Firms Establish N1.3bn Factory for Milk, Tomatoes Manufactur

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Firms Establish N1.3bn Factory for Milk, Tomatoes Manufacturing

Vanguard
Franklin Alli
15 June 2007

Joint venture firms, Conserveria Africana Limited and Sosaco Nigeria Limted, in conjunction with Watamal Group Hongkong, have declared their intention to commence local manufacturing of Jago Milk including Pomo and Gino brands of tomato paste with a soon-to-be commissioned 10 million dollars factory (about N1.3 billion) at Ota, Ogun State.

The companies have also received Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON)'s Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) for their products: Jago milk, Pomo, and Gino brands of tomatoes paste.

Receiving the documents on behalf of management and staff, the Managing Director, Conserveria Africana Limited, Mr. Nurani Kedarnath , said "we don't want to remain a pure merchandising company in Nigeria. Nigeria is a huge market, about 140 million people, and we are being spurred to begin local manufacturing of our products. In a matter of few months, we'll move out our entire operations from Gbagada Industrial Estate to our new site at Sango - Ota."

SON's Director General, Dr. John Akanya, represented by the Lagos Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Yunus Alaya, who presented the conformity assessment certificates to the firms, commended them for their investments in the latest state of the art technology which he observes, have enabled the company's products to meet all the 9 parameters of quality assurance test under MANCAP. Noting that quality is a journey, and not a destination, SON warned that after three years, the certificates will be reviewed.

However, according to Kedarnath, much emphasis has been paid on research and products development, saying that for this reason they have invested hugely in updating their laboratory while some staff have been sent overseas for training in order to sharpen their skills.

He gave the credit of the successful certification to the staff of the company whom he described as "our heroes" saying the strength of any company lie in the proficiency and the commitment of its staff and not on machines or technology.

He said the company in its quest to boost its sales target had adopted a marketing principle, which focuses more on quality than volume of sales.

He said the introduction of tomato paste in sachet, which the company pioneered in Nigeria, was a product of one of such researches, adding that following its introduction into the Nigeria market, consumers have received it with much enthusiasm.

Kedarnath, who commended the government's economic reform, especially its focus on growing the manufacturing sector, however appealed for more investment in the provision of infrastructure especially roads and electricity, saying the absence of these constituted a set-back to the prosperity of the industry.

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