Over 20 years ago this column discussed the entrepreneurial vision of business legend Karl Hendrickson. The headline was ‘When I was hungry, you invested’, and it explored his business successes and those created by his four children, Lori-Ann Lyn, Gary “Butch” Hendrickson, Kevin Hendrickson, and Cathy Kerr.

At last week’s opening of The Nest, a 1,000-acre eco-industrial park in Hill Run, St Catherine, he witnessed the effect of his business genius on the third generation, as grandson Matthew Lyn, CEO of CB Jamaica, addressed the large gathering. My family was blessed to know members of Lyn’s family, George and Reggie Lyn, who remained as clients of my accountant father even after he was wheelchair-bound. From this dynamic, compassionate legacy and under the guidance of his brilliant mother, Lori-Ann Lyn, chair of CB Jamaica, emerges Matthew’s striking perseverance.

We recall the outcry when we heard that Jamaica was still importing chicken parts when we were at 80 per cent local production. Now Matthew’s projects that his company’s new $15-billion air chill plant will not only assist in supplying 100 per cent of local demand but also become an exporter for the region by 2035, if not earlier. The facility will use cold, purified air to chill the birds after slaughter, instead of the previous water-based practice. This is a more hygienic process which improves the flavour of the chicken.

The eco-industrial park was conceived in 2017, but it took six years to bring it to fruition: “This 450,000 square feet of building space, three kilometres of internal roads, power plant, steam plant, a water treatment plant, and this little thing called air-chilled chicken plant that no one in Jamaica has ever heard of before, meeting after meeting, site visits, studies, reports submissions, submissions of applications, submissions of drawings, submissions of plans, followed by resubmissions of submissions. If you know you know,” said Matthew Lyn.

He shared hard lessons, teachable moments for entrepreneurs, such as the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic and the breakdown of the Kingston plant which led to significant loss and painful rebuilding.

“Our operations were a mess, our quality went to the dogs, our reputation was shot. Many customers, for very good reason… left us. It was perhaps the lowest point in our company’s history. But, little by little, we got better, step by step, day by day, methodically, strategically and tweaked. Here another failure, there another try; we restructured, we changed course, we found new ways, and we survived.”

He noted that producers of poultry are not just CB and Jamaica Broilers; there are some 100,000 backyard farmers producing 100 chickens daily.

His integrated grower network includes larger farming businesses. “They are not small by any means,” he emphasised. “They are our partners in this industry and have serious capital tied up in their operations… our newest integrated grower put up three houses recently. A few weeks ago, he invested over $400 million in that operation. This is an investment that could be listed on the Jamaica Junior Stock Exchange, but it never made the news. There are over 150 of these farmers in Jamaica. These businesspeople are investors… they produce more than chicken because every single one of them grows something else too.”

Matthew gave an open invitation to all schoolchildren to tour the plant and learn about its zero-waste system. To make it more accessible he entered a plea to his guest, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, to assist with a better roadway.

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Source: https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025/01/20/cbs-historic-investment-agriculture/