Honeywell eyes further expansion, increases capacity

Honeywell Flour Mills plc is targeting further expansion, while also expecting to build more capacity and have a wider market share. The flour making giant has also invested nearly N billion in modifying its plants with a view to adding high quality cassava flour to the composite flour it currently produces, Real Sector Watch has learnt.

Honeywell Flour Mills is the manufacturer of flour, semolina, wheat meal, noodles and pasta, among others, and a big player in the country’s food industry.

Lanre Jaiyeola, managing director/CEO, Honeywell Flour Mills, disclosed this while speaking with BusinessDay recently.

According to him, the well-diversified firm had exhausted capacity for some current products and would continue to build more capacity to consolidate its position as a big industry player in all the sectors it participates.

“Sometimes, our market share is just a reflection of our limited capacity and not a true reflection of the consumers’ preference for our brands,” he said.

“We play in five categories. Our flagship brand is Honeywell Superfine Flour, which is number two in the market with about 20 percent to 22 percent of the market share. Honeywell Semolina has 40 percent share; Honeywell Wheat Meal, 60 percent; Honeywell Noodles, 12 percent, and Honeywell Pasta, 14 percent,” he said.

To him, the company ramped up capacity in 2013 by adding 1000 metric tons flour mills in two tranches of 500 metric tons each, stating that the expansion made it possible for the company to produce more Honeywell Superfine Flour and Honeywell Wheat Meal.

“It is the medium to long-term plan of the business to have a one-stop shop. We are expanding by investing in a 63-hectare land in Sagamu, Ogun State. The implication is that we will be in a position to expand across all the products that we offer the market. We are increasing pasta and flour mill production capacity while also investing in a feed mill,” the CEO said.

“We plan to expand our flour milling capacity by another 500 metric tons per day, expand pasta by about 150 percent of what it is currently in place now. We are investing in feed mill operation in an effort geared towards focusing on locally available raw materials,” he said.

On the Federal Government’s flour initiative, the Honeywell boss said the programme had created a stronger bond between players in the flour milling industry and agriculture ministry.

Odinaka Anudu