Engineers Visit BUA Refinery, Seek Stronger Industry Collaboration

As part of efforts to promote continuous professional development among engineers, the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Lagos Branch, on Thursday visited the BUA Foods Plc Sugar Refinery Plant to encourage continuous professional development.

The visit, which included young engineers from different disciplines, was aimed at providing hands-on industry experience and strengthening collaboration between the society and the private sector.

Speaking during the visit, Chairman, NSE Lagos Branch, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, said the significance of the tour was to expose members to practical knowledge beyond classroom training.

She described the NSE as a body composed of engineers from various disciplines, including electrical, chemical, and civil engineering, united to promote professional growth.

She said: “The society is devoted to continuous development. Before becoming a member, you must have classroom experience, but this kind of visit gives hands-on exposure. It is a continuous learning process where you unlearn old practices and learn new ones to remain relevant.”

Kesha added that such engagements would broaden engineers’ perspectives, providing them with insight into various aspects of engineering practice and helping them become well-rounded professionals.

She said the society was also designed to foster unity among engineers, saying NSE at the national level was working to strengthen standards within the profession.

“At the branch level, we want to promote and protect our engineers as pace setters. We will follow up on them to see what they are doing. If they are not representing us well, we can caution them or withdraw our services from such companies,” she said.

She urged BUA management to ensure that engineers employed by the company were fully registered with NSE and allowed time to participate in the society activities.

Responding, the Regional Manager at BUA Foods Plc, Dr Samuel Shokumbi said the company was committed to local production through backward integration.

He said that while only a few raw materials were currently sourced locally, most were imported, particularly raw sugar from Brazil, which undergoes refining at the Lagos plant.

Shokumbi said the Federal Government had directed sugar producers to embrace backward integration, adding that BUA had already commenced the process.

According to him, the company’s Lafiagi Sugar Company project, located in Kwara State, is expected to produce 10,000 metric tonnes per day upon full operation, making it the largest in West Africa.

He added that the Lagos refinery currently has a stock capacity of 2,000 metric tonnes and operates at about 70 to 71 per cent of its installed daily production capacity.

“We are working towards full backward integration by the end of the year,” he said.

On support for local farmers, Shokumbi said the company had engaged many farmers in its host communities as part of efforts to boost local sugar production and create jobs.

He disclosed that 97.5 per cent of staff at the Lagos plant were Nigerians, while the remaining were expatriates.

“When the plant started, it was the only one among the three plants that used Nigerians extensively for the project.

“Many understudied expatriates were later employed directly as technology and knowledge were transferred,” he said.

Shokumbi also confirmed plans to expand the refinery capacity, noting that the ongoing projects formed part of the expansion strategy.

He said the refinery produces two types of sugar: fortified and non-fortified, with the fortified sugar intended for direct consumption by trade customers.

The team was taken round the facility, including the control room, production floor, power generation unit under the utility department, and the quality assurance department.

The highlight of the visit was a tour of the new refinery project site, where members received first-hand information on ongoing expansion works.

The visit underscored the importance of collaboration between professional bodies and industry players in advancing engineering practice and national development.