Manufacturing

Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd. (GREL) started life in 1957, the year Ghana declared its independence from Britain and became the first African country to free itself from colonial rule. The company's assets at the time of its establishment consisted of a comparatively small private plantation, known as Dixcove and owned by R T Briscoe. In those days it covered an area of 923 hectares at Abura in the Western Region of the country, however it was nationalised only three years after independence, becoming a state farm.

The news comes after the world’s second largest economy has taken significant steps to boost its economy after its growth rate slowed for two quarters in a row.

"We are seeing clearer signs of economic conditions improving," said Haibin Zhu, chief China economist at JP Morgan in Hong Kong.  "The recent shift in policy stance and more concrete policy announcements have been key reasons behind the recovery in the sector.”

Located 23 kilometres south of Perth, on the coast of Western Australia, is the Australian Marine Complex (AMC), the Southern Hemisphere’s premier integrated marine industrial facility. A world-class centre for excellence in manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, maintenance and technology development, it is home to more than 150 businesses. These businesses are separated into four main precincts; fabrication, support industry, technology and shipbuilding.

Located in the Western Province of Kenya, Mumias is home to one of the country’s largest and most established businesses, Mumias Sugar Company. The history of the company dates back to 1967, when the government of Kenya first commissioned Booker Agriculture and Technical Services to carry out a feasibility study on the viability of growing sugarcane in Mumias, before then initiating a pilot project.

“We don’t see our customers as just customers,” states Julian Lipson, General Manager of Waco Industries, “we see them as partners that we forge close relationships with from day one as we work to meet their requirements and solve their problems.” It is this approach to business that has seen Waco grow from an importer of industrial plugs and sockets into one of the biggest manufacturers and distributors of industrial electrical products in Southern Africa.

With its expanding financial, service, communications and entertainment sectors, Nigeria without question possesses all the vital components necessary to be recognised as one of Africa’s most important emerging markets. In fact, as of 2012, the country was ranked 30th in the world in terms of gross domestic product and the second largest in Africa. This places it on track to become one the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020 according to a number of experts and analysts.

The company’s net profit for the April-to-June period came in at a better-than-expected $174 million, up from $141 million a year ago, boosted by the doubling in the sale of mobile devices.

The move, designed to enhance integration and cohesion by using the name of an already globally recognised brand, will see EADS renamed Airbus Group and have three specific divisions; commercial aircraft, defence and space, and helicopters.

"The renaming simply gathers the entire company under the best brand we have, one that stands for internationalisation, innovation and integration - and also for some two-thirds of our revenues," said EADS chief executive Tom Enders. "It reinforces the message that 'we make things fly'."

It was in 1929 that O. T. H. Beier, a young pioneer living in Germany, made a life-changing decision, going against the wishes of his family by leaving his home and travelling to Durban to establish himself as a wool merchant. Little could Beier and his family have realised that with this decision he would be sowing the seeds for what would become a business legacy that continues in 2013.

Packaging specialist Coresa was established in Chile in 1966. “We started making flexible containers from polypropylene in the 1980s and also some fabrics for specific applications,” says managing director Jose Ignacio Arrate, “so we’ve been making these products now for thirty years, and the company has been in existence for nearly fifty years altogether.”