Wemy Industries Limited, a producer of hygiene health products has increased its local production capacity in its diaper, wipes, and sanitary pads business to discourage the importation of the products into the country and help conserve the country’s foreign exchange reserve.
Paul Odunaiya, chief executive officer and managing director of Wemy Industries, said the organisation is working and putting modalities in place to continue to increase its local sourcing of raw materials.
“We want to emphasize localization and manufacturing by discouraging the importation of diapers, wipes, and sanitary pads in the country,” Odunaiya said during the Wemy Industries distributors’ conference held recently in Lagos.
He called on the government to support the business on its move to localize its production and source its raw materials locally by creating the enabling environment for local businesses to thrive and scale.
“We call on the government to support us on this move because with their support our business will become bigger and we would conserve our foreign reserve in the process.”
Speaking at the company’s annual distributors conference, he noted that the conference provides the platform where distributors and investors can come together to celebrate and discuss the plans of the organisation.
“The conference is to talk among ourselves what we need to improve and how we can make Wemy become the largest business in the country’s health hygiene space,” he said.
Speaking on the strategy the business has adopted to manage the supply chain disruptions induced by the Russian-Ukraine war, Odunaiya said discipline, hard work, scarcities, giving up equity for investors and investing early have helped the business effectively manage the supply disruptions and the country’s economic crisis.
He added that Wemy is investing in technology and its employees for its expansion drive.
BusinessDay’s recent calculations show the diapers market is worth over N280 billion. The market was once dominated by Procter & Gamble, Hayat Kimya, and Kimberly Clark, among other smaller brands like Rainbow Fame. But foreign importers are taking a large chunk of the market as they compete better in terms of prices, though their products are sometimes substandard.
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Wemy has emerged as the first manufacturer of adult diapers in West Africa, strengthening its foothold in the local and regional market.
The company, which makes Nightingale and Dr. Browns hygienic brands, recently, brought in the adult diaper machine to solve a problem of scarcity and help conserve foreign exchange for the economy.
Speaking also, Dozie Anadebe, a distributor in the South East, said he is impressed with what he saw at the company’s factory and production line of its products.
“This is the third distributor conference I am attending. The first time I attended, the company told us their plans of setting up a plant to start producing locally,” he said.
“Now Wemy Industries is producing locally and increasing their production line. This is what has sustained them,” he further said.
Speaking on the impact of rising diesel prices on the business operations, he said the business has invested in the distribution of its products and it has helped to manage costs in that regard.
The price of Automotive Gas Oil, popularly known as diesel, has soared by over 200 percent in one year to N800 per litre from N220-N240 in June last year.
The surge in the price of diesel, which has been deregulated, followed the rally in global oil prices, buoyed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Nwanne Arinze, a distributor in Lagos, said she was very impressed with the facility on the ground at Wemy and believes that the scale in production will help them meet up with demand for the products.
She noted that the demand for adult diapers is increasing daily as more elderly Nigerians are embracing the product.
Also, Aruwa Capital, an investor in Wemy Industries, launched a $25, 000 grant for distributors of the company’s line of products. The organisation also launched its Dr. Browns water wipes – suitable for babies and adults with sensitive skin.
Photo caption: left to right; – paul Odunaiya, MD, Wemy Industries; Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, CEO, Aruwa Capital; Oba Odunaiya, operations & procurement director , Wemy Industries at the Wemy Industries distributors annual conference held recently in Lagos.
