Sona Group Nigeria has re-echoed the need for improved infrastructural to serve as palliatives for Nigeria’s industrialization.

The industrial sector is hugely impacted by dilapidated road and other logistics quagmire, poor power supply, multiple taxations, insecurity, high cost of production, to name a few.

The Group comprising of Euro Global Foods and Distilleries Ltd; Food, Agro and Allied Industries Ltd; Golden Auto Engineering and Transport Co. Ltd., Shongai Packaging Industry Ltd., Shongai Technologies Ltd., Sona Agro Allied Foods Ltd., Sona Group Nigeria Ltd., Sona Industrial Gases Ltd and Techblow Nigeria Limited, said enhanced infrastructure will not only bring succour to the nation’s manufacturing sector, rather will create enabling ground for job creation.

Mr. Peter Akinola Oyaniyi, group executive director for the Group, while speaking to journalists at their office in Ogun State, at the weekend, said that Sona has been apt in industrialization of Nigeria using technology and home grown raw materials, adding that the nation’s economic buoyancy revolves round functional and productive industries.

Oyaniyi Said, “We believe that industrialization remains the best option for solving the country’s youth unemployment, and the right path to national greatness. In Sona Group Nigeria, we see industrialization as the key that will free Nigeria from further retrogression. To achieve that, we have to improve on the existing infrastructure as a nation”.

He added that the Group which has been in operation for over three decades  in Nigeria is notable for keeping to the Government’s regulations and international best practices, and has over the years earned a reputation of ‘Turn around Experts’ in Nigeria.

“Sona Group, Nigeria is one of Nigeria’s fastest growing Groups. The Group is presently in the business of manufacturing Plastic and Glass Container. It started business in Nigeria decades ago. The Group’s strategy has been to acquire existing sick units and turn them around. After the unit is acquired, we bring in new investments, modern technology, state-of-art machines and modern management techniques that help to turn the business perspective”.

Nodding in agreement to Oyaniyi’s prognosis, Mr. Subramanian Murugesan, managing director, Sona Agro Allied Foods Limited, said that Nigeria pursues industrial policy that is innovation-driven to foster skills upgrade, enhance industrial growth and produce world class exports, it must make conscious efforts to address challenges before the sector.

According to him, the bottlenecks experienced at both the sea and airports should be addressed, maintaining that, “roads need to be improved to enable companies meet up with supplies or demands of the market too and help in the reduction of costs on maintenance of vehicles.

“The truth is that these costs are transferred to the customers; sometimes jerking up the cost of goods by about 8%, compared to 2% obtainable in other markets. We believe that as a developing economy the infrastructure need to be improved.

On Sona Agro Allied Foods Limited activities in the market, he said they have well laid out plan for continuous expansion to meet the ever expanding requirement of the Nigerian snacks market.

Murugesan said, “Presently, the Company is well managed by professional managerial talent, the best of the industry in Nigeria, both expatriate and local managers. The quality standards of our products are of highest level meeting specifications laid out by NAFDAC and SON agencies of Nigeria”.

Sona Agro Allied Foods Limited also manufacture other snacks such as Cereal based cheese balls snacks, extruded snacks, health snacks bars for healthy conscious people.

On his part, Mr. Katikala Ramanjananeyulu, managing director of Sona Industrial Gases Limited, a leading name in the Industrial Gases sector in Nigeria, deals in Oxygen, Nitrogen, Acetylene, Medical Oxygen and Argon gases, and recently introduced the other gases such as Carbon Dioxide, Helium, Amonia, Cooking Gas, Calibration and all mixture gases.

“With our fleet of vehicles, we reach out to all our customers needing industrial gases in compressed form or Liquid as they demand,” he said.

Ramanjananeyulu said that the Company established in a secured environment, invests in R&D and hopes to achieve breakthrough in manufacturing resources through the introduction of newly acquired plants, which will bring total modification of the Acetylene production facility and currently boasts of 170 customers in Nigeria, while looking out for others to give discount on medical oxygen as life saving gas to supply hospitals in Nigeria as part of its corporate social responsibilities (CSR).

Challenges facing their operations, he said, include, high rate of customs duty, cumbersome procedure for clearance of imported materials, high cost of importation due to the devaluation of Naira, among others.

There was a presentation by Techblow Nigeria Limited which produces all kinds of blow moulding products ranging from 500ml to 50 litre Plastic Jerry Cans, Plastic Coolers, Cosmetic Jars, Pharma Bottles, Yoghurt Bottles, and other containers to cater to the needs of the Foods, Beverages and Chemicals industries, and other retail sectors.

Also, Shongai Packaging Industry Ltd, incorporated in 1977, and today produces rugged industrial pallets and rated as among Nigeria’s 50 fastest growing companies.

The company was initially conceived to produce plastic crates and beer labels; but now mulls mainly four (4) manufacturing division, Injection Moulding Division; Blow Moulding Division (Extrusion Blow & Injection Blow); Label Printing Division and Crate printing /Container Printing Division.

Mr. Sudhanusu Shina, managing director, Food, Agro & Allied Industries Limited, said the Comapny is one of the most modern malting plants in Nigeria to process Raw Sorghum into Sorghum Malt and Malt Derivatives.

“We produce a range of quality sorghum malt and malt extract, Distillery, Confectionery and Malted Food Industries.

“Our commitment to customers’ satisfaction, and to adopt latest technology in malting earned recognition as a leader in the industry within short period of going into production. Adherence to strict quality control and continued development helped us to get of ISO 9001:2008 Certification in 2010”.

Re-emphasizing the manufacturing expert’s advocacy, Mr. Felix Aighobahi, the Group’s sales director, said that the country’s policy should include the establishment of many-side economic structure, the build-up of its own independent and solid bases for raw materials, modernization of all sectors of the national economy and the training of its own technical cadre.
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