Transit Support Services (TSS) Limited, assemblers of Shacman trucks in Nigeria has assured that, it will satisfy the logistics needs of the Dangote group following the conglomerate’s placement of large orders for the local assembly for the supply of the Chinese trucks for its diverse onshore and off-shore operation in the country. Dangote is 90 percent the principal fleet customer for the Shacman range of trucks being assembled under the TSS Limited in Nigeria.
Before this positive development, there are insinuations that Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote group; Africa’s richest man and also ranked among the first 100 world richest according to Forbes from the northern extraction is not beaming his searchlight on the Southern-eastern part of Nigeria in his investments expansion drive.
Prior to this piece of good news, current indices in terms of Dangote group’s unfolding economic impacts in the South-east and by extension the South-south region points to the contrary following the company’s 3,500 Shacman locally trucks assembled inside the Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company (ANAMMCO) automotive assembly plant in Emene, Enugu. Each of the assembled trucks under the semi knocked categorisation is valued at N18 million bringing the total amount of investment to N63billion.
Since the past five years when the agreement was sealed between Dangote group and TSS Limited, economic activities within the South-east and South-south economic activities are gradually picking up following the surge in operations at the ANAMMCO assembly plant in Emene, Enugu where TSS Limited is chunning out the Chinese trucks under what is referred to as contract assembly.
BusinessDay checks show that the assembly plant has the capacity to produce 15,000 units on two shifts when there is demand, 7,500 units on a single shift, about 50 units per week and over 200 units in a month totaling an estimated 3000 units per annum.
Frank Nneji, chairman and chief executive of TSS Limited, assemblers of Shacman truck told our reporter in Enugu that following the commencement of Shacman trucks, about 220 workers under the former ANAMMCO management were recalled including 15 expatriate partners that are resident in Enugu providing specific training to the workers on how to produce the trucks.
According to Nneji, ‘’in recalling them back, we have to recruit experienced workers among them that have experience working with ANAMMCO before. There is also a training school within the plant facility that handles training modules on mecha-tronics about automobile engineering including students on industrial training attachments’’.
From these pool of experienced trainees, other assemblers can hire the qualified ones to work with them, more-so when Enugu and other parts of the Eastern region are gradually becoming a cluster or motorcity because of its exposure to ANAMMCO in the past 40 years during which period a lot of manpower have been developed.
So far, the re-calibration of local Shacman trucks assembly have generated between 350 and 400 direct jobs, most of them benefactors to their immediate families. This is apart from the drivers and motorboys that deliver these trucks to their various destinations where they are rolled out of the assembly lines.
Apart from this numbers, there are also the multiplier effect to those directly engaged such as the local suppliers of lubricants, electrolytes and other manual workers not directly related to the day to day assembly line operations.
Fielding questions on how long the relationship between the duo would last, Nneji assured that the relationship between TSS Limited and Dangote group has come to stay as long as Dangote is satisfied with the truck.
While reiterating that if it is a short term relationship, it would not have lasted till date since 2016, he pointed that Dangote group has absolute trust on the quality of the locally assembled Shacman trucks that are backed by warranty that is of global standard and after-sales services.
‘’We are very hopeful that Dangote group will continue to remain our strong partner even as we are also working hard to develop capacity and backward integrate, create more jobs and more local inputs’’. Frank Nneji said.
MIKE OCHONMA
Transport Editor
