national quarries company ltd

National Quarries Company Limited was founded in February 1979, with the main objective of rationalising the supply of aggregate, to the construction sector, at the lowest possible economic price to facilitate major development projects either in progress or earmarked for startup.

WRITTEN BY COURTNEY SPRATLEY

TOP PRODUCTS AT THE BEST PRICES

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NATIONAL QUARRIES COMPANY LTD

001-868-646-3682 WWW.NQCL.CO.TT

The United States of America contributed significantly to the development of the quarrying industry in Trinidad and Tobago, where large quantities of materials were

required for the construction of the military bases located at Wallerfield, Chaguaramas, and Carlsen Fields. One source of these quarried materials was the area of Verdant Vale, to the north of Arima, referred to as ‘Scott’s Quarry’, that is now owned by National Quarries Limestone Division. At the end of World War II, the U.S.A. Forces terminated all quarrying activities, but demand for limestone materials to use in road construction, continued and the Trinidad and Tobago Government sought to stimulate activity in this industry.

Upon approval of the U.S. authorities, the Trinidad and Tobago Government re-opened the quarrying activities at Verdant Vale. This was subject to a list of certain conditions; firstly, all materials extracted from this location had to be used on Government approved projects and secondly, whenever needed, these lands had to be vacated within two days notice. A third condition specified that a rental fee of TTD 500.00 was to be paid monthly, from the commencement of quarrying operations.

Thusly, the contracting firm of Frank de Boehmler was granted a one-year lease of these lands and subsequently he applied for a further term of ten years. However, because of the capital outlay that was needed to develop the lands and the risks of re-possession, financiers refused to invest. Once again, quarrying operations ceased and the lands were put up for auction. Later, a successful bid was made by William H. Scott & Company Limited who then


Throughout its long history, it has successfully delivered on its mandate by maintaining price, quality of product and stability of supply. Recently, the Company undertook a comprehensive review of its operations and emerged with a new strategic direction, informed by a commercial and profit-oriented focus, this new strategic approach has already begun to achieve results as evidenced by an impressive turnaround in operational and functional fortunes.

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17-19 New Haven’s Avenue, Marabella, Trinidad, WI.

(0) 868.658.0785 (F) 868.658.0787

entered into an agreement with subcontractor Pitt & Quarry Limited to operate the quarry, in 1958.

The construction sector, in the mid 50′s, saw upsurges of quarrying activity arising from the development of large scaled, Government projects. This continued into the 1960′s when Trinidad & Tobago gained its independence. Its new policy was geared towards industrialisation of the country and this level of activity encouraged the development of spin-off industries, namely block manufacturing, which produced a new concrete block and made a positive impact on the industry, by simplifying building techniques. Many concrete batching plants were set up to supply various concrete mixes and the prefabrication of pre-cast concrete units. Unfortunately, as a result of this increasing demand for aggregates, severe shortages occurred and prices more than doubled.

Supplies of the limestones, commonly referred to as blue limestone, that were in great demand for both concrete and asphalt mixes, were limited, so alternative sources of aggregate were sought. At the time, supplies of sand and gravel, namely the guanapo type, far exceeded that of limestone and these naturally occurring clastic deposits, either in their washed or unwashed states, were developed and exploited for use in the construction sector. During the period 1959 to 1974, production of limestone peaked at 1.02 million cubic

yards in 1959 and declined thereafter to a low of 149,000 cubic yards in 1974. Similar trends were witnessed in sand and gravel production and as a consequence of the development of these large resources, prices fell relative to that of limestone.

While certain companies within the industry prospered, Pitt & Quarry Limited, with a capital investment of over TTD 500,000 in new machinery, were still unable to meet the minimum monthly rental. This problem was aggravated by the difficulties encountered at the site and production was only maintained during the dry season, as the company claimed it was impossible to drill holes for blasting due to the high volume of run-off from the slopes during the rainy season. In addition, the more attractively, low-priced, but inferior quality alternative sources were more competitive and this resulted in severe financial losses for the company.

In August 1965, the company ceased operations and terminated its arrangement with William H. Scott & Company Limited. Its plant and machinery were purchased by the latter company, which then entered into a five-year, lease agreement with the then Trinidad and Tobago Government. Again, the financial situation did not improve and escalating extraction and processing costs, mixed with a lack of skilled and qualified human resources, contributed to the demise of the company. Inevitably, this led to unsafe mining practices.


1973-1982The period 1973-1982 was a very interesting era for the

petroleum-based economy of Trinidad & Tobago, where the sudden increase of crude oil prices in 1973-1974 and 1978-1979 resulted in an upswing in the balance of trade position. With the increased circulation of money in the public sector, financing aimed at improving infrastructure, widening of the country’s industrial base and enhancing the social welfare program, came increased demand for goods and services. In many sectors, demand outstripped supply and this resulted in rising prices and increasing levels of import.

It was during this period that the construction sector grew at an annual rate of 9%. The number of active quarries on both state and private lands increased from 75 to 180 and together they provided over 1,000,000 cubic yards of aggregate, of which over 60% of this total was removed without authorisation from state-owned lands. The need to satisfy growing demand and make quick profits placed a considerable burden on available plant capacity, skilled manpower, production of high-quality building materials and consumption costs. Inevitably, this led to the production of highly priced, yet poor quality, materials as well as widespread larceny by quarry operators and unsafe quarrying practices. To elucidate, encroachment of these illegal operations led to the endangering of the fauna and flora of the Aripo Savannas Scientific Reserve and the near destruction of a naturally occurring forest at Manzanilla, which acted as a windbreaker against the North-East Trade Winds. In addition, there was widespread pollution of the Caroni River due to the high volumes of effluent that were pumped, uncontrolled, from quarrying sites.

Due in part to this, there was severe contraction of the quarry industry in the 1980′s and the once buoyant economy declined as oil prices began to fall. Since then, activities in the construction industry have been curtailed considerably and joint venture arrangements with the Alves/MBL Company, that was awarded a contract to pave the Piarco Airport Runway, failed and the Scott’s Quarry arrangement went into receivership leaving an entire plant deserted and operational equipment on site. This equipment was subsequently vandalised.

The Role Of National Quarries Company Limited

With this background in mind, National Quarries Company Limited, NQCL, was formed in 1979. This state-owned quarry, located at Turure in Valencia, (Sand & Gravel Division) in east Trinidad, was established to provide low cost, high quality aggregates for the construction industry. This was to ensure that at all times, the conservation and maximisation of state resources was protected.

At the point of startup, National Quarries Company Limited

operated with a workforce of 80 skilled and unskilled persons and had a combined plant capacity of 500 tons per hour. The company produced and sold an average of 200,000 to 250,000 cubic yards of washed aggregate per annum up to 1985. To affect price control of the market, NQCL sold its products under price control of TTD 26.00 per cubic yard as compared to the average market price of TTD 50.00 per cubic yard in 1980 and TTD 80.00 per cubic yard in 1982.

As part of its planned program for expansion into high quality produced products, NQCL purchased William H. Scott’s financially stricken quarry at Verdant Vale in 1982 as this site was earmarked to replace the Turure, Valencia operation of NQCL.

During the 1990′s, there were various approaches to the development of Scott’s Quarry. With most of the equipment vandalised, proposals were made by successive managements. Between 1992 and 1995, proposals were made for using Scott’s Quarry as a bulk provider of limestone as input to crushing plants. However, that failed as well.

Between 1996 and 2000, formal requests for proposals to operate this quarry were advertised. In 2000, a contract


was awarded to Roxanne Enterprises, an operator with no quarrying capability that resulted in circumstances similar to the post World War II years. Escalating extraction and processing costs and the lack of skilled and qualified human resources contributed heavily to the demise of the contractor operations. It is evident that there are poor engineering and operating practices as well as inferior products, resulting in significant opportunities being lost. It appears that history has repeated itself.

However, NQCL places safety ahead of achieving any of its other goals and

this commitment extends to customers and the public. The Company will provide effective safety training, including health-awareness, education and support, making sure their projects are safe enough for their people, before putting them and customers at risk.

NQCL places safety ahead of achieving any of its other goals and this commitment extends to customers and the public. The Company will provide effective safety training, including health-awareness, education and support, making sure their projects are safe enough for their people, before putting them and customers at risk.

national quarries company ltd

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