The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Plant

  • Erisco’s N300m tomato puree plant to create jobs

    Erisco Foods Limited, a member of the Erisco Bonpet Group, has concluded plans to employ over 50,000 workers when its multi-million naira tomato paste company begins production in a few months time.

    The company, said to be the largest in Africa and the fourth largest in the world, was inaugurated last Friday. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Erisco Group, Chief Eric Umeofia, said tomato paste production would stop the annual wastages of over 75 per cent of fresh tomatoes across Nigeria.

    “If we continue with the good policies of the present administration, there will be nothing like a tomato glut anywhere in Nigeria in the next two years. “We as off-taker will produce and process to meet our local demands and export to earn foreign exchange, provided government continues to support manufacturing,” he stated.

    He noted that for the company to fast-track its backward integration programme, it has developed a technology that synchronises its existing machines to produce tomato paste and ketchup from fresh tomatoes.

    “Our backward integration programmes planned for Jigawa, Sokoto and Katsina will generate employment and prosperity for 50, 000 Nigerians within three years,” he stated.

    Umeofia said his Lagos company had an installed capacity of 450,000 metric tonnes per annum, making it the biggest in Africa and fourth largest in the world. He, however, urged the government to direct heads of government agencies in the industrial sector to prioritise local manufacturers over their foreign counterparts.

    While urging Federal Government to sustain the formulation of policies that enhance the production capacity of manufacturers, he pleaded with government to stop giving undue advantage to those he called ‘briefcase’ foreign investors. These, he said, are investors who camouflage as industrialists but whose primary interest is to import finished goods as raw materials without paying taxes or the relevant customs duties.

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, said government would continue to support the growth of indigenous businesses, especially in this period of economic downturn. Lawal, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Economic Affairs Office, Mr. Williams Alo, said the current economic reality calls for a decisive policy thrust to address issues which must be pragmatic enough to leverage on.

    He said:”The major concern of government in this present circumstance is to continue to make policies and reforms as well as restore confidence to stabilise the economic fundamentals and also provide the necessary infrastructural platforms for industries to thrive on.

    “Government will continue to intervene in policy formulation towards protecting our national interest and in the process providing a conducive atmosphere that will make production in Nigeria profitable, attractive and worth engaging,” he assured.

    In his remarks, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said 150 million metric tonnes at the cost of N170 million of tomato concentrates is imported into the country annually.

    Represented by a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Aminu Bisala, Enelamah noted that local production of tomato paste would save Nigeria foreign exchange and create employment.

    Nigerian first lady, Hajia Aishat Buhari, who performed the commissioning, called on local manufactures to emulate Umeofia. She said: “Erisco has contributed to the growth of the local farmers in most states in the North where tomato farmers are located. I call on Nigerians to patronize Erisco Foods.”

  • FUNAAB don discovers paint from plant

    A Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Prof Ighodalo Eromosele, has produced paint from the seed oil of Ximenia americana plant, commonly known as Wild Olive.

    Eromosele, a Polymer Chemist, said the oil paint which was produced has qualities comparable to those of the imported ones. Thus, Linseed oil, which is being imported for paint production can be substituted with Ximenia oil.

    He said: “Ximenia plant grows wild in the North. The exploratory research on the oil for the purpose of establishing its potential for paint production attracted the attention and funding of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Abuja. But beyond that, we have produced paint based on the oil in a systematic study by a Masters Degree student under my supervision, thus demonstrating the potential utilisation of the oil in this regard. In my humble opinion, this is Research for Development, one of direct industrial relevance.”

    Eromosele, however, underscored the need to cultivate the plant if it would meet its potential.

    “It is a wild plant; it is not cultivated. So, there remains another area that we have to look at. That is, how to grow the plant particularly, here in the southern end of the country or where it is best suited to grow so that we can have a whole lot of vegetation to harvest the seed and then of course, the oil,” he said.

    The don said he had not patented the oil becaue there was still a lot to be done by way of domestication of the plant, so that mass production becomes feasible.

     

  • GE to move engine plant to Canada

    General Electric Co (GE.N) said it will move production of large, gas-powered engines to Canada from Waukesha, Wisconsin, along with 350 jobs, because the company cannot access financing through the U.S. Export-Import bank.

    In its latest salvo aimed at persuading Congress to renew the trade bank’s expired charter, GE said it will invest $265 million in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant at a Canadian location yet to be determined. The facility, to open in about 20 months, can be expanded and provide flexible manufacturing capacity to support other GE businesses, including engines for railroad locomotives, GE said.

    Export Development Canada will provide export financing support for products made in the new plant, GE said. In Waukesha, GE builds large piston engines generally used for electric power generation that run on natural gas or methane from landfills, many of which are exported to developing countries.

    In recent weeks, GE has announced a steady drumbeat of deals to move thousands of jobs and access government export credit from the United Kingdom, France, Hungary and China. In each case, GE said these deals were prompted by lack of EXIM financing in the United States.

    GE Vice Chairman John Rice told Reuters that foreign export credit agencies are “rolling out the red carpet” for the manufacturer and expanding its capacity to offer financing and loan guarantees to foreign customers.

    “I think we’re satisfied that we have positioned ourselves to compete successfully in a post-EXIM world,” Rice said in a telephone interview from Hong Kong, where he is based.

    He said he was concerned about the resignation of House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, a longtime EXIM supporter who will leave Congress at the end of October. Boehner’s likely successor, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, has sided with hard-line conservatives in opposing the renewal of EXIM’s charter, which expired on June 30.

    “Obviously with the Boehner resignation, we lose one important person there, so I don’t think it makes it any easier,” Rice said.

    “Let’s face it, you’ve got a system in the United States now where a significant majority of the members of Congress can support something and it won’t move forward because of the perspective of the few and the money behind that perspective,” he said, referring to outside conservative groups that have been calling for EXIM to be closed permanently.

    Rice said GE would continue to move jobs and make deals with foreign export credit agencies where such support is needed for the industrial conglomerate to compete for foreign contracts. He said, however, that the company was “not turning our back at all on U.S. manufacturing.”

     

  • Dangote inaugurates $250m plant in Cameroon

    Dangote inaugurates $250m plant in Cameroon

    Dangote Cement Plc, yesterday, achieved another feat with the inauguration of $250 million (N48.75 billion) cement grinding plant in Douala, Cameroon.

    Dangote Group also laid the foundation stone for a 200 metre jetty in Douala.

    Speaking on the occasion, President/ Chief Executive, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote said  the plant, with a capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa), was a great feat in the operations of the company.

    He said: “The plant is our largest greenfield project in a neighbouring country with which we not only share a boundary but also a long history of brotherly relationship dating from our colonial days.”

    He said the company signed the investment agreement for the development and operation of a quarry and cement grinding with the government of Cameroon on Sept. 19, 2011.

    He said massive economic revolution of the Cameroonian government in the power sector, infrastructural development, industrial development and  transportation industry had impacted positively on businesses.

    “We can attest to this as we have been one of the major beneficiaries,” Dangote said.

    He said Dangote Cement first came into Cameroon in 2008 but signed an Investment Agreement with the government in 2011.

    Dangote said the investment had increased the country’s economic value through creation of thousands of jobs; supported the government’s aggressive infrastructural development.

    Its other benefits include; conservation of scarce foreign resources through drastic reduction of importation of cement; creation of revenue for the government through payment of value added tax (VAT), royalties and taxes.

    Dangote said plans were on the way to commence the second phase of the plant which would double its capacity from the current 1.5mmtpa to 3.0 mmtpa.

    He said the company would soon open an additional quarry in the country and inaugurate more than 200 new trucks to enhance service delivery to its customers.

    “Our desire to increase our investment with the Phase 2 project is based on not only the fast growth rate of the Cameroonian economy but also the warm welcome extended to us and the enabling environment created by its government.

    “Our choice of Cameroon for this multi-million dollar investment is strategic because it is the largest economy in Central Africa and well endowed with abundant natural resources,” he said.

    He said the country enjoyed political stability, adequate security and growing development of infrastructure.

    Dangote also said the investment would further strengthen the bilateral ties between Nigeria and Cameroon and fast-track Africa’s economic integration.

    “Africa has the lowest per capita consumption of cement, an important index in measuring development, and only deliberate efforts by Africans to produce more than current requirements to force down prices can remedy the situation,” Dangote said.

    According to him, the company had on Aug. 26, signed a $4.34 billion contract with Sinoma International Engineering Company Ltd., a Chinese construction giant, for the construction of 11 new cement plants in 10 African countries, and Nepal in Asia.

    Dangote said the total capacity of the proposed plants would be 25 mmtpa, projecting that the company’s combined capacity within Africa and outside the continent would hit 100 mmtpa by 2020.

    “In Nigeria, we contributed to the successful transformation of the country from being the biggest importer to a major producer and net exporter of cement,” he added.

    He commended the Nigerian government for the encouragement and nurturing of the company from inception.

    Dangote said  the company owed its existence to the favourable investment policies of the government which encouraged the growth of import substitution industries, especially in areas with comparative advantage like in cement.

    Also speaking, President Paul Biya of Cameroon, lauded Dangote for contributing to the country’s development.

    Biya, who was represented by Mr Philemon Yang, the Prime Minister, said that the company had contributed massively to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through the investment.

  • Three killed over bitter leaf plant

    Three persons have been killed at Ibillo in Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State over ownership of a bitter leaf plant.
    The victims were butchered on Sunday evening by a man popularly known as Alhaji.
    Names of the deceased were given as Aliu Ademo, a girl called Favour and a three-year old boy, Isaac.
    Witnesses said Alhaji had quarrel with late Favour over the bitter leaf plant because he did not seek the consent of the owner before plucking some to make soup.
    The witness said, “Alhaji who is from Igbira came out with a cutlass and beheaded the girl. Mr Aliu saw what happened and started shouting. Alhaji ran after Isaac the little boy to kill him but Aliu pursued him in order to save the boy. He succeeded in killing both the small boy and Mr Aliu.
    “He decided to kill the man because he came to save the little boy. The small boy was rushed to the hospital because he was still unconscious but we later heard he died this morning (Monday).
    Alhaji is on the run now but the police is looking for him”.
    Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Stephen Onwechei, confirmed the incident but said the suspect was on the run.
    “He will be arrested. He abandoned his cutlass and took off after killing. When people came around to stop him, he matcheted them including the three year old child.
    “That is barbaric. I understand he previously had quarrel with the mother of the child over the ownership of the bitter leaf in the compound. That is madness but we must arrest him no matter how far he tries to run. He must face justice for his wicked act,” he declared.

  • Kia Motors assembly plant in good shape

    Kia Motors assembly plant in good shape

    There was a palpable air of excitement throughout the facility tour of the multi billion naira state-of-the-art assembly plant of Kia Motors Nigeria, in Lagos where over 20 journalists of leading media houses in the country visited the plant to see the equipment and the brand’s assembly process. There is no gainsaying the fact that, Kia has remained one of the major brands in  the country with its year-on-year phenomenal rise that has galvanised the brand into a monumental feat in the Nigerian auto industry following the unveiling of the plant in the first quarter of the year.

    Reinforcing the company’s unwavering commitment to the industrialisation of Nigerian economy and its great contributions to the success of the auto policy,the Chief Operation Officer,Gitesh Yagnik said Kia has invested heavily in the assembly plant. Its state-of-the-art technologies are arguably at par with any renowned plant. The plant now prides itself on the production of nine models and their respective trims in the country with over 2500 units rolled out since its launch in April, 2014.

    The sprawling complex has been built to the high standard of Kia Motors Corporation. Culminating in several months of construction, installation of technologically advanced equipment and the training of its staff have snowballed into its first assembly lines that assembles Kia models, such as its best-selling Kia Rio, Cerato, Optima, Sportage and the all-new 2015 Kia Sorento recently unveiled globally amongst others are all products from the plant.

    In tandem with all automobile assembling/manufacturing plants in new market practice globally, the plant kicked off with semi knocked down where painted and trimmed bodies are shipped from an established plant in one box, mechanicals in another, join the two, add some locally sourced transmission fluids, air conditioner gas and the host of others.

    With no prejudice and utmost transparency to help in alleviating the rate of unemployment in the country, over 85 per cent of the employees are sourced locally from top Nigerian universities.

    Speaking at the tour, the Chief Operation officer, Gitesh Yagnik pointed out that the plant house over 100 engineers drawn from Nigerian universities and had undergone a top notch intensive training program and capacity development before been employed into the plant.

    “We now have 150 trained and qualified engineers that can be compared to international standard and over 50 support staff running the operational and assembly process cycle of the plant”.

    Yemisi Onanuga, the Supply Chain manager, who conducted the tour, gave a holistic and professional insight of the plant’s facility and assembling process.

    Apparently, the plant is people-focused. “We believe our strength is in our employees rather than machines” the Chief Commercial Officer, Sandeep Malhotra, said.

    He further alluded to the fact that the success of the plant is premised on Nigeria’s auto policy. According to him, for the industry to be revolutionised and contribute significantly  to the country’s IGR, the government needs to stay true to the policy and clamp down on the unchecked influx of imported used cars, popularly known as “Tokunbo” vehicles.

     

  • Gov Ayade attracts tractor manufacturing plant to C/River

    Gov Ayade attracts tractor manufacturing plant to C/River

    • Plans to build 5000 homes for poor, unemployed

    Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade’s trade mission to the Republic of Ireland has already begun to yield fruits, with a tractor manufacturing company expressing the willingness to set up plant in the state.

    Ayade, who spent the first day of his visit between Dublin and Monaghan listening to presentations from various Irish investors and businesses, was particularly excited by the presentation from the Affordable Building Concepts Limited chairman, Redmond Cullinane.

    Cullinane informed the governor and his entourage, including Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ireland and Iceland‎, H.E Bolere Ketebu, that his firm can build a home in just one day and half.

    The system used in constructing the homes, which he calls off site, is expected to “increase ten-fold in 2020, with this type of system making up over 50 percent of the current construction.”

    He said the system is the quickest way of fulfilling modern housing needs at a more competitive cost ‎which still ensures good and modern building standards.

    The governor revealed that his administration would adopt the system to build 5000 homes for the poor and unemployed.

    Catering for this class of people, according to him, was the most compelling reason why he is in public office, adding that the focal point of his administration in on how to lift as many Cross Riverians as possible out of poverty.

    He later inspected prototypes of the homes at the company’s warehouse in Monaghan.

    The governor, however, demanded that given the number of homes his government is willing to build, the firm should consider sitting its manufacturing plant in the state.

    The governor also announced that the state was willing and ready to partner with an Irish Dairy to establish an Ice cream making factory in the state.

    He disclosed that his administration has already agreed in principle with Cavenco of Spain to establish a Dairy Farm, which he believes will revitalize the moribund cattle farm at the Obudu Ranch Resort.

    At the Nigerian Embassy in Dublin where he listened to a presentation by the Atlantic Flight Training Academy, the governor declared that the state would send some of its young graduates to the institute for Aviation training with the long term prospect of building an airport in between Ogoja and Yala.

  • Ughelli power plant eyes 2,200Mw

    Ughelli power plant eyes 2,200Mw

    Transcorp Ughelli Power Limited, the core investors in Ughelli Power, says it plans to increase the generating capacity of the plant from 972 megawatts (Mw) to 2,200Mw in the next three years.

    Speaking during the visist of the post-privatisation monitoring team of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)  to the plant, its  Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Adeoye Fadeyibi, an engineer said on takeover of the plant on November 1, 2013, the core investor inherited only four operational turbines generating only 160MW of power.

    Fadeyibi, who was represented by the Chief Finance Officer, Mr. Olukunle Fagbayi, noted that by last month, the core investor had rehabilitated and made 13 out of the 18 units fully operational and generating about 635MW of available capacity.

    He said in the company’s generation forecast, by December, this year, the generation capacity would be raised to about 850Mw and in December 2017 to about 1,650Mw and 2,200Mw in 2018.

    He however lamented that due to the quality and quantity of gas available to the plant, only about 350Mw could be made available to the grid.

    He noted that another major challenge facing the company was the wheeling capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    He urged the Federal Government on investment in the transmission segment of the value chain of the power infrastructure to strengthen the wheeling capacity of TCN.

    He said since takeover in November 2013, the company had engaged an additional 45 staff, assuring that Transcorp was going to surpass all the key performance indicators (KPIs) covenanted in its Post Acquisition Plan (PAP).

    The Chief Executive Officer also said as part of its corporate social responsibility, the company runs a model school with about 1,000 student enrolment as well as skills acquisition schemes for the host communities.

    The BPE is charged with monitoring the performances of privatised enterprises to ensure adherence to the tenets of the Share Purchase Agreements (SPAs), Performance Agreements (PAs) and full implementation of investors’ Post Acquisition Plans (PAP).

    The BPE Post-Privatisation Monitoring team to Ughelli Power Plc was led by the Director, Post Privatisation Monitoring Department, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe.

  • Peugeot to build plant in Morocco

    PSA Peugeot Citroen has unveiled plans to build a 557 million euro ($630 million) Moroccan factory, as the French carmaker seeks to reduce both production costs and its reliance on Europe following a brush with bankruptcy.

    The site near the coastal city of Kenitra will begin assembling small and subcompact models for Africa and the Middle East in 2019, Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said after signing the investment deal at Morocco’s royal palace in Rabat.

    An initial yearly production capacity of 90,000 vehicles is expected to rise to 200,000 as sales pick up, he said.

    The planned factory, first reported by Reuters last November, represents a belated step by Paris-based Peugeot to expand into lower-cost vehicles and emerging markets, reducing its exposure to Western Europe’s relatively stagnant demand and high production costs.

    It is also a sign of Morocco’s growing industrial clout, which has seen it draw increasing investment in sectors ranging from cars to aerospace.

    Peugeot said it expects the plant to source 60 percent of components locally, rising to 80 percent as the supply chain develops. It will have a 4,500-strong workforce once at the 200,000-vehicle capacity.

    “Africa and the Middle East are historic markets for PSA and the region is expected to become a profitable driver of our internationalisation,” Tavares said.

    The former Renault second-in-command took over at Peugeot last year, following a three billion-euro government-backed bailout in which it sold matching 14 percent stakes to the French state and Chinese carmaker Dongfeng after racking up billions of euros in losses.

    Under his “Back in the Race” recovery plan, Peugeot is pursuing a five percent operating margin.

    The core automotive division returned to a small profit in 2014, but with about 60 percent of sales still recorded in the cut-throat European market, where the profitability of mass-market carmakers is under constant pressure.

  • NBL inaugurates plant in Aba

    NBL inaugurates plant in Aba

    The Nigeria Breweries Plc has launched an N18b plant in Aba, Abia State’s commercial nerve.

    On hand to witness it were Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, who represented President Goodluck Jonathan, and the state governor Theodore Oji, among other dignitaries.

    President Jonathan commended the company on the laudable project, saying its effort could not be taken away from what contributed to its listing as one of the top100 firms in Nigeria in 2014. “The project is also a reflection of our future as a nation,” he added.

    In his remarks, Governor Orji said that the project showed a perfect partnership between the government and private investors owing to the tangible achievement of his administration in fighting insecurity in the state.

    He enjoined the people of the state to continue to support the company as the new plant will enhance direct and indirect employment, increase revenue generation to local, state and federal governments, as well as raise the standard of living of the people.

    The chairman of the company, Chief Kola Jamodu, stated that the expansion project reflected the firm’s confidence, not only in Abia but the entire Southeast as an investment destination.

    He said, “Our company started business in 1946 in Lagos as Nigeria’s first brewing company. In 1949, the first bottle of Star beer was produced. Aba Brewery was commissioned in 1957 and today starts another milestone in our company’s socio-economic developmental journey with Eastern Nigeria.”

    He added that over the years the company has been very active in supporting Nigeria’s national development aspirations as exemplified by its continuous identification and response to major challenges confronting the nation through corporate social investments, especially in the areas of education, environment, water, youth empowerment, talent development and sports, among others.

    The Managing Director, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde pointed out that as Nigeria’s leading brewing company, the plant’s takeoff demonstrated NBL’s commitment to ‘Winning with Nigeria’ through “our investments, our footprint, our people and our socio-economic impact. This journey which commenced with the registration of our company in 1946 continues today with a footprint of 11 breweries and two malting plants strategically spread out across Nigeria.”

    While thanking Governor Orji for providing the enabling environment for their engineers and workers throughout the building project, the NBL chiefs expressed happiness that there were no accidents or loss of personnel while the work lasted.

    They said the plant would create jobs and increase revenue generation across the tiers of government.

    Vervelde said, “We brewed our first bottle of Star in 1949 in Lagos but it was very quickly clear to the founding fathers of Nigerian Breweries that we needed to expand our operational footprint around the country. It is for this reason that the Aba Brewery holds a very special place in our hearts because it was our very first Brewery built outside Lagos and perhaps it was the success of Aba that sharpened our corporate courage to push further which culminates in today’s enviable spread that enables us to serve diverse consumer needs across the country with our well-loved brands.

    Jamodu said, “Our socio economic impact report shows that in 2013 alone, the value added by Nigerian Breweries to the Nigerian Economy stood at N292 billion value added or 0.4 per cent of GDP. N98billion or 0.1per cent of GDP out of this stood as direct support. Our company supported 279,000 jobs directly and indirectly.

    Aganga who said that the citing of the project in Abia State has made the state fit and open for investment, commended brewing multi-national company for sourcing about 50% of their raw materials locally stated that such action has encouraged Nigerian farmers to grow in their businesses.