Manufacturers need encouragement to drive industrialisation – JMG Executive Director
What JMG doing and how are you preparing ahead of the forthcoming manufacturing and equipment expo Nigeria 2017?
I will say JMG is very excited to be part of the exhibition because it will showcase the manufacturing capabilities of Nigerian industries and that is very fantastic. We are the first assemblers of generators and from there we moved to manufacturing lots of components, we do lots of great things and we even diversified. We are into manufacturing of the elevator and aside that we are also generating power. We are now in the business of captive power generation and we are now in the process of having in place, an Independent power Project (IPP). So as you can see, we have moved away from just providing the equipment to generating power for consumers’ use. So, the whole idea is to flow along with the economy, government policies and plans rather than just sitting in an area and say this is my only area of strength. We are evolving and we are doing everything possible to get going.”
We shall be meeting with co-manufacturers, we would see what they do and we understand there would be participants from neighbouring countries as well. So we look forward to meet other manufacturers within our environment and rub minds together.
There were challenges dealers have been facing recently as regard the issues of forex, do you see this affecting your participation at the exhibition?
Let me correct the notion, we are not a dealer. We are a manufacturer. And the challenges facing both the dealers and manufacturers are different. As a dealer, you simply sell based on what you get. It is always about how much you get and how much you sell and except you bought in foreign currency, you only deal with the rates as much as it affects you. But as a manufacturer, we are into the manufacturing of specialty products.
Ranging from what an ordinary dealer will have, just like every other Nigerians, is the challenge we are all confronted with which has to do with forex because we need to fund our operations. We have lots of backlog in our business transactions with oversees partners. And that tells you that it is a serious and general problem and it affects the specialty products much more because they are consumers’ products. Consumers’ products are much more in need most of the time because they are like food, you just have to eat. Even if it is to eat once a day, you have to eat.
In specialty products, that means you have to evaluate your needs and demands. And that may be like that demand was not as it used to be in the past. Then the value chain, the value chain has lots of problems because the cost have risen and when the cost have risen it means you may have to sell at higher prices. And if you say you are passing the cost to the buyers, because the cost has arisen, how do you do that when the buyers have lower purchasing power? Their lower purchasing power is as a result of high exchange rates. So, it is really challenging, it is very turbulent.
How will you rate the exhibition and its organisational structure as it reaches its fourth year?
Yes, I am aware that the exhibition is in its fourth years and I want to thank the organizers for the initiative because if not for other thing at least it offers us the opportunity to know what is going on in our industry. I hope they can. However, I will like to appeal to the organizers to ensure that in subsequent editions, the small scale operators can be incorporated. I know we have some many small scale operators who wish to participate but do not have the financial power to rent a space at the exhibition ground. Of course I’m not asking that a separate exhibition be organized for them but I’m saying there is a need to devise a strategy to bring them on board.
Are there new products or innovations JMG plans to showcase at the exhibition?
Yes, we have always been doing that over the years. We are the first assemblers of generators and from there we moved to manufacturing lots of components, we do lots of great things and we even diversified. We are into manufacturing of the elevator and aside that we are also generating power. We are now in the business of captive power generation and we are now in the process of having in place, an Independent power Project (IPP). So as you can see, we have moved away from just providing the equipment to generating power for consumers’ use. So, the whole idea is to flow along with the economy, government policies and plans rather than just sitting in an area and say this is my only area of strength. We are evolving and we are doing everything possible to get going.
What do you want government to still do on the use of more locally sourced contents?
It is about encouragement. Government should encourage us. Many manufacturers won’t mind using local contents but they need to be encouraged by government and the availability of such products are also key. For instance, there seems to be only one company that is producing battery in the company. Where are the others? But if government encourages them to sustain their businesses, the companies will be able to meet the needs for batteries in the country. So, basically we would like government to encourage manufacturers and industrialists so that we can do more than we are doing currently.