NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, MAY 11, 2025 5 MMS 35TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURE THIRTYFIVE YEARS ago, if anyone had told M. Audrey Stewart-Hinchcliffe when she started Manpower & Maintenance Services Limited (MMS) in a small office on Grants Pen Road in Kingston, that with that step she had sown the seeds that would produce a group of companies, chances are she would have viewed that news with disbelief. The decision to return to Jamaica after living and working overseas for over two decades did not result in the easy transition or ready employment as she had hoped. She subsequently made the decision to put her tremendous experience, talents and skills to good use by providing employment for herself. She had served in healthcare, education and administration and worked with several organisations and institutions including the Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) in Guyana, where she completed a six-year assignment as the first Health Development Officer for the then 17-member states of CARICOM. Armed with the experience and knowledge gained, she decided to establish Caribbean Health Management Consultants Limited (CHMC), her first business venture. This paved the way for Manpower & Maintenance Services Limited, which was created to fill a niche in the cleaning and sanitisation sector. “I am indebted to Mr Dixie Adams for allowing us to remain at his Grants Pen property rent-free in the early days,” recalls Mrs Hinchcliffe. “In those days, the way was far from clear. When I came back to Jamaica, I was full of energy and wanted to contribute, but it was difficult to find a place where I could really use what I had learnt. I felt very vulnerable and eventually resorted to seeking assistance from family and friends.” Recounting that period in her book, The Will to overcome … she writes, “Life threw me many lemons and I made the best lemonade. How was I able to do it almost pennilessly? Not only did I have the right mindset, but I also had the right skill sets. I had several ideas for a business. When I felt insufficient on my own, I sought help to sift through those ideas.” The birth of MMS Ltd was painful, and its growth and development have not been without challenges, but Hinchcliffe possessed “the will to overcome,” and the number of entities that has emerged under the MMS umbrella after 35 years “is the result of prayers, partnerships, faith and hard work.” A family-owned business, Manpower’s shareholders include: Mrs Hinchcliffe, her daughter Dr Annette Hinchcliffe-Mosely, nieces Imogene Henry, Marilyn Pryce and Faith Williamson. The company developed, however, under Mrs Hinchcliffe’s management as founder, Chairman and CEO. In the initial stages, Mrs Hinchcliffe CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF SERVICE TO JAMAICA M. Audrey Stewart-Hinchcliffe at the Collins Green office that MMS acquired in 1995. PLEASE SEE SERVICE, 6
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