On Wednesday, 22nd March, 2023, Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry was welcomed by Mr. Eric Mohammed, Managing Director, and his team from Profilbau Trading Limited (Profilbau), as she toured the company’s facilities in Barrackpore, South Trinidad.
The Minister was informed that with decades of experience from its parent company IE Construction Limited, Profilbau sought to diversify the operations of the business, and took the strategic decision to enter the manufacturing industry. Seven years later, the Company is a leading manufacturer of iron beams and rebar stirrups, and a supplier of aluminium cladding and other gypsum products used in the construction industry. It is also a distributor for German standard faucets, available under the Profilbau brand, as well as an exclusive provider of German manufactured Knauf brand of gypsum board and accessories. Owing to its continued aptitude and agility, Profilbau has been attending to the demands of the new era of construction in the local residential and commercial markets, with exports to the regional market.
During the tour of the manufacturing facility, the Honourable Minister took the opportunity to congratulate the company on its achievements and milestones thus far, and encouraged the team to continue making strategic investments. She emphasized the important role companies such as Profilbau play in developing supply chain linkages and synergies with other various industries.
The Minister highlighted some of the support mechanisms in place which the company can tap into to bolster its export efforts. These include financial and non-financial programmes and initiatives under the Ministry’s and its State Agencies’ remit, which can assist local non-energy manufacturers with capacity building, export market access and general export advancements, among other things. Discussions were also held on the opportunities available to the company to partner with organizations such as Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP) and MIC Institute of Technology to train persons given the company’s expertise in the industry.
Minister Gopee-Scoon implored the company to continue collaborating with the relevant Ministries and Agencies. She underscored that the Ministry of Trade and Industry remains available to provide facilitation services where necessary.
