Japan’s Daikin Industries eyes new market expansion in Nigeria

Daikin Industries of Japan is seeking to expand its presence in the Nigerian market in a move aimed to boost its export aspirations, Kanwaljeet Jawa, chairman/ managing director of Daikin India, said on Tuesday.

Jawa, who led a high-powered delegation of the company on a visit to the factory and assembly plant of its Nigerian partner — Sacral Industries Limited, located in Isolo, Lagos, stressed that the company is committed to taking advantage of market opportunities in line with its aspiration to become a dominant brand in the African market.

The Japan-based firm is one the world’s HVAC leaders which engages primarily in the development, manufacturing, sales, and aftermarket support of air conditioning, heating, ventilation, refrigeration equipment, refrigerants, other chemicals, and oil and hydraulic products with presence in at least 150 countries.

According to Jawa, Daikin has made significant investments in the Indian market to prepare for the export market, especially to the African continent.

“India can cater to the Nigerian market very well because the needs are similar, if you look at it from the standpoint of price, people’s requirements, processes, systems and brand. So, the combination of innovative Japanese technologies and the partner’s understanding of the local market will help a great deal in becoming number one in the market,” he said.

While expressing satisfaction with the work done by its partner, DaiTech Nigeria Limited, in the areas of knowledge transfer through skill enhancement and training, production scaling, and the delivery of eco-friendly products in the market, he acknowledged that the penetration of air conditioning was still low in Nigeria.

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He stated that Daikin India has the capacity to deliver the right innovative products to meet the Nigerian market’s demands since the needs of both countries are similar.

“I am highly impressed with what I have seen in the factory and training center facilities. With this, I think I can boldly say that Nigeria is ready to deliver for Daikin. For me, this is the right time for us to take off and move the Daikin brand to the next level. We strongly feel that we can now supply the products from India since we have a ready market here in Nigeria”, he said.

He stated that the company would continue to invest in technology, research and development with the goal of meeting customer needs. This aligns with the company’s target to secure 10 percent market share in the room air-conditioning market segment in Nigeria in the near future.

He said the company had invested significantly in the last few years, resulting in very agile production facilities. He noted that the intention is to create an ecosystem of manufacturing backed by intense research and development capabilities.

The company’s chief expressed confidence that the company would become dominant in the market soon, given the strong physical infrastructure put in place by partners.

In his remarks, Bhojraj Rupani, chairman of Sacral Industries Limited, expressed excitement about the renewed partnership with Daikin, noting that it was poised to delivering the best quality and affordable products to Nigerian customers.

Rupani noted that given its established presence and potential in the Nigerian market, he was confident that Daikin would make consistent progress.

“With DaiTech, we are building a strong base here for Daikin. Given the potential of a market like Nigeria, we are confident we will work together to make consistent progress and bring the best quality and price that Daikin is now working to offer in the market. We feel privileged to partner with Daikin and bring the best of Daikin to Nigeria,” he said.