“With Backward Integration, We Can Contribute More to the Economic Growth of Nigeria” – SONA Group's COO

SONA Group, one of Nigeria’s leading manufacturing companies was among a surfeit of manufacturers who showcased their distinctive range of products and equipment to stakeholders at the recently concluded 2019 Manufacturing & Equipment Expo, which held from March 12 – 14 at The Landmark Exhibition Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Put together by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in conjunction with Clarion Events West Africa, the expo, which is held annually serves as an avenue for local and international manufacturers to connect and network, explore new machinery and technology, find new suppliers; thereby augmenting business opportunities in the industry.

As a major manufacturing company, SONA Group exhibited its vast product scope, panning across its ten subsidiary companies which include, Shongai Packaging Industry Limited, Euro Global Foods and Distilleries Ltd, Sona Agro Allied Foods Ltd, among others.

Some of the products exhibited include Maltonic, Aqua Euro Water, high resilient injection moulded plastic pallets, Golden Choco Drink, Happy Family basins and buckets, cosmetic jars, storage crates and a host of others.

Speaking on the sole purpose of SONA’s participation at this year’s expo, Chief Operating Officer, SONA Group Ashok Manghnani stated; “We participate annually to display our products and innovations and in every edition, we have new additions to our line of products. We have some interesting products we recently introduced and the expo is a great platform to showcase them. A lot of people, including other manufacturers and consumers frequently visit our stand to take product samples which then go into the market. Umpteen times, many return for further enquiries, which in turn increases our visibility in the market space.”

Among the company’s new additions to its exhibition at this year’s expo is a variety of wafer and biscuits which include Milkie Bar Wafer, Duo Choco Wafers and Digestive Cookies; all manufactured by Sona Agro Allied Foods Ltd. The premium quality wafers are available in two sizes; 50g and 22g which are sold at affordable prices.

A new addition is the Happy Home line of dustbins which are designed to provide a more efficient way to store waste in the office and homes. Manufactured by Shongai Packaging Industry Limited, the dustbins come with a set of unique features, including reinforced rubber tyres with anti-skid serrations which precludes uneven or irregular rotation, sleek inside walls, which allows for easy discarding of waste and easy cleaning, strong body for durability, specially designed lid that enables easy lifting and prevents the ingression of water. Other noteworthy inclusions include sorghum flour, chocolates and plastic pallets.

The company revealed the ingredients for its products including the dustbins and wafers are locally sourced; partnering and supporting local employment to drive growth towards its Nigerian-made products portfolio. Also, with the implementation of Backward Integration in its manufacturing processes, SONA Group aims to bolster Nigeria’s economic growth by locally sourcing for over 90% of its raw materials used in production in all its subsidiaries.

Expounding SONA Group’s Backward Integration, Manghnani commented “We strongly believe in the use of Backward Integration to maximize the quality of our products at SONA Group. A typical example is our line of biscuits and drinks as we manufacture the packaging and labels ourselves – we also manufacture labels and packaging for several other companies both local and multinationals, which sets us apart in the industry. We understand the imperativeness of agricultural development in Nigeria, hence we support local farmers, buying over 40, 000 tons of sorghum from the north.”

“We currently have two recycling plants where plastic wastes are processed into raw materials which are then used to manufacture our wide range of plastic products. This significantly truncates the cost of production, enabling us sell the products at incredibly affordable rates in the market. This, coupled with our backward integration directly improves the economy”, he added.

Further speaking on SONA Group’s contribution to economic and technological advancement in Nigeria, Ashok said “We espouse the use of technological advancement to harness the production of high quality products and as such, we do not settle for cheap machines at SONA Group. We import the latest cutting-edge industrial machines from Germany and Europe and participate in exhibitions whenever new technologies are invented or introduced, so as to provide our Nigerian consumers with utmost quality products. With all of this in place, we will continue to contribute substantially to the overall growth of the Nigerian economy.”

Other manufacturing companies at this year’s Manufacturing & Equipment Expo include Bank of Industry, Dangote, Procter & Gamble, Rite Foods, Real People Concept, West Africa Ceramics Limited, Wahum Group, Briscoe and several more.