The new owners of Nature’s Water say steps are being taken to enhance the product.
The company has been acquired by local businessman Franklin Baron and his son Frederick Baron.
Nature’s Water was owned by a Chinese company and was on on sale for two years before it was bought by its new owners on November 17, 2012 for about $1.2 million.
Formal operation under the new owners began on January 1, 2013.
Managing Director, Frederick Baron, said enhancing Nature’s Water is top on the agenda. “We have already enhanced what they had,” he said at a press conference on Monday. “There are some machines in the plant that the Chinese were not able to use that we intend to put to use and we intend to bring in additional equipment for the spring water bottling operation and for the other products that we intend to put on the market before the end of the year.”
According to Baron the plant is able to produce 6,000 bottles of 600ml bottles of water per hour.
Chairman of the company, Franklin Baron, said taking on this business venture meant more to him than just providing for his family. “There was a possibility of doing some good for the public because it meant work for a lot more people. It meant also the provision of economic benefits to the country because instead of importing we will become exporters to the Caribbean and even further,” he stated.
The 90-year-old chairman stated that apart from producing bottling water, the company intends to produce packaged fruits which will be beneficial to the agricultural sector.
“This venture will not only benefit the people that I have mentioned but it will be eventually opened up to investors who want to share in the advantages that we seem to envisage,” the elder Baron said.
President of the Dominica Manufacturers Association, Severin McKenzie, has welcomed another locally owned company on the business scene. “We have to welcome in every way anyone who goes into manufacturing to make sure that some of the money we make stays at home,” he pointed out.
Minister of Trade, Dr Collin McIntyre, also welcomed the initiative and viewed it as an ideal opportunity for export and employment.
A nine-member staff is currently employed at the plant.
The water used come from and is purified by DOWASCO however the company intends to begin using spring water from Pond Casse by the end of March 2013
Ultimately, a business will only be sustainable if it delivers a product or service of greater value than its competitors and creates wealth for its investors at a rate commensurate with other projects of equal risk. Hopefully, this business meets these criteria.
I am so happy and excited for this move
you and your dad have made to take over this business venture,I think it is a move in the right direction and Dominica and Dominicans should make every effort to support our local business’s. Congrats my homie,I am really proud of your efforts, may God bless you to keep your focus and to prosper .
Mr. Baron thanks fro another job opportunity again wish you all the best while the other big supremos hold there money tight. Thanks for the employment.
So it really was just tap water!
Congratulations to the Barons on the acquisition of this business. I look forward to an improved product that everyone is able to enjoy.
(I say able to enjoy as Nature’s Water previously triggered headaches and made me nauseous whenever I drank it)
Congrats to the Barons. Frederick I wish you all the best, blessings.
I will do my part by buying your product. All the best. I love to see Dominicans climb!
This is a move in the right direction, we need to see alot of the local fruits process too. Let’s hope that things will progress from water to other things too. CONGRATS!
Fredrick
De boys in Henglan behind you .
all de best in this endeavour
Am I the only one who realizes that this is basically PAYING for tap water in a bottle (DOWASCO supplied water)
1. What are the advantages of this?
2. How does it benefit the country?
3. If it is such a fantastic idea, why isn’t Dowasco doing this as an alternative means of revenue, to cut down on monthly water bills?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG4HzvnJpEY
DO you realise 80% of water in US and oter Caribbean countries come from the tap and it is just purified…same as Trois Piton water…your ignorance is showing
My Brother you are so correct, Loubiere Water is just the best, first of all big question, Why did the Chinese sold the company????
Well I really look forward to enjoying a bottle of Nature’s Water….Will give it a second look now…Good luck Mr Baron..
Congrats my friend Frederick. Best of luck in your business venture. I wish you smooth sailing so you can get back to linking up with your friends. lol. Way too many months have gone.
Good move indeed, is their any plan for investment into the company?
It should be Dominica Social security (DSS)
Great Move Messrs Baron! Like many others I will now consider purchasing your product.
This is great for Dominica…congrats.
A breath of fresh air.Unlike the politicians like Timothy With the UWP. Who met Domlec in the hands of Dominicans, but shamelessly put it back into foreign hands.DLP had the opportunity to right the wrong, again only allow DSC.to purchase 20 plus per-cent.
Good move Mr Baron
A demonstration of great faith by the elder Baron and his son. Frederick, I hope the best for you and the enterprise. May it prosper and become a leading firm in propelling the agro-processing sector through competitive and high quality products for the export markets.
CONGRATS uncle Frederick!!!!!! ;)
What has happened to the EXOTICA water project in the Melville Hall River? Understand that “HOT AIR”-an EXOTICA monopoly – will soon be exported from Beau Bois! Congratulations to Franklyn Andrew Merrifield Baron and Family.
Yea Watchdog as yu get older yu get wiser and so I will buy yur water. Good luck my friend
I would not eat or drink anything made .by chinese
Go local.Good move
I bet you wear them though … and use them in your kitchen … or in your car … lol
You would be surprised to find out that a lot of things that you eat or drink is actually manufactured in China, by Chinese workers because for most major manufacturing companies around the world it is cheaper to setup and run their companies from there. DUH. ALWAYS READ THE LABEL.
Time to start rallying behind a Local manufacturer,wishing you guys GOOD LUCK;
This is fantastic Hon. Frank Baron!You have proven that contributions to Dominica’s development socio -economic development can be employ by anyone regardless of age. Your love for country is examplary. Talk with practical investment!. i pray god’s blessings on this venture.
i will support by buying your water when ever im thirsty
Only now will I drink Nature Water.
Congrats Vizie. Best of luck in your new endeavour.
Congrats my friend, Frederick.
I wish you all the success in the world with your new venture and hope that you can realize your dreams and aspirations.
May the good Lord guide and strengthen you always.
Just remember, patience is virtue and Rome was not built in one day, month or year but it was built anyway.
Let this be your guide.
Thanks Chinese, otherwise we would not have seen it.look at Athie.
Wish u success Fred.
Answer to prayer and wish. It has always been my heart desire to do something with fruits in Dominica. Why should we buy Pine hill juice from Barbados where there is no fruits compared to Dominica? It is all imported pulp from Africa nad Philipines.
I welcome the move. Farmers should produce more, and we support local.
Fredrick I love that you guys bought the company. But I must confess I have a problem with the bottled water industry as a whole due to the amount of waste the used bottles generate.
Anyway best of luck on your new venture. It is nice to see a local businessman put their money where their mouth is. Too often all we get is talk and more talk.
Time for a recycling program.
I agree for the recycling program we need that in DA.
Another opportunity to set up a recycling plant
Conratulations to the elder and junior Barons in promoting local
Good move Mr Baron and I wish you good luck with the business. Hope that we the locals will support your initiative.
to me i remember Kristallion Inc (Comeseetv) owning the Nature Island Water company, didn’t they buy it from the Chinese? *confused face*
i am a bit confused myself on that part. i could have sworn that the present owners of COMESEETV had some shares in this.
That is great best of luck to the company under local ownership. Dominicans please support and buy local.
chinese who owned the water bottling,not even our own water we could hve bottled,shame.
For your information we also have locally owned “Trois Pitons” (Dowasco supplied, and treated) and “Loubiere” spring water, owned by Dominica Brewery. No need to be negative. The new entrant to the industry is to be welcomed and mr. Baron, more than most, knows that competition is healthy and stimulating, just like his water. Good luck!
Grell, grell, grell you really have no clue of what is happening in Dominica, huh?!?!
CONGRATS Mr Baron. God’s Blessings on your new venture.
Congratulations to the Barons on this initiative. It was high time that Dominican step up we cannot live Dominica for chinese to develop. I like the idea of packaged fruits because I thing there is enough wastage in Dominica where this is concerned.
Now I can consider buying Nature’s Water. Under chinese ownership i would not look at the bottle twice.
Congrats Mr. Baron!
Racism is passé! It is gone, out of style. Get with the program.
It’s not racism, it’s buying local. People who don’t buy chinese products is because of human rights and inferior and contaminated products.
So, Anon, Chinese products are inferior, contaminated, and are not produced with respect for human rights. Sounds to me like a statement that was made about Black Americans not too many years ago: Brainless and only good for physical tasks. The racism lies in the abject labeling and denigrating of a race, in this case, the Chinese.
By the way, Hitler also used this “buying local” argument.
Racism? I do not purchase anything Chinese and I am not a racist. They have no quality control and co not care about what they sell to people. So I joint the choir and support the Barons. Now I expect them to give us good quality products meeting international standards.
It not racism…why do you think the chinese sold, because their concessions come to an end. buying water from them would ave meant, no money stayin on our island….
What ignorance T!
Support legitimate economic development in Dominica whether is locals or foriegners business.
Great intiative! What’s up with Afie on water export initiative? It’s mor ethat three years the government gave the go ahead.
That developper was awaiting for the Govt. to say or do anything in contrast to his business plan for him to make political milage, now that he was given the green light, he forgot that plan. That is now a white elephant
I’m going to ask him to hand over that deal to me
That is collateral for a debt.
And we have people liking this. Now suppose an Antiguan says I am not buying any water from Dominica????
Do we see how stupid you all have become as a people.
Should Ross U be a Dominican owned too????
People becareful what you write here, the world is peeping
@ IOP you got to excuse some of our people. Party politics is clogging the minds of a few. Most Dominicans are intelligient, patriotic and pretty not only support local investments but welcome , respect and appreciate foriegn investors.
glad that it is the hands of Dominicans.This should happen more often.Good luck Mr Baron i will be drinking more bottled water for sure
Very good initiative. Best of luck in this business venture.
please don’t raise the price
Congratulations and best wishes to you and your dad Frederick!
Mr. Frederick Baron also noted that based on a market research analysis which was done by the former owners, there was no complaint regarding the taste of the water but that members of the public had reservations regarding the ownership of the water which he did not wish to indicate…..just checking in