Lafarge Africa Plc was among winners at the Businessday Top 25 Most Innovative Companies and Institutions Award 2017 that took place over the weekend. The building solutions giant emerged the most innovative in manufacturing as a result of its development of alternative fuel supply and utilisation system to substitute the use of fossil fuel.
The award ceremony recognised the innovative exploits of companies and institutions in 2016; a year acknowledged as one of the toughest business years ever experienced in view of the economic recession that swept through various industries in the country.While the recession lasted, many companies found it difficult to access foreign exchange largely as a result of drastic drop in crude oil prices and the monetary policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria which many saw as debilitating to businesses.
The new challenges forced a lot of companies to look inwards, and seek local raw materials to keep up production. Others like Lafarge put on their thinking caps to proffer alternative solutions in their industries.
Receiving the award, Vipul Agrawal, Marketing Director, Lafarge Africa Plc said, “We are very glad for this recognition. We just wanted to make a difference in line with the global sustainability roadmap of the LafargeHolcim Group and to give our stakeholders more reason to believe in our brand.
He explained further that, “Our Biomass Alternative Fuel Feeding System which was commissioned on September 21st, 2016 is focused on developing an alternative fuel (primarily biomass) supply and utilization system to partly substitute the use of fossil fuels at our Ewekoro and Sagamu plant facilities. It has been quite successful and we are motivated to replicate it in our other operations”
Expressing the company’s feelings towards the recognition of its efforts, Agrawal assured that, “It will encourage us to continue to create value to the communities that we serve.”
On the rationale behind the awards, Frank Aigbogun, publisher and chief executive officer of BusinessDay stated that the 25 awardee companies have weathered drastic drop in demand of their products, challenges in accessing foreign exchange, and uncertain macro-economic environment to remain afloat.
“What we seek to do is to advance our philosophy and our culture or promoting innovation in our national space in recognising people, companies and institutions that are moving the boundaries in creating and deploying ground breaking services and products, creating wealth, expanding employment opportunities for our teeming youths and restoring hope for our nation,” Aigbogun said.
