Obsolete machines hurt efficiency of manufacturers – MAN
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) says the continued use of obsolete and out-dated machinery is hurting real sector players in the country.
Frank Udemba Jacobs, president of MAN, said this at the Manufacturing & Equipment Expo held last week in Lagos.
According to Jacobs, obsolete machinery and equipment hurt mostly the small and medium manufacturers, slowing down production, inhibiting efficiency and economies of scale.
Jacobs said MAN believes that Nigeria has the potential to become one of the leading industrialised economies in the world, stressing that the association, through the annual event, has taken the challenge of ensuring that the manufacturing sector plays its major role in the new vision of the country.
He said that this year’s expo is remarkable, running simultaneously with the Nigeria Raw Materials (NIRAM) Expo, affording exhibitors and visitors the opportunity to get exposure to the entire manufacturing value chain.
Dele Alimi, managing director of Clarion Events, which coordinated the event, said the Nigerian economy is still strong even now that it is considered to be in recession.
Alimi said the journey to the hosting of the exhibition started four years ago when Clarion Events organised the first session of the Manufacturing Partnership for African Development (mPAD), where chief executives of top 100 companies in manufacturing, finance and allied sectors in Nigeria engaged top public sector officials in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to discuss the challenges of Nigeria’s industrial development.
Hussaini D. Ibrahim, director-general/CEO, Raw Materials Research and Development Council, said NIRAM EXPO is meant to promote the diversification of the Nigerian economy in line with the agenda of the Federal Government by encouraging the growth and development of resource-based micro, small and medium scale manufacturing industries involved in the agricultural and mineral sectors.
Ibrahim, who was represented by Zainab Hammangar of the RMRDC, said the overall goal of the RMRDC and partners in agreeing to the co-location concept is not only to retain the status of NIRAM Expo as the largest assembly of producers and users of raw materials in Nigeria but also to internationalise the event by bringing international participants, thereby enlarging its scope as a platform for promoting the entire manufacturing value chain in Nigeria.
He said the RMRDC is in complete support of small businesses.
Chris Bolu, a professor at Covenant University and representative of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), expressed the need to integrate quality human resources into Nigerian manufacturing sector, stressing that the NSE would always be willing to work with local manufacturers.
“We want our economy to be back again. Let’s engage our engineers who have something to contribute to ensure that this sector is where it should be,” Bolu said.
ODINAKA ANUDU