The construction industry may well be on the path of growth as CFAO Equipment, a new subsidiary of the CFAO Group, has launched a wide range of construction equipment into Nigeria market.
Construction is one sector of the Nigeria’s economy that has suffered slow growth which industry experts have attributed to many factors including dominance by foreign firms, lack of skilled labour, and inability of local firms to procure equipment for big jobs.
The inability to access equipment, according to the experts, is a major problem that has held the industry down despite huge opportunities in housing and infrastructure development.
The good news now is that, apart from making the needed equipment available in the market, CFAO Equipment has said it can offer credit facility to credible customers that can be guaranteed by a third party such as a bank, adding that it is considering equipment leasing to help infrastructure development.
At a press conference in Lagos at the weekend to launch the CFAO Equipment and also announce the introduction of their flagship brands—Doosan and Culligan—into the market, Francois Saget, CFAO Equipment’s managing director, disclosed that his company was established in 2012 through the merger of four CFAO subsidiaries including CTNL, SOFITAM, TECMAT and STRUCTEC.
This merger, he explained, was borne out of the need to deliver greater and unparalleled value in equipment and services in Nigeria, noting that the CFAO Group was providing equipment and services in various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
He listed these sectors as construction, elevator, material handling, water storage and treatment, power systems, fuel dispensers, agriculture among others.
Earlier, Steve Faderin, CFAO’S Country Manager, had given brief background information on the CFAO Group, disclosing that the conglomerate which opened for business in Nigeria in 1902, has presence in 34 African countries.
He added that CFAO has over 100 subsidiaries, about 10,000 staff and is worth about N800 billion, adding that the group has contributed to Nigeria’s development “and has displayed high integrity in a difficult business environment”.
CHUKA UROKO
