Nigerian Breweries Plc team moves to fortify business relations with Abia state

By Seun Johnson

The management team of Nigerian Breweries Plc recently paid a working visit to Abia state governor, Dr. Alex Otti with a view to identifying with the newly inaugurated government in the state.

The visit which was led by the Corporate Affairs Director of the Brewery giant,Mrs Sade Morgan on behalf of the Managing Director, Mr Hans Essaidii is aimed at fortifying business ties while fostering community development in the state.

According to Morgan, in a post on the company’s facebook page,”the move is expected to serve as a good opportunity to address the company’s operational challenges and raise awareness of its corporate social responsibilities in education, health and other areas of endeavours.

Following the state government promise to continue to support businesses in the state, the team is however hopeful and believes that its visit will yield positive outcomes in not too distant future as they have been mutual businness partners over time.

Relying on its regional strength to be the leading brewer in Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries Plc, the largest brewing company in the country inaugurated the expanded Aba Breweries in 2015.

While officially commissioning the 18billion naira ultra-modern project, the then president, Goodluck Jonathan who was represented by his Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga had lauded the initiative ,describing it as a commitment to economic development, saying it was a clear indication that Nigeria and Abia are safe for business.

The initiative was widely described as the long-standing and continuing commitment to ‘Winning with Nigeria’ through its investments, its footprint, its people and its socio-economic impact.

The Aba Brewery which was originally set up in 1957 has the capacity to process 35,000tons of raw Sorghum into malted Sorghum and has reportedly created thousands of direct and indirect employment for Nigerians, which include thousands of farmers. Eighty Five (85%) per cent of this is attributed to direct production.

In the last eight years, the company has solidified a robust relationship with the people of the state and maintained a formidable partnership with successive government.

This is exemplified by its continuous identification and response to major challenges confronting the people of the state and Nigeria at large, through corporate social investments, especially in the areas of education, environment, water, youth empowerment, talent development, amongst others.

Regardless of the economic turbulence that has confronted multinational companies in Nigeria and sent several of them out of business, the Nigerian Breweries under the leadership of Hans Essaadi has continued to grow in leaps and bounds in all areas of its dealings.

In October, the company announced an unaudited financial report for the third quarter of 2023 and declared a revenue of 402 billion naira for the period, representing two percent increase compared to 2022 record for the corresponding period.

A member of the Heineken Group, Nigerians Breweries Plc is Nigeria’s pioneer and largest brewing company. Incorporated in 1946 as “Nigerians Brewery Limited, the company made history in June 1949 when the first bottle of STAR larger beer rolled out of its Lagos brewery bottle line.

Today, the company has a rich portfolio of 19 high quality brands which include Heineken, Desperados, Maltina Life, Amstel Malta, Guilder, Fayrouz and Legend all produced from nine breweries and distributed nationwide.