Respect: ARC, 30 years

“Big, big respect, ARC.” That was NCB Financial Group Chairman Michael Lee-Chin’s sentiment as ARC Group of Companies celebrated three decades in business — a milestone he described as no small feat. After all, 30 years in business has meant navigating recessions, high interest rates, currency depreciation, earthquakes, hurricanes, and financial hardships. Yet, as Lee-Chin noted, ARC, under the leadership of Chairman Norman Horne, has not simply survived — it has prospered, becoming a role model for entrepreneurs and businesses across Jamaica. The story began in 1996, when Horne returned home from New York with neither a large company nor deep pockets. “I did not come home with great resources. I came home with an idea and a conviction,” Horne told a ballroom filled with approximately 400 family members, employees, stakeholders, and partners inside the M Style-designed Jamaica Pegasus ballroom on Wednesday, September 16. The evening’s formalities were handled with aplomb by Dr Terri-Karelle Johnson. ARC rolled out with five employees, a handful of machines and, as Horne recalled, a very large ambition. His brothers and sisters were part of those early days, when job descriptions were fluid and everyone simply did whatever needed to be done. “You could operate a machine in the morning, drive a forklift in the afternoon, clear goods at the wharf, load a truck, or go out and sell. That was our management training,” he said. And sell they did. “We were not sitting in a boardroom developing sophisticated five-year strategies. We were trying to sell zinc!” Horne continued. Thirty years later, that inauspicious beginning has transformed into a group of companies marking its longevity with a black-tie, 30th anniversary banquet attended by a veritable roll call of Jamaica’s movers and shakers, including mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby, Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, and NCB Financial Group Chairman Michael Lee-Chin.

ARC Manufacturing Limited CEO Conroy Rose (second right) and his wife, Anti-dumping and Subsidies Commission Executive Director Tara Rose (right); shared the frame with Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) President Kathryn Silvera and Deputy President Cecil Foster. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

 

ARC Manufacturing Limited Chairman Norman Horne (fourth left) and Deputy Chair Charlotte Horne-Hayles (fourth right) had the support of their siblings (from left) Joseph, Newton, Delone, Manley, Donald, and Lackie at the 30th anniversary & awards banquet.(Photo: Garfield Robinson)

 

ARC Manufacturing Limited Chairman Norman Horne (right) and his son Noah paused for a photo op with Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake.(Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Scotia Group Jamaica Limited President & CEO Audrey Tugwell Henry shared the frame with ARC Group of Companies Chairman Norman Horne (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

 

ARC Manufacturing Limited Chairman Norman Horne with sons Noah (left) and Kevin. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

 

“Tonight, we are not merely celebrating a company that has been in business for 30 years. We are celebrating an idea that became a company, a company that became an institution, and an institution that became part of the story of Jamaica.” — Norman Horne, chairman, ARC Group of Companies (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

 

“To survive 30 years doing business [as] an entreprenuer is not easy. Because over the 30 years we’ve had recessions, high interest rates, currency depreciation, earthquakes, hurricanes, financial hardships, yet still ARC, led by Mr Norman Horne, has survived... and not only survived but prospered and has been a role model for entrepreneurs and businesses in Jamaica.” — Michael Lee-Chin, chairman, NCB Financial Group (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

 

Cutting into Selena Wong’s three-tier creation were (from left) ARC Manufacturing Limited Deputy Chair Charlotte Horne-Hayles; Junction Building Depot Managing Director Manley Horne; Lackie Horne; ARC Manufacturing Limited Chairman Norman Horne; and Tenured Titan awardee Yvonne Morrison. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

 

ARC Manufacturing Limited Deputy Chair Charlotte Horne-Hayles (seated, second left); her husband (seated, second right), Member of Parliament, Westmoreland Western Ian Hayles; daughters Madison (seated left), Morgan (seated right), and epidemiologist at the UWI, Mona Sickle Cell Unit, Dr Keshagaye Gabbadon alongside her husband, Scott Petroleum Ltd Logistics & Business Development Manager Stephen Gabbadon, were picture-perfect. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Master of Ceremonies Dr Terri-Karelle Johnson .

 

ARC Group of Companies Chairman Norman Horne was papped on arrival with his wife, attorney-at-law Ashley-Ann.(Photo: Garfield Robinson)