Sonia Foods Industries Limited, a wholly owned Nigerian company and manufacturer of Sonia Tomato Paste, is making major improvements to its Shagamu, Ogun State factory plant as part of its plans to meet the growing demand for its products and maximise efficiencies. The capital improvement project, valued at more than $8 million, will create more jobs while also enhancing the product quality of its flagship product, Sonia Tomato Paste, and its entire product chain, comprising of Sonia seasoning cube and Sonia baking powder.

The company has increased its production capacity by installation of additional machineries for the production of tomato paste in tins of various sizes (400g, 210g, and 70g). The production capacity of this additional machine would now be 7MT/HR for each size.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Sonia, Mr. Nnamdi Nnodebe, while speaking on the development, said: “We are glad to invest in our Shagamu plant, which will mean more jobs for the city. Since commencing operations five years ago with a simple ethos: to improve the lives of people with quality products. That ethos has never changed, and delivering excellent service is still right at the top of our priorities.

“Our customers are very important to us – and we want them to feel that way. We work hard to ensure that every customer has a great tasty experience with Sonia Tomato Paste and our other products. For us, at Sonia, their satisfaction is key; that is why we are wholeheartedly committed to giving consumers that value with our products.

“In line with our expansion drive, and the commitment to utmost value, we intend to vertically integrate backwards. We are in the process of building an ultra-modern factory and farm in some States that would have the capacity of producing the tomato concentrate. Our estimate is that the said production would commence and be completed within 36 months from February 2016.”

Also speaking, the AGM Operations, Mr China Okere, said: “Prioritising customers and giving them 100 percent value is what we pay particular attention to. That is why we embarked on this investment drive so as to further enhance premium quality of our canned tomatoes and tomato-based products.”