The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian Bottling Company

  • NBC workshop extends to Kaduna

    In furtherance of its commitment to empower over 15,000 youths by 2019, the management of non-alcoholic beverage giant, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Ltd, has recently concluded its 3-day workshop in Kaduna where it engaged no less than eight hundred youths in a bid to empower them to improve their fortunes and create viable opportunities for economic growth.

    The workshop which ran between August 14 -16 was witnessed by large number of youths, scores of government officials, notable mentors, non-governmental organisations and a host of other dignitaries.

    Speaking during the programme, Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Bala Bantex, commended NBC for bringing the initiative to Kaduna, noting that the youth empowered programme complements the government’s effort in empowering the youths of the state.

    He said: “We welcome this initiative as a further contribution and necessary effort to support our youth with vital skills. Kaduna is a young state with 89% of the population being young men and women. This demography has the potential to become the engine of growth if it is well trained and given the necessary opportunity. On our part, we are responding to these needs in a variety of ways. For instance, we have less than 100,000 people working for the Kaduna State government, only 30,000 of them are youths. To support them, the state government has created the Kaduna Start-up Entrepreneurship Programme to equip young graduates with requisite business and entrepreneurial skills.”

    He further stated that the state government was ready to partner with NBC on any initiative to support the youths. “I want to use this opportunity to congratulate all the beneficiaries and advise them to see these opportunities provided by this workshop as a chance to pull from the wealth of knowledge of the facilitators. Once again, I want to thank NBC for this initiative,” said the governor.

    Speaking during the workshop, Country CSR Manager, Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd, Mr. Ekuma Eze, explained that the company is committed to supporting the Nigerian youths by making them employable and self-reliant, hence the reason for ensuring the youth empowered initiative is extended to every part of the country.

    “We know this is the beginning of a positive engagement with the state government in terms of empowering the young people. We are always willing and ready to partner with the government to support the youth in releasing their potential,” he said.

    Eze revealed that the programme will climax with a business idea and vision where participants will be allowed to pitch their business ideas to panel of entrepreneurs who will select the best business idea. “Our commitment as a business is that we are going to incorporate a company for the winning group after which we would source for funding to enable them actualise their ideas.”

    The youth empowered workshop is part of the Coca-Cola Hellenic global initiative designed to support over 500,000 young unemployed people globally between the ages of 18-30 by 2020, to build life and business skills and long-lasting networks that would translate to meaningful employment and self-sufficiency.

  • Competition good for business – NBC

    Nigerian Bottling Company [NBC] has declared that they are not afraid of competition as it is critical for business and galvanises the players in the industry while giving a wide choice to consumers.

    Reacting to the emergence of new players in the industry and the various marketing strategies adopted by both the existing players and the new ones, the NBC said they are not threatened by them but rather appreciate them as “competition makes everyone in the industry to more creative, maintain high standards and affords the consumer with a wide range of choice.”

    Speaking with journalists recently at a media parley at Amber House, GRA, Ikeja , NBC Legal, Public Affairs and Communications Director, Sade Morgan, stressed that the entrance of new products into the market or marketing strategies adopted by others does not in any way affect NBC negatively or intimidate them as they are equal to the task.

    “We have been watching what is happening and I can assure you that we have a lot of activities lined up. We have many products positioned in various ways to ensure that all our consumers have something. Every category of our consumers are really well served,” enthused Morgan.

    Explaining further, she noted that “We have observed that some people do not like sugared drinks for health reasons or because of their waist line. For such category of people, we have the option of zero coke which, instead of sugar, has aspartame and as such no calorie. We are not scared of rivalry because we are up to it. We make sure not to abandon our consumers.”

    On how the company’s distribution network has been affected by the insurgency and insecurity in some parts of the country, Morgan said, fortunately, that the distribution line of the company has not been negatively affected.

    “The company has been able to weather the challenge due to its wide reach in all the nooks and crannies of the country especially with its nine locations of manufacturing plants in the geo-political zone of the country.”

    Continuing, she said: “We are now seeing the fruit of those locations and of course the goodwill of the members of the communities we operate in has also helped a lot.”

    Speaking at the media event which was graced by the officials of Coca-Cola International, NBC, members of the media and other stake holders, NBC Public Affairs Manager Lagos and West, Ifeoma Okoye, noted that the midyear media parley was put in place to take journalists through the major activities of the company since its existence in the country.

    “Since 67 years of Coca-Cola in Nigeria, the company has worked tirelessly towards becoming the undisputed leader in the beverage industry.

    “We are also committed to giving back to the community where we operate by empowering the women folk, youths, providing potable drinking and engaging in several other activities to impact lives positively,’’ added  Okoye.

    Expatiating on one of the youth empowerment programmes, she said that one of them is the company’s recent ‘Millions don land’ programme that gives opportunity to some of its retailers to make some money through the sales of its products.

    The programme has taken some of the youths that hawk drinks off the streets. Many of those youths that sell in traffic are out of school. They need money to go back to school. So the ‘Million don Land’ initiative is designed as an empowerment programme for such people, adding that they are able to set up their shops, through the initiative and realise their dreams.

    She also spoke of another youth-empowered programme which is a three-day workshop in four locations designed to support young unemployed people between the ages of 18-30 to build life skills, business skills and long-lasting networks to transition to meaningful employment or to start a business.

    The goal of the project is to train 100,000 of young Nigerians by 2020 and empower them with the skills needed to succeed in the workplace and business environment.

    On recycling of plastic bottles, the company said they still have the ambitious goal to recycle every bottle or can it produces by 2030.

    The firm which operates in over 200 countries and markets more than 500 brands of soft drinks, juices, water and tea, admitted its part in littering the environment and responsibility to tackle the problem.

    However, the NBC Public Affairs Manager, Lagos and West, said the company is in alliance to tackle the problem but the alliance which is the ‘Food and Beverage Alliance’ was still grappling with many legal issues.

    Throwing more light on the issue, she explained that NBC had once partnered with a recycling company, Ackem, which had 22 collection centres across Nigeria but the partnership ended in 2012. She, however, expressed hope that the current alliance with a consortium of other companies will soon start the recycling of plastic.

    On consumer complaints, NBC Consumer Services Manager, Mrs Peace Emele, noted that consumers are the live wire of the company and, as such, the company will go the extra mile to resolve every consumer issues.

    “We have a robust and effective complaint resolution channel and we appeal to journalist to get in touch with us first when complaints come to you before publishing.”

    Speaking further, she said, “Get in touch with us to confirm the authenticity. Give us the details of the complainant so we can get in touch with her/him and then we will revert back to the journalist and give you details of the successful resolution which you will also be able to confirm from the complainant.”

    NBC was incorporated in November 1951, as a subsidiary of the AG Leventis Group with a franchise to bottle and sell products of the Coca-Cola company in Nigeria.

  • NBC youth-empowered workshop extends to Benin

    In furtherance of its commitment to empower over 15,000 youths by 2019, the management of non-alcoholic beverage giant, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Ltd, has recently concluded its 3-day workshop in Benin, Edo State, where it engaged over a thousand youths in a bid to improve their fortunes and create viable opportunities for growth.

    The workshop in Benin, which was held from the 12th-15th of June, represents the second location to be visited this year and the fifth in total since the programme commenced in October last year. In attendance were several notable mentors, youth leaders, non-governmental organisations and government officials.

    Delivering the opening remarks for the workshop, the governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, expressed his delight for the youth-empowered programme and advised participants to make best use of the skills which the NBC platform has created, promising that he would not hesitate to support participants with the best ideas with necessary funding.

    While commending NBC for creating such a laudable platform, Obaseki reassured the company of his administration’s total support for such laudable ideas, noting that this would go a long way to complement the administration’s policies of creating opportunities for youths by acquiring skills that would match with existing job opportunities through the ‘EdoJobs portal’.

    “We are happy for what Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd is doing. I think it is a laudable initiative aimed at addressing the unemployment challenge. I believe if youths that fall within the age range of 20 to 32 years, who make up 65 per cent of Nigeria’s population, are assisted to discover and improve their talent, Nigeria will become better for it,” he said.

    He further noted that as companies help in developing the youths’ entrepreneurial skills, his administration has set up policies which ensure that the state takes take full advantage of such skills, and create the atmosphere where Edo State youths can achieve and attain a better future for themselves.

    Also speaking during the workshop, the Public Affairs and Country CSR Manager (East/Central), Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd, Mr. Ekuma Eze, urged participants to take advantage of the unique opportunity which the initiative has provided by developing brilliant business ideas that would attract funding and create opportunities for business.

    Eze expressed the company’s appreciation to Edo State government for creating the enabling environment to lend its support to assist the youth in discovering and harnessing their talents, which he noted would consequently go a long way to tackle the scourge of unemployment in the country.

     

  • NBC Uyo depot gutted by fire

    NBC Uyo depot gutted by fire

    Fire on Wednesday night gutted the depot of the Nigerian Bottling Company office on  Abak Road, Uyo.

    Eyewitnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday that goods worth millions of Naira were lost in the inferno.

    One of the eyewitnesses, Mr Ekong Charles, told NAN that the fire started from where the pallets were packed and engulfed the entire packing zone.

    Charles said that it was the quick intervention of firefighters from the state Fire Service that prevented the fire from spreading to the office complex.

    “The fire started from where the pallets are packed and the fire service was quickly alerted to control the spread to other buildings.

    “In fact, it was so serious; if not for the quick intervention of the firefighters it would have consumed the entire depot.

    “Five trucks of firefighting vehicles were brought to put out the fire,” Charles said.

    The Chief Fire Officer in Akwa Ibom,  Mr Ndarake Ukpe, told NAN that he had to mobilise firemen from Ikot Ekpene, Abak and Akpan Andem to put out the fire.

    Ukpe said the cause of the fire was yet unknown and  appealed to residents to be careful in handling inflammable materials during this harmattan period.

    He also confirmed that no life was lost to the inferno as the place was taken care of by security personnel.

    “Fire does not just happen, it was caused by carelessness and fake electrical installations in our buildings.

    “We have organised seminars for people in the markets and advised them to stop storing fuel in their houses.

    “We are committed to ensuring that our department response to fire calls within record time so that minimal lost is recorded,” Ukpe said.

    He urged members of the public to report fire outbreak promptly instead of waiting until the damage was done before calling the fire service.

    The Uyo depot manager, Mr Benjamin Uche, told NAN that the cause of the fire was yet unknown.

    Uche said that he was yet to quantify what the company had lost to the inferno.

    “I have to take stock to know what we have lost in this incident, ” Uche said.

    On Christmas day, the home of the Commissioner for Works, Mr Ephraim Inyang-eyen, was gutted by fire.

  • NBC donates recycling machine to firm

    The Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited has donated a bailer (machine for compressing Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles, cans, etc.) to Wecyclers Nigeria Limited, a beverage packaging waste collector.

    This is to support the organisation’s expansion of its  waste collection and encourage recycling in the packaging industry.

    The NBC’s effort is not only a part of its Extended Producers Responsibility initiative programme, but also an effort at encouraging energy efficiency, water conservation and promoting sustainable packaging, focused on the reduction of carbon footprint by engaging with business partners to actively explore solutions to a “green” culture that supports sustainability.

    At the handover of the equipment  in the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) office in  Surulere,  Mr. Uzo Odenigbo, Head, Public Affairs and Communications, NBC, explained that his firm’s sponsorship and participation in recycling was borne out of the its commitment to demonstrate its Expanded Producer Responsibility (EPR).

    He noted that with the partnership with Wecyclers, other beverage packaging waste collectors and recyclers would continue to grow as the company is further committed to expand the scale and scope of the recovery and buyback  scheme according to the Coca-Cola System’s compliance plan on EPR.

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Wecyclers, Mrs. Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, expressed her gratitude to the management of NBC for their support to its commitment to recycling.

    She stated that after NBC’s previous donation of eight Wecycles, a fleet of low-cost cargo bicycles in December, last year, which aided in scaling the company’s collection and recovery of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles waste among densely populated, low-income households in Lagos, the donation of the bailer has come as a great relief as it would facilitate more collection and ease the difficulty in the transfer of collected PET bottles to the recycling plant.

  • NBC, others partner on World Water Day

    Nigerian Bottling Company’s (NBC’s) has committed its self to the provision of safe and drinkable water in their environment and beyond.

    Celebrating this year’s World Water Day with her partners, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Environment, the company Plant Manager, Ikeja Dayo Omotosho, said the company’s interest in water sustainable schemes extends to the communities where it operates.

    He said in continuation of their social responsibility, they have in the spirit if the theme of this year’s celebration, ‘International year of water cooperation’, donated water storage materials to Agidingbi Senior Secondary School, Ikeja, Lagos to demonstrate to it a unique method of purifying water.

    Speaking at the handing over of the equipment to the school, he said: “Given the nature of our business as a bottler of beverages of The Coca-Cola Company, NBC appreciates the importance of water. We appreciate the fact that our ability to grow is related to the availability and quality of local water resources. Therefore, we consciously invest in programmes that contribute to water access and promote water security and by so doing, contribute to the long-term socio-economic development of communities.

    Furthermore, he stressed that access to safe water contributes to healthy communities, which in turn, releases the potential of the people in these communities to thrive in their various enterprises. ‘’Access to water, therefore, is a major contributor to vibrant and productive local economies,” he said.

    Vice Principal of Agidingbi Senior Secondary School, Mrs. Gladys Nsaka, praised NBC’s initiatives on WWD adding that it would help the school make better use of water and enhance the students’knowledge about water optimisation.

    NBC’s Communication Manager, Water Strategy, Ms Yomi Onakoya, said their strategy is encapsulated in the 3Rs of Reduce, Replenish and Recycle. She pledged their continued support for such initiative in future to improve water quality.