Wisynco fuels Netball Jamaica with $5-m injection

NETBALL Jamaica’s training and development programme has gained a significant boost with the announcement of a new partnership with Wisynco.

With an investment valued at over $5 million in cash and products, Wisynco is now the official hydration partner for Netball Jamaica through its brands WATA, CranWATA and Powerade.

During the period of the one-year agreement, the company will provide a cash injection as well as over 4,000 cases of products to serve the hydration needs of the Sunshine Girls, Jamaica’s national netball team, The Elite Netball Leagues and the Girls Under-14 and Under-16 programmes.

President of Netball Jamaica Marva Bernard expressed the delight of the players and the management team at the new partnership.

“The Sunshine Girls have a very intense year-round training schedule and quality hydration is of great importance. Our feeder squads as well as the players in our Elite League also benefit from this sponsorship. We welcome Wisynco as a valued partner and look forward to integrating their brands in our planned community and parish-based activities,” she said.

Director of Marketing at Wisynco Francois Chalifour said his company is committed to the development of Jamaica’s women in sport, as much as it is dedicated to the growth of the nation’s men.

“Wisynco is committed to enabling greater participation of women in sports and WATA is synonymous with optimum wellness and healthy lifestyle choices. It is against this background that we are most pleased to announce our new partnership with Netball Jamaica as the official hydration sponsor,” he said.

“The benefits of women’s participation in sports are clear. As the official sport for women in Jamaica, netball is singularly placed to ensure that our female population of all ages can enjoy the physical, psychological and emotional benefits to be gained from participation in regular physical exercise,” Chalifour added.

Currently ranked fourth in the world, the Sunshine Girls are preparing for their three-match series against England which takes place from January 10 to 13, 2015.

The ultimate goal for the team in 2015 is to improve their ranking at the Netball World Cup which takes place in Australia.

Captain Nicole Aitken Pinnock said the team members are focused on the upcoming three-game series against England and also have their eye on the top prize at the 2015 World Cup.

“We are doing everything our coaches ask of us, and after tough training the girls really appreciate the Wata and Powerade being provided by Wisynco.We thank them for coming on board,” she declared.

Wisynco has been consistent in its support of sports in Jamaica over the years, investing millions in sponsorship of football, swimming, and track and field. Wisynco also supports athletes with the hydration fluids necessary for optimal performance, and encourages all Jamaicans to incorporate physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle.

The executives of Netball Jamaica and Wisynco made a joint appeal calling on the public to come out and support the Sunshine Girls in the series against England in January. Wisynco will shortly announce details of how followers of its social media channels will have a chance to win tickets to the matches.

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Wisynco fuels Netball Jamaica with $5-m injection

Malicious and false claims made to sully Wisynco brand

By Al Edwards

Sunday, February 02, 2014    

Local manufacturer Wisynco last week was the target of a malicious and vile social media campaign to denigrate its name and ruin its reputation.

Spurious and unsubstantiated claims were made that its products were laced with Aids-infected blood in an attempt to cause panic and prevent the public from purchasing Wisynco goods.

The Group has made strenuous efforts to reassure the public that all its products are of the highest standard and comply with rigourous hygiene and quality tests and can be safely consumed. Wisynco is conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Justin Felice, who is head of the Financial Investigation Division (FID) said: “I have not heard of this incident but it possibly could be a criminal offence. Wisynco should get its lawyers to write a letter of complaint and send it into DCP Carl Williams on the 8th Floor of the South Tower on Hope Road.”

It is not established whether this act was done as corporate sabotage, or by a disgruntled employee or for retaliatory purposes to avenge a perceived wrong or slight.

On Friday, the Constabulary Communication Network issued a news release which read: “The Police are at this moment denying reports on social media that they are investigating reports of contaminated products at Wisynco Group Limited.

“At no time was the police ever called in to investigate any such case at Wisynco. There is also no report on any of our records from anyone about any issue concerning the consumption of any Wisynco products. The attribution to the Police involvement in investigating this rumour is malicious to both the Police and Wisynco.”

Former Deputy Police Commissioner and now head of Shields Crime & Security Consultants Limited, Mark Shields said: “If a criminal investigation were to be pursued the burden then becomes establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that this act was committed in order to attempt to deprive the company of money, or to blackmail it, or that violence was threatened, or there was some kind of extortion. There is certainly a case for civil action where the burden is proof is perhaps not so high. It is clearly wrong and actionable to maliciously seek to damage a company’s reputation.”

Wisynco has been operating in Jamaica for almost fifty years and is one of the stalwarts of the local manufacturing sector. It has the largest warehouse and distribution centre in the country. It produces local brands such as Wata, CranWata Bigga and Boom. It manufacuturers under licence Coca-Cola, Schweppes, and for Dr Pepper the Hawaiian Punch brand.

The Group employees 2,000 employees and is one of the largest taxpayers in Jamaica, re-investing all its profits in the country. It is getting set to make a $1 billion investment in a production and energy operation, which will be a game changer. It is renown for being one of the best sponsors of cultural and social events.

This attempt to malign and discredit Wisynco would jeopardise jobs from one of the largest local employers in Jamaica and one of its best corporate citizens.

Chairman of Wisynco, William Mahfood, speaking with Sunday Finance said: “If there ever were problems with any of our products, services or operations, we would be the first to go to the public, not just through social media but the formal media and be upfront and forthright about what we are being confronted with. We take our obligations to Jamaica and all our customers very seriously.”

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Malicious and false claims made to sully Wisynco brand

Wisynco brands to power up schoolboy football this season

Sport

Sunday, September 01, 2013

The island’s biggest football competition, the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) urban area Manning and rural area daCosta Cup, has a new partner on-board.Leading Jamaican manufacturer and distributor Wisynco, through their brands Bigga, Wata, Powerade and Domino’s will sponsor this year’s schoolboy football competition that includes the Under-19, Under-16 and Under-14 competitions.The Under-19 Manning and daCosta Cup sponsorship will be led by Bigga, with associate brands Wata and Powerade, while the Under-16 and Under-14 urban and rural competitions sponsorship will be led by Wata with associate brands Bigga, Powerade and Domino’s on board.Wisynco and ISSA have forged a three-year relationship with a sponsorship package valued at $45 million. The sponsorship is set to benefit the over 42 senior schools that play in the Manning Cup, as well as the 83 institutions that will be vying for the rural area daCosta Cup.Wisynco’s managing director William Mahfood re-emphasised the company’s mantra of improving the lives of the Jamaican people, as well as its commitment to the development of sports and youth in Jamaica. The Wisynco Group direct investment in football has exceeded over $35 million in the last four years, which was the largest investment that the company had undertaken for any single sport.“We are proud to partner with ISSA for the schoolboy football championship, and congratulate the organisation for their success of almost a century, in the development and support of senior and junior schoolboy football across the island. With the sponsorship of schoolboy football we re-affirm our commitment to sports and football in particular,” Mahfood said.This instalment of Jamaica’s Under-19 football competition, the Manning Cup, is expected to be another stellar year with the several new sponsorships as defending triple champions St George’s College will go in search of a hat-trick of titles, having won the Manning Cup in 2011 and 2012. They will be hard-pressed by many-time champions Jamaica College, who last lifted the trophy in 2010.Also looking forward to lifting the trophy is last year’s beaten finalist Hydel, who are expected to retain the services of the much-travelled coach Geoffrey Maxwell.DaCosta Cup champions Glenmuir will also have their work cut out as they aim for back-to-back titles under stalwart coach Patrick ‘Jackie’ Walters. They will face stern competition for the title from 2011-2012 champions Rusea’s, as well as St Elizabeth Technical.The Wisynco Group involvement in football has borne fruit with the likes of former national player Fabian Davis rising to the fore, having endorsed the Bigga brand back in 2002. Wisynco has also been involved with the Jamaica Premier League Clubs Association.Dr Walton Small (left), president of ISSA, greets Francois Chalifour, director of development and marketing at Wisynco, while (from left) Carlo Redwood, LIME’s vice-president for marketing, Captain Horace Burrell, president of the Jamaica Football Federation, and Burger King’s sales and marketing manager Sabrena McDonald look on during last Thursday’s launch of the 2013 ISSA Schoolboy Football Competition at the Terra Nova Hotel. (PHOTO: GARFIELD ROBINSON)

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Wisynco brands to power up schoolboy football this season