By Michel Outridge
WHEN Andrew Forrester started his business it was with $50,000 his grandmother had ‘scraped up.’  Initially he had a few small tools, including a saw along with a horse cart. Today that business has grown into a multi-million dollar complex.

The business started 25 years ago when Forrester was forced to leave his job while working with a lumber dealer from the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.

With the knowledge gained over the years in the business, he quickly balanced himself financially and expanded.

Today, Forrester owns almost the entire street in Stewartville, West Coast Demerara, where his business place is located.

The business has five large bonds and from selling lumber, he has added a huge hardware section to cater for the building needs of the people in the community.

The Forrester Lumber Yard and Building Complex does not have any other branches, but it provides reliable employment for many young people in the community.

In total, the business employs 79 persons. Although some are from outside Stewartville, the majority are from the community.
Operations Manager Zilaka Williams stated that the goal of the business is to provide employment for the residents of Stewartville and to develop the human resource of the community.

She added that they are always willing to employ young men and women from the village to reduce crime and get the young people involved in meaningful earning activities.

Williams reported that the business’s core objective is being worker-friendly and to develop and strengthen young people in a holistic way.

“We have an organised set-up here, everything is well-placed and nothing is left to chance or haphazardly done and we observe all safety protocols, wearing our helmets and vests when on the worksite.”

Williams noted that the Forrester Lumber Yard and Building Complex is a good place to work because being a social worker, she would use her knowledge to listen and address the concerns of all workers.

“I am not only the operations manager but my door is always open to employees and around here we treat each other like a large family, because we spend a lot of time here and we are comfortable around each other,” she said.

Williams disclosed that they have 20 office staffers who are women and they are respected and get along with their male counterparts, who work in the bonds, lumber yard and hardware sections.

She stated that the business has all necessary equipment such as forklifts, trucks, loaders, cherry pickers, excavators among other things, so manual labour is limited.

“Even during this pandemic we haven’t laid off any staff, because we know they have to earn despite the virus; so we sanitise often and we have the facilities for hand-washing for a safe and healthy work environment.”

Williams added that in the offices they have screens set up for each employee to maintain social distancing and they too, exercise healthy habits of sanitising regularly.

To keep the business opened, she noted that they had to remove and relocate employees from the bonds to other areas because they did not want it to be crowded.

The business has a large parking area and an expansion project is being undertaken to open a ready-mix section in 2021, which will see employment for 40 persons.

Williams during a tour of the facility, told the Pepperpot Magazine that 15 ready-mix trucks have already been procured for that expansion and the building is also taking shape.

She related that she has been with the business for more than 14 years and she is more than pleased to lend her services on a full-time basis and to see it grow even bigger, considering how the business started.

Like any other humble person, the owner, Andrew Forrester is on the ground daily to assist staff and is readily available to advise and supervise employees if the need arises.

Forrester Lumber Yard and Building Complex does their part to assist the needy. Among charitable ventures, they would distribute Christmas hampers to the elderly of the village and host a thanksgiving meal annually.

Williams said they do not turn away anyone, once they show up for help they would try to assist in whatever way possible.

THE FORMER HORSE CART OPERATOR

Meanwhile, Delon Jacobs, who has been with the business for over two decades, was the horse cart operator; today he is a security officer, who keeps an eye on everything.

The 43-year-old is from the village and resides at the Sideline Dam. He began working with Andrew Forrester since age 10.

He recalled that when the business started it was him, Mr Forrester, a saw and a very muddy dam.

Jacobs used to use his horse-drawn cart to fetch lumber from the main road to the shed where the lumber yard was.

“I am very comfortable with my role here as a security guard and I ensure things are orderly in terms of traffic and the safety of both employees and customers.

The father of eight, who delivered his son at home in a chair, last week said he is pleased that he doesn’t have to leave the village for work. After work he walks home.