Ota Brewery Upgrade Takes Off

To ensure consumers satisfaction and reach, Nigerian Breweries Plc, commissioned its upgraded brewery in Ota, Ogun State, as part of its strategic plan to consolidate its leadership position in the industry. The brewery infrastructure commissioned included a new PET line, a Water Treatment Plant and a Waste Water Treatment Plant.

While speaking at the ceremony, governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, described the successful upgrade of the brewery as an enviable step capable of facilitating a self-dependent economy. He also commended Nigerian Breweries for its backward integration and local sourcing of over 50 per cent of its raw materials and 95 per cent of its packaging material.

According to him, “It will be in our collective interest for companies in Ogun state and even the entire country to source their materials locally. Backward integration and import substitution is the master key to a self-sustaining economy and Ogun state will continue to provide necessary conditions for business to operate smoothly.”

Chairman, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Chief Kola Jamodu, explained that the multi-billion naira PET line, which currently boasts the best technology in the Heineken world, was installed to deepen availability of the non-alcoholic product portfolio of the company. He added that the modern Water Treatment plant was constructed to ensure continued excellent quality of the company’s brands while the Waste Water Treatment plant would further contribute to the success of its sustainability agenda of ‘Brewing a Better World’.

As Jamodu put it, “These investments, totaling over N11 billion stands out as a testimony to our corporate philosophy of ‘Winning with Nigeria’ and they reflect our company’s bold confidence in Ogun State and Nigeria as an investment destination. The projects signpost the contribution of the company to the economic development of Ogun State, which also plays to another of its brewery in Ijebu Ode and many of the ancillary industries that the company supports.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, represented by Chief Abraham Idowu Akanle, while congratulating Nigerian Breweries on the upgrade of its Ota facility, described the private sector as the engine-room of economic growth and called on other corporate organisations to follow the fruitful example of the company. Obasanjo also called on governments at both state and national levels to adopt policies and strategies to improve investment climate, reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria and thereby enhance capacity utilisation.

Nigerian Breweries Plc acquired Ota brewery in 2011 and since that time, the company has invested significantly to upgrade it to a world-class standard befitting a brewery in the Heineken group.

Source: Guardian