Unilever to Beef Up Production Line...

... With ?13.5 Billion Plant

Unilever Ghana Limited has launched a ?13.5 billion Crude Palm Oil Physical Refinery aimed at producing 50,000 tons of oil a year for both export and domestic markets.

The Refinery, which was started in September 1999 and completed in June this year, was launched Monday afternoon at the Unilever Manufacturing Plant at Tema.

The fully computerised and automated Refinery replaces the chemical production plant of Unilever, which was very expensive to run.

Commissioning the project, Vice President John Evans Atta Mills praised the establishment of the project by Unilever at a time when the country was in economic turmoil.

He said though the prevailing economic difficulties and government's inability to source funds from its development partners have worsened the country's economy, there is every hope that the situation would improve.

"The impact of all these development on the economy has been traumatic for many Ghanaians and distressing for our business. But we can now comfortably say that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and the macro-economic instability should begin to taper off."

The Vice President urged Unilever to continue with its expansion programme with relevant needs to spearhead its activities. He said Unilever's social programmes are well appreciated by the government, adding that his government has in the midst of all the economic difficulties, not relented in its determination to support Ghanaian industries.

"Government will continue to create the environment that would enable the private sector, particularly local manufacturing industries thrive.

Government also remains committed to offering whatever support to ensure that our local industries get a foothold in foreign markets."

Mills said it was in this light that the government implemented initiatives such as the imposition of special taxes on selected imported products.

This was meant to support local industries.

Mills noted that the country's future can not be sustained on over-reliance of primary commodities, and asked industries to strive towards value-added manufacturing, instead of the current export-dependecy scenario.

The President of the Africa Business Group of Unilever, Dr. Manfred Stach, asked the government to seek a quick resolution of the economic problems confronting Ghana. He said this must be done, "so that businesses and industries operating in the country would be able to achieve optimum levels of performance and contribute more meaningful to the nation's development by way of tax payment, employment generation and investment."

Stachs said the contribution of Unilever to the Ghanaian economy could improve if the present bottlenecks are removed. "In 1998, taxes and duties paid by the Company to the government amounted ?42.7 billion. This figure increased to ?51.1 billion last year. And so given the right economic environment, the Company could generate substantial tax revenue for the government."

He said Unilever would continue to invest in various sectors of the Ghanaian economy, despite the prevailing economic crunch. He said Unilever invested ?8.5 billion in Ghana in 998, ?13.63 billion in 1999 and would continue to do so. The commissioning, he said, should see an increase in the export revenue of the country.

On his part, Mr. Ishmael E. Yamson, Chairman of Unilever Ghana noted that the commissioning should result in Ghanaian consumers being served better by his company. He said the economy needs a redirection, if the nation is to sustain its economic growth and development.

He said there were questions as to the wisdom in pumping more investment into Ghana at a time when the economic crisis had begun, when they attempted to source for investment for the construction of the Refinery. "… There was great trepidation as to whether we have taken a wise investment decision. Luckily, there has been the other positive side of devaluation. Our products are currently cheaper than imported substitutes even without special taxes and we should be pursuing more aggressive export drive in our sub-region."

Mr. Michael Charamba, Supply Chain Director, noted that Unilever is dedicated to meeting the everyday needs of the people everywhere. He said Unilever has invested ?23 billion in its Ghanaian operations since 1998, most of which went into re-tooling and equipping the company with state of the art technology.

Meantime, Unilever widened its market horizon by launching itself on the net in Accra last Friday reports Michelle Uduigwome.

This line of action, according to Mr. Ishmael Yamson, is in tune with consumer demands for more efficient and convenient shopping solutions.

Yamson said the launch throws a challenge to Unilever to reduce overall costs and simplify its market experience.

He said unileverghana.com is the first step at attracting international customers to carry brand messages and eventually offer users the opportunity to share brand ideas with the company.

The Customer Service Director, Mr. Charles Cofie, noted that even though future effectiveness of customer care may depend on technology, it should not be driven by it. He said the innovative technology would be futile if it eventually does not serve Unilever's vital business objectives.

"Our goal is to create value in the eyes of our customers and potential customers and potential customers, and surely our Internet website, will enhance our customers with competitive differences."

Unilever will set up two Internet cafes by the end of the year in Accra and Kumasi to cater for selected domestic organisations and institutions.