Business View Caribbean - Sept. / Oct. 2014

%XVLQHVV 9LHZ ‡ &DULEEHDQ ² 6HSWHPEHU ‡ 2FWREHU -DPDLFD A Symbol of Quality and Service Second-generation leadership carrying Quality Dealers Group through its 40s No one’s happy when energy costs spike. B ut when it comes to the make-up of the business – Quality Dealers Group – for which he serves as chief executive officer, Eladio Walker is at least trying to make the best of it. Walker said Jamaicans pay an average of 40 cents per kilowatt hour of energy use, a rate far higher than the 10 to 13 cents averaged throughout the United States. As a result, he said, residents and businesses are compelled to invest in innovative approaches that include green roofing and solar water heating. The company is well-positioned with its line of roofing products, which, Walker said, have actually been raising the quality bar on housing in all price ranges for several years. Projects with which the company has been involved include the Leitham Townhouses, the Palomino Townhouses and the Mi Casita Apartments, a 22-unit, two bedroom, Mediterranean-styled complex in Kingston. “I’m looking forward to innovative designs that I would like to bring to the next development we -DPDLFD 6HSWHPEHU ‡ 2FWREHU ² &DULEEHDQ ‡ %XVLQHVV 9LHZ do,” he said. “We worked on projects that were considered affordable housing as far back as 2005. “It wasn’t a radical design by housing standards, but it was a step up in that price point from what was being built on the island. When we do more, we would like to step it up again, with far more efficient systems and intelligent designs that include everything from house orientation, water collection, energy efficiency and security of the neighborhood or design. Anything that gives people better bargain for their money.” AT A GLANCE Group of three companies comprises – Quality Dealers Roofing Tony Walker Construction Realty Ltd a WEBSITE: . com WHO: Quality Dealers Group WHAT: Ltd., Q. D. and Ace Hardware Ltd. and . WHERE: K J ingston, amaic www.QualityDealers