A Bahamian striping company has reached a major milestone through the purchase and now delivery of a $80,000 piece of equipment.
Bahamas Striping, funded through a $5,000 grant just over two years ago, continues to be the poster child for the government's Self Starter program.
The start-up picked up a new thermoplastic trailer yesterday after having it shipped over from Georgia.  Capable of holding 450 pounds of thermoplastic material, and melting it at 250 degrees, the integral piece of machinery will now allow Bahamas Striping to take on any job in the country.
"This will speed up productivity and enable us to take on larger projects.  It is a big milestone and gets us one step further to becoming the leading striping company in The Bahamas," said Atario Mitchell, the president of the company.  "Of all the equipment we've purchased, this is by far the most expensive.  We will need some general equipment over time, but in terms of big costs, this is the last we'll need in the near future."
Bahamas Striping now employs eight full-time staff and four part-time.  It has invested in nearly $200,000 worth of equipment and taken on several noteworthy projects in New Providence, including the airport gateway phase one and two, work around the new Solomon's Fresh Market at the Old Fort Bay Town Centre and a roundabout in Lyford Cay.
Now that the company has invested in this latest piece of hardware, its president is making his intentions known for an upcoming contract to stripe Lyford Cay Road.  Spanning around two miles, the job is estimated to be worth around $65,000.
That might seem like small potatoes to some larger corporations, but for this young company, it is a steady source of revenue and another feather in its cap.
"We hope this will help us and convince the Ministry of Works to let us do Lyford Cay Road," the president told Guardian Business.  "With all this equipment, we can get all of it done in a matter of days."
Mitchell is also appealing to the government to institute a maintenance program whereby roads are always held up to international standards.  Bahamas Striping has expanded its services to also include pothole services.
The company recently did work in Eleuthera to stripe a 1.5 mile stretch of roadway.  It also headed over to Abaco to perform minor work on the area surrounding Marsh Harbour International Airport.
"So far, 2012 is already shaping up to be pretty busy for us, at least up until March," Mitchell said.

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