The minister for Trade and Industry, Dr. Olusegun Aganga on 3rd May, 2014 paid a working visit to some facilities of Sona Group of Industries at Ota in Ogun State. The minister’s visit came eight days after the official opening ceremony of the Shongai Technologies and Recycling Plant by Sona Group during which the minister was represented by the Acting Managing Director of the Bank Of Industry, Mr. Waheed Olagunju.
The minister was received by the Chairman of Sona Group, Mr. A.K Mirchandani and other Directors of his group at Foods, Agro and Allied Industries Limited, one of the companies within the group. He also took time inspect Shongai Technologies Limited where he lauded the group’s investment of USD 570 Million in world-class, top-of-the range technology in the packaging and printing solutions that were unveiled to him.
Mr. Ashok Manghnani, Chief Operating Officer of Sona Group gave a detailed presentation of the group’s activities in Nigeria and the ECOWAS region. The Group’s activities span across food & beverage manufacturing, industrial gases production, electricity generation and distribution, all types of packaging solutions, including collection and recycling of plastic wastes as well as production of distilled products.
Our Chairman, Mr. Arjan Mirchandani said that “Sona Group are experts at pioneering investments and development of critical, challenging and virgin sectors as well as turn-around experts for ailing companies. We Deploy best-in-class equipment and machinery in every industry we operate and we operate a consistent backward integration policy with investments in local capacity to produce needed raw materials in Nigeria. We also execute a capacity-building policy for host communities and states in which we operate”.
Dr. Aganga said that, “I want to congratulate you on what you are doing. You are already into all the major sectors that are critical to the economy. We are here to support the food beverages and the tobacco sector of the industry precisely the largest of the subsector and is the fastest growing of all the sectors in the country. Dr. Aganga also urged the group to tap into other areas of opportunity in the sector in which farmers should also be hugely considered.