Gilbert Ekugbe
Henkel Nigeria, the maker of WAW and Nittol laundry detergents, has reaffirmed its commitment towards ensuring its products are made from the highest quality standards to meet the needs of its loyal customer across the country.
The Head of Quality, Elijah Egbedeyi, stated this when he received on behalf of the company the National Quality Excellence Award as the best in class quality cleaning soaps production company of the year in Lagos.
Receiving the award, Egbedeyi said the recognition is also a reassurance of the company’s resolve to continue producing innovative and quality products to surpass customers’ expectations.
He added that Henkel Nigeria aims to develop Nigeria-centric brands and products that are backed by global German product quality and reliability standards.
The awards ceremony was organised by the Allied Integrated Promotion and Management Limited, a frontline Quantity Assessment and Promotion company had in attendance top government functionaries, CEOs and Quality Managers.
The event themed; ‘The Art and Science of Quality/Marketing’, explored the symbiotic relationship between human and science aspect of quality management.
The summit addressed soft skills, cultural consciousness and leadership offered alongside practical presentations, outlining leading-edge applications and technologies, which helped to bridge the gap between emotional and scientific intelligence, and advanced the quality community’s national standing as a comprehensive resource for progress, innovation and excellence.
In 2016, Henkel acquired Expand Global Industries Limited (EGIL). Since then, Henkel has continuously invested in the improvement of the production tools and the SHE standards in its Ibadan site. Thus, contributing to satisfy the local demand in products that combine high performance, reliability, and quality.
Through an extensive local distributor network, Henkel provides thousands of jobs across the country as it aims to be a major contributor to the Nigerian economy while supporting its driving forces and empowering talents with the ultimate ambition to produce for Nigerians by Nigerians.
In another development, the detergent maker also celebrated the annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work, reiterating its commitment to workplace safety, which has been an integral part of the company’s corporate culture for decades.
The Henkel Nigeria Plant Manager, Roman Rylyk, said the company is fully aligned with the theme of the 2022 World Day for Safety and Health at Work; ‘Act together to build a positive safety and health culture’. “At Henkel, our purpose is Pioneers at heart for the good of generations.
“This is built from our roots and carries a long-standing legacy of innovation, responsibility, and sustainability into the future. Leveraging on the health and safety of our workers is central to the sustainability of our business,” he said.
He noted that the company does this with the provision of a safe and healthy work environment for the workforce and the collaborative notion of one worker being responsible for the safety of the other.
Rylyk further said, “Safety is our utmost priority in our daily operations. We manage, design, and operate our facilities to maximize safety…this includes continuous investment in the improvement of the production tools and SHE standards in our plant.”
As a multinational company, Henkel has been able to leverage off of its global best practice to ensure it has a systemic and well-structured local strategy when it comes to safety standards.
Rylyk asserted that this consists of, but not limited to, full compliance to local regulation and corporate standards, as well as providing technical solutions to protecting high risk industrial equipment and training their employees on safety requirements and safe operating procedures.
Staff are trained multiple times a year on machine handling, safety protocols, coupled with a high level of safety governance and supervision. It is mandatory for all onsite employees to be fully equipped with personnel protect equipment at all times, said Jennifer Ikuenobe, Henkel Nigeria Human Resources Manager.
Henkel remains committed to complying with the various Nigerian Labour and Workplace Health and Safety laws by providing a safe working environment for its employees, third-party workers, and contractors.The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally as the 2022 edition focuses on enhancing social dialogue towards a culture of safety and health.
