Frontline vehicle assembly plant, Dangote Sinotuck has entered into another form of expansion as it disclosed that it will be increasing its local input into the assembling plant up to 60 per cent, even as it plans to roll out commercial vehicles soon adding that the expansion drive, which is part of the backward integration plan, is meant to enhance value addition and local content.
Group General Manager of the Company, Hikmat Thapa made this disclosure during a facility tour of the Ikeja plant by the Lagos State Commissioner of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye.
He said having completed with the phase one of the project, the Company has embarked on the phase two which has to do with adding of the facilities for, Cab-welding, Painting and Trimming.
Thapa stated that the third phase of the project expansion would be to add the facilities that would be used to fabricate, Paint and Assemble different type of Trailer bodies, load bodies with dual and triple axles, Tipper bodies and tankers.
Explaining further, he said that Dangote Sinotruck has installed capacity to assemble and produce 15 –16 trucks per shift or 10,000 trucks annually and will create over 3000 different jobs across Nigeria.
“ The company has the plan to have welding and painting shops to fabricate and paint truck cabin and Trailers of different type so as to enhance local content of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) operation of commercial vehicle Manufacturing. In the next one year, we have on our agenda to assemble and fabricate Truck Cabins, different type of trailers, Tipper bodies and Tankers etc, in our plan to increase value additions up 40 – 60 %”
The automobile company boss said it hopes to expand sales to all the neighboring West African States, “We are targeting to sell our products to ECOWAS countries in addition to fulfilling local market requirement.”
Also speaking, the Commissioner expressed surprise at the level of activities going on at the plant and commended the entrepreneurial spirit of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of the Company whose businesses are geared towards touching lives.
Mrs. Oladunjoye was optimistic that with the level at which the Company was going, it will soon be a matter of time when Nigerians would have opportunity for cheap vehicles.
He charged other businessmen to emulate Alhaji Dangote in the efforts to create jobs through manufacturing rather than importation of finished products promising to relay the message of what she saw back to the state governor.
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