Нигериялық United Africa Company: Тарихы мен қызмет салалары

Lagos based conglomerate

The United Africa Company of Nigeria is a Nigerian publicly listed company based in Lagos. Its areas of operation include manufacturing, services, logistics and warehousing, agricultural and real estate. UACN's food operations include UAC Franchising, UAC Restaurants and UAC Dairies. It also has equity stake in UACN Property Development Company, a quoted firm, CAP Plc, makers of Dulux paints and Portland Paints, manufacturers of Sandtex paints. A former chairman of the board was Senator Udoma U. Udoma when Mr Larry Ettah was serving as Group Managing Director and CEO in 2010.

UAC Nigeria also known as UACN was first incorporated in Nigeria under the name Nigerian Motors Ltd on April 22, 1931 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the United Africa Company Ltd, the firm that later became UAC International (UACI). UAC International, a subsidiary of Unilever, included in its business, the trading activities formerly carried on by a number of other companies including The Niger Company Ltd. and the African and Eastern Trade Corporation Ltd, all of which had long standing trading links with West Africa.

At inception, United Africa Company of Nigeria was a subsidiary of UACI's group of companies in Nigeria, a group that was incorporated to transact in selected markets within the country. Many of these companies later became divisions under UAC of Nigeria in 1973 following a consolidation exercise. UACN's business activities was initially in the auto trade market but soon expanded into other areas. Strategic to its business conduct in Nigeria, the firm believed in the development of the economy and an improvement in the income of farmers and Nigerians as key to its success, this belief partly motivated its drive to expand into other areas of business. A major segment of the firm was produce buying of cash crops from local farmers for export to foreign markets. This activity also involved extension of credit to traders and middlemen who went into the hinterland to source for quality grades of produce. The firm operated in this market through staffing of personnel at different buying stations or through the use of traders and middlemen. When marketing boards were created for major cash crops such as palm kernels, Cocoa and groundnuts, UAC of Nigeria was appointed as one of the licensed buying agents. The company also traded in other agricultural products not regulated by the government such as hides and skins, beeswax, rubber, shea nut, castor seed, piassava, kapok, coffee, copra and gum. The revenue from the sale of agricultural produce was used to import various goods for sale in the Nigerian market.

UAC's textile division was one of the largest textile distributors in Nigeria.

T and E or Tractor and Equipment handled the franchise to sell Caterpillar trucks in Nigeria. UAC's relationships with CAT officially began in 1950. Mining of tin in Jos had created a market for mining equipment which prodded the firm to begin selling mining machinery in the country. The firm's product also included CAT's agricultural, infrastructure maintenance and marine engineering products. The firm also sold Braithwaite steel tanks and storage products. local investors. UACN has divested from many of its legacy divisions, its current business operation is led by food related products managed through its UAC Foods, UAC Dairies, Grand Cereal and Oil Mills and UAC Restaurants strategic business divisions. In addition to food products, the firm is involved in property development through interest in the publicly listed UACN Property Development Corporation and also in logistics through MDS logistics. The firm acquired significant interest in Chemical and Allied Products Plc, makers of Dulux paints and in Livestock Feeds Plc.

UACN markets brands such as Mr Biggs fast food restaurants, SWAN Water (natural spring water repositioned from 2013 to the top of the category by its sales team), Gala, Grand oils, Supreme Ice Cream. UAC Dairies markets Supreme Ice Creams and through Grand Cereal and Oil Mills, UACN produces and markets Grand Pure cooking oil brands.