The rebound of Golden Guinea Breweries

In Abia, the philosophy of teaching the youths to fish rather than giving fish to them is now a reality.  Now, the emphasis is on revamping moribund industries or completing abandoned ones. Barring any unexpected circumstances, the moribund Golden Guinea Breweries Plc at Afara Layout, Umuahia will soon bounce back to life.

Installation of modern equipment is now nearing completion. This followed the visit of Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu to the factory. The new production line has capacity for producing 48,000 bottles per hour. This is a far cry from the old production capacity of 24,000.The brewery capacity has been doubled both in production and equipment. The equipment is of the latest technology and doubles the capacity of both Ama Breweries in Enugu and SAB Miller at Onitsha.

At the peak of its operations more than a decade ago, the company employed  5,000 workers and when it commences operations, the staff strength is expected to double.

With strong assurances from the management that 70 percent of its staff will be locals, the unemployment situation in Abia will soon witness a turnaround .When the brewery  comes on stream it will positively  affect  distribution networks, support  and ancillary services,including  the food vendors, plumbers, among others.

Last year when Gov. Ikpeazu met with the Umuahia Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, he said his administration has already taken inventory of moribund industries in the state with a view to reviving them.

He said it is unfortunate that some Resident Engineers of industries just sit back and watch obsolete equipment brought into such firms, saying that this has been the bane of moribund industries, including the Ajaokuta Steel Industry and the Modern Ceramics, Umuahia.

He promised to engage the services of the group to be part of the government projects from conception to completion, adding “The government wants to find a way of indigenising the things being done in the state. As a result of the present economic situation, the government cannot tolerate trial and error in engineering works, due to the risk on property and lives, to avoid financial wastages and to get it right at first”.

Ikpeazu said that Nigerian Engineers are one of the best in the world and promised to pay attention to the Faculties of Engineering of the Abia State University, Uturu and the Abia Polytechnic, Aba.

Chairman of the Nigerian Engineers, Umuahia Branch, Victor Ihediwa lamented the ugly state of the metallurgical complexes in Aba and Umuahia, as well as the dwindling fortunes of Modern Ceramics industries and the Golden Guinea Breweries, Umuahia. He appealed for a radical turnaround of the outfits to beef up revenue earnings and create employment opportunities for the youths. Ihediwa called for the establishment of a befitting faculty of engineering in the Abia State University, Uturu to produce enough engineering and technical manpower for   the state.

Golden Guinea, established by Premier of the defunct Eastern Region,Dr. Michael Okpara was shut down in 2003 following a fire outbreak during the administration of Orji Uzor Kalu. Efforts were on to revive the facility during the administration of former governor, Theodore Orji.

Orji gave strong promises of reviving the brewery by setting up a committee after it was discovered that the company which was earlier claimed to have been sold to a private company was false.

According to Orji,‘’What happened was that when the company had financial problem, it was bailed out by those now occupying the place because the management of the brewery was unable to repay the loan”.

Golden Guinea was engaged in the brewing,bottling and marketing of Golden Guinea lager beer and Eagle Stout, as well as Bergedorf premium lager beer and Bergedorf Malta under a franchise from Holsten Brauerei AG of Hamburg.

It will be recalled that the employment situation in Abia State was jeopardised when some of the industries were closed.  One of such industry is Modern Ceramics Limited, Umuahia (MOCERAM). The factory was distressed during the civil war, reactivated in 1972 but shut down in 1996 due to obsolete technology and vandalism of the production lines during successive military regimes.

The brewery was handed over to UCLResources and Investments Ltd (UCL), Umuahia on May 9, 2003 and renamed UCL-Modern Ceramics Industries Ltd (UCL-MOCERAM).

Under the arrangement, UCL owns 80%, Abia State government 5%, with the other 15% reserved for undisclosed investors. It was projected that, when fully operational, it will employ 1,000 people directly and provide thousands of jobs indirectly.

In Abia, emphasis is now on teaching people how to fish, through revamping moribund industries. They are urging Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu to extend his hands of fellowship to other industries in the state that went moribund for  one reason or the other.

Ukegbu is the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Gov. Ikpeazu on media.