NIGERIA – Marking its diamond jubilee celebrations in the Nigerian market, Fan Milk Plc, subsidiary of multinational food-products corporation Danone, opened a new state-of-the-art frozen dairy product line in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The new facility, constructed at a cost of £8m (US$9m), show cased the company’s commitment to strengthening local investments which would result in improved production capacity, efficiently fulfill demands, and ensure production of high quality and nutritious products to all customers nationwide.
During the 60th anniversary celebrations, Mr. Domenico Albanese, Danone Vice President of Operations in Africa, Middle East, and Asia, stated that the project accounted for 50 per cent of the company’s capex for Africa in 2021.
This investment will be bolstered by the construction of a new yoghurt line expected to open by June 2022 and a recently commissioned water treatment facility to support four neighbouring educational institutions – Eleyele High School, School of Hygiene, School of Nursing, and the School of Health technology.
Engr Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State said, “Ibadan city has been home to Fan Milk Plc since the 1960s, when it was only a recombination plant, a distribution centre and less than 30 employees.
“It has now developed into an international brand impacting the Nigerian population and other countries on the continent as part of the Danone Company.
“We remain committed to supporting businesses, creating the right environment, providing adequate infrastructure and security. We assure Fan Milk Danone of our unwavering commitment to its business growth.”
The makers of widely enjoyed ice cream brands i.e., Fan Ice and Go Slo, promised to keep innovating to better serve the Nigerian populace and foster a healthy and sustainable ecosystem, employing the very best of technology, people and processes to produce high quality and nutritious products for Nigerians.
Ferdinand Mouko, MD Fan Milk Danone Nigeria said, “With this new infrastructure, we can bolster our manufacturing capacity while contributing to employment opportunities and wealth creation for the people in Oyo State and Nigeria at large. We are committed to growing with Oyo State, as we collaborate with the state’s government.”
Fan Milk Plc was established in 1961, currently employing over 800 personnel and boasting of over ten distribution centres and over 20,000 agents and vendors combined.
With the new investment, Fan Milk is heightening its competitive edge in a market with players such as FrieslandCampina WAMCO who recently launched the establishment of a mobile yoghurt plant.
The facility will enable the company to process milk from local dairy farmers into long-life yoghurt drinks.
It will start with a processing capacity of 1.8 million kilograms of milk and can annually produce more than 18 million pouches of drinking yogurt.
The processing capacity can be rapidly scaled up, and expects to begin operations during the first quarter of 2022.
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