On February 25th, the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis officially opened BRON Business Centre in Airport Industrial Park. BRON Business Centre is the home of Eeden Farms, the country’s first Hydroponic Container Farm; Pureti Bahamas, distributors, and applicators of a cleaning product used to kill COVID; BluTerra, a company focused on turning aragonite into compostable products and finally BRON itself; a multinational, interdisciplinary development consulting group with teams in The The Bahamas, Florida, Turks and Caicos Islands, and St. Kitts. BRON has completed over 1,200 projects across over 70 islands and cays of The Bahamas and the Caribbean. BRON’s services include architecture, engineering, environmental, geomatics & surveying, drilling & testing, and construction services, including regulatory compliance.
Lead by partners Scott Blacquiere and Carlos Palacious, the company was formally ENCO International (Bahamas); Atametrics; and Caribbean Coastal Services, founded in 2005. Their team of over 60 staff are responsible for many modern-day waterfront, marina, and private island projects in The Bahamas, including the beautiful stretch of the continuous beach behind Baha Mar that looked very different a decade ago.
With so many skilled team members in a variety of areas all determined to develop the Bahamas in the most sustainable way possible, BRON has become known for being a think tank for innovation and talent focused on sustainable development of our environment and our people. The Bahamas has long had industry leaders and specialists whose education and experience made them beacons of their field in the Caribbean. While its businesses are certainly cutting-edge; what might be even more exciting is that BRON has an employee ownership model.
Davon Edgecombe has been with BRON as a Caribbean Coastal Services employee for the past 6 years and has recently been promoted to Principal Structural Engineer. His structural engineering team is significantly responsible for the engineering at Baha Mar, Albany, Goldwynn, Aqualina and many other landmark projects in The Bahamas. Edgecombe stood with the Principals and Prime Minister as the ribbon was cut to open the building. “Young Bahamians are talented and should have opportunities to advance themselves. They should have ownership in the companies they help to build and manage. I’m looking forward to seeing how we grow in the years to come.”
Edgecombe’s sentiments were echoed by 30-year engineer Kevin Sweeting joined the BRON team in a leadership capacity just two years ago. “As a Director and a partner, I’m incredibly proud of our official opening today. BRON continues to set the standard for how businesses should operate. I look forward to the future and to continuing to train and mentor young civil engineers through BRON”, Sweeting said.
Its active internship program exemplifies Sweeting's point about BRON and mentorship. The program is so progressive that internship awards are also set aside specifically for young ladies interested in STEM during International Women's Day celebrations. The team's first Environmental Scientist and Climate Change Specialist at BRON, Kelli Ashley Armstrong was critical in ensuring such programs take place. At the official opening, Armstrong noted, “I am so proud of our team, especially all the women who joined our team. We were intentional about internships for young women, so they are aware of the contributions of successful females in this male-dominated industry. The level of support from our principals is reflected by our enthusiasm today.”
BRON, by definition, means “the source.” This organization hopes to be the source for a new wave of thinking, ingenuity, and excellence in the Caribbean and the world over.
