THE inclement operational environment in Apapa, Lagos business district, currently being accentuated by perennial traffic gridlock, may have informed plans by Honeywell Flourmills Plc to relocate its plants to Sagamu in Ogun state.
Specifically, the company noted that it was planning a bigger factory expansion as it had fully utilized the space allotted to it at the Tin Can Island Port in Apapa, Lagos.
Speaking at the company’s yearly customers’ forum in Lagos, Wednesday, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the company, Babatunde Odunayo, noted that the move became necessary in order to cater for the growing demand of its products as well as innovative enterprise in the years to come.
Odunayo said: “Due to the congestion and space constraint at Tin Can Island Port, we have acquired 64 hectares of land around the Sagamu interchange along the Lagos – Ibadan expressway. This vast expanse of land will be used for future expansion including new Pasta, Noodles, and Flour factories for increased production of all our products. The future, indeed, looks very bright for all of us to grow our businesses.
“This expansion is therefore a further testimony of consumers’ confidence and wide acceptance of our products. We see this positive trend continuing and are very upbeat about the future growth and prospects for this company. And we know you will support us to achieve this goal.”
He explained that though the company had just merged with another entity, resulting in the emergence of a larger entity, there is a need to expand its operations to cater for growing customer demands.
“Towards the end of last financial year, following approval of the court and shareholders of the company, a business combination of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc and Honeywell Superfine Foods Ltd was effected. This led to the dissolution without winding up of Honeywell Superfine Foods Ltd and the company has now become the Ikeja Factory of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc. We now have the same Management for the combined business and have fully integrated all our internal processes for greater efficiencies and improved quality of service for you.
“We are pleased to inform you that we have successfully completed our expansion projects with the addition of two new mills which are state-of-the-art facilities designed, produced and installed by Buhler. With this expansion, we have increased our production capacity by about 62 per cent to be able to meet your increasing demand for our products. This will lead to business growth and more profits for you. The expansion project also included the completion of a-first-of-its-kind automated warehouse in Nigeria. These will all allow us to serve you better”, he added.
Speaking on the operating business environment, he explained that the company was able to cope with the harsh business environment despite the increase in duty on flour from 5 per cent to 20 per cent.
The company’s National Sales Manager, Seye Ogunwale said the company was rewarding customers as a result of their resilience and contributions towards the growth of the company.
Some of the customers however commended the company for keeping its commitment towards enhancing the value of their business.
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