brazilian market. He stated that “we are looking at Brazil because Brazil and Guyana have a partial scope agreement… the market in Brazil is much larger than the Caribbean”, and this would assist with trade relations.
James noted that the Brazilian market is open for business and Haier Guyana can expect to benefit from good trade relations. He said that the partial scope agreement was revised and as a result Guyana and Brazil trade relations can continue to move forward, but local business expansion is critical to the agreement’s success.
The Haier Assembly line will have the capability to produce 200,000 laptops and monitors and 150,000 television sets a year. The replica One Laptop Per Family project assembly line was engineered to be eco-friendly with minimal power consumption.
Haier representatives also noted that the assembly line will be mostly man powered and 70 technicians will be responsible for the putting together of all products. The assembly building will also house the components and the finished products ready for sale. Different stations were designed to ensure quality products including burn stations that will test all electrical components for faults and assess durability.