Nestle’s Flowergate factory was commissioned in the presence of Nigeria’s vice-president, Namadi Sambo and Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel. While speaking at the event, Mr. Paul Bulcke also disclosed the company’s plans to invest CHF 1 billion on the African continent in the next two years.
Nestle Opens Flowergate Factory
Highlighting the importance of the ultramodern Flowergate factory in Sagamu, Mr. Paul Bulcke affirmed that “Nestlé has been operationally present in Nigeria for 50 years, bringing meaningful value to society at large by sourcing locally, creating new local employment, offering nutritious products, and helping in the further development of the region.
“By opening our new facility in Ogun State we will be closer to our consumers and can better adapt our products to their needs and preferences.”
The commissioning ceremony was witnessed by Mohammed Namadi Sambo, Nigeria’s vice-president; Gbenga Daniel, Governor of Ogun State; and Frits Van Dijk, executive vice-president for Nestlé and Zone Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Middle East.
Mr. Bulcke later flew to Nestlé’s manufacturing complex in Agbara also in Ogun State on a goodwill visit before a second-leg visit to commission Nestlé’s fourth internal shared service centre in Accra, Ghana on February 4, 2011.
Nestlé’s Flowergate Factory
Nestlé’s CHF 87 million (N12 billion) Flowergate factory sits on 12 hectares of prime land in the Sagamu area of Ogun State, south-west Nigeria. Unlike its Agbara factory counterpart, it will focus almost exclusively on the production of Maggi culinary products as well as other popularly positioned products (PPPs) even while retaining the potential to produce other brands in the future.
The factory will start by employing 180 people directly and many more indirectly. Its production of culinary products is expected to double the current market volume of Maggi culinary products to meet the needs of consumers in the West African region.
The factory is Nestlé’s eighth factory under Nestlé’s Central West Africa Region, CWAR and 27th on the African continent. It will complement the production from Nestlé’s manufacturing complex in Agbara along the Lagos-Badagry expressway. The Agbara factory complex is responsible for the production of various Nestlé brands including Maggi, Milo, Golden Morn, Chocomilo, Cerelac, Nutrend, and Nestlé Pure Life.
The commissioning is a positive development especially coming on the heels of the forced closure of the company’s three factories in Egypt owing to the unstable political situation in that country.
Nestlé Nigeria: a Brief Background
Nestlé began its operations in Nigeria in 1960 as a trading company under the formal name Nestlé Products Nigeria Ltd; it was later incorporated as Food Specialties Nigeria Ltd in 1969. In 1978 it became a quoted company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange.
In1982 Agbara Factory and the eight-hectare Ota Distribution center were commissioned in the Agbara and Ota areas of Ogun State respectively. In 1990 the Sorghum Malt Extract plant at Agbara factory was also commissioned.
In 1991, the corporate name Food Specialties Nigeria was changed to Nestlé Foods Nigeria Ltd; this was later changed to Nestlé Nigeria Plc in 1994.
With its head office located in Ilupeju’s industrial estate in Lagos, the company presently employs about 3,300 staff spread out across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
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