Obinna Chima
The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Waobote, has expressed support for the Nigeria Machine Tools Limited (NMTL).
According to a statement, Waobote said this when he led members of the NCDMB delegation on a familiarisation tour of the company’s 110 hectare manufacturing complex.
He pointed out that the manufacturing industry in various countries around the world play a huge role in its economic development, job creations and technological advancement. According to the statement, in a developing economies such as Nigeria, industrialisation had been slowed paced due largely to over-dependence on the oil and gas industry for foreign exchange earnings and over-reliance on foreign machines, to the detriment of the manufacturing sector.
Furthermore, the statement noted that Nigeria’s manufacturing sector had experienced a positive turn with the privatisation of NMTL.
The company founded in 1980, Osogbo, Osun State offers precision engineered products, production and distribution of machine tools and accessories, mechanical spares and after sales support. As a catalyst for industrialisation, NMTL had partnered with several government owned establishments such as the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to boost machine tools production in the country which would in turn reduce the cost of quality tools to local end users, create more jobs, grow exports and reduce dependency on foreign tools.
The Executive Secretary pledged NCDMB’s support to the company.
He commended Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNPECO) for identifying and partnering with NTML saying, “I am particularly impressed with the facilities I’ve see here today. I commend SNEPCO for identifying and partnering with an indigenous company to manufacture tools useful to the industry. I assure you we will latch on what SNEPCO has done especially on your potentials to manufacture bolts, flanges and other accessories to call on other IOCs and indigenous oil companies to patronise you.”
Wabote further assured the company of patronage in ongoing projects and lauded the standard of the company’s training facilities.
He added: “There is no other place to train machinists in this country like what I have seen here. I urge you to upgrade the trainings to certification standards because this constitutes 80 per cent of your market. If you can do this, the patronage from NCDMB will be limitless. NCDMB will throw its weight behind you.”
In his welcome address at the event, the Managing Director of NTML, Mr. Nobert Chukwuma, said the company would continue to play its role to ensure Nigeria meets its industrialisation goals despite the challenges that abound.
He stated that the company’s capacity utilisation stood at 45 per cent, identifying other challenges such as anti-competitive pricing and dependency on imported tools.
The chairman of NTML, Mr. Didi Ndiomu further reiterated the company’s commitment to continually manufacture tools that can compete both locally and internationally, assuring the Executive Secretary his recommendations would be applied and results delivered.
NMTL’s facility consists of four assembly and heavy machine shops, three light machine shops, and a foundry with independent pattern and casting shops and a dedicated training school and the second largest foundry in the country.
