FAE Limited, a leading envelope manufacturing and customising company, has said that it retains leadership in envelope production, urging Nigerians to patronise locally-made products.
The manufacturer says it appreciates its distributors who have been its backbone in the past year.
Richard Abiodun Okeowo, chairman, FAE, said despite the experience of the past months, especially the difficult terrain in which businesses operated, the firm managed the challenges and came out strong enough to retain the leadership position in the market.
Appreciating the distributors, he said, “We cannot but recognise those who have stayed with us and performed well in the year through the turbulent storm, not forgetting the many years of patronage.”
“When we started the journey of 2019, it looked like the goals we set were hard and unachievable, but when we look back now at the results today, particularly our performance, they all look encouraging, however a little bit short of expectation,” Okeowo said.
Speaking on the progress of the company, he said that all the departments and those in the value chain had contributed in achieving the great feat.
“We have moved from open market operations of ‘yesteryears’ to a robust and fully fledged organised inter-state distributorship and corporate marketing with responsible sales workforce. We also moved to ECOWAS region last year, and we hope that the prospect of moving further into other terrains such as Ivory coast will be successful,” he further said.
In an interview, Layo Bakare-Okeowo, chief executive officer (CEO) of FAE Limited, said it was important for the company to appreciate its distributors as they played a significant role in its growth. “We appreciate our distributors because even if we manufacture, if we do not have distributors to sell to the market, we will not be here today.”
She urged the government to support the manufacturing sector with policies, schemes and necessary infrastructure, especially as the countdown to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement had begun.
“We are ready to manufacture and expand the market, but the government needs to help by addressing infrastructural challenges,” she said.
She further urged the government and Nigerians to grow the country by patronising local products, adding that directly or indirectly, it was a form of development for the country and the economy.
Caroline Ogbonna, sales manager, in her remarks, said the company’s position as a market leader in the industry was a result of the distributors’ efforts, in addition to its high quality products.
She said that in a bid to improve client satisfaction, the company engaged in research in different places.
Speaking to the distributors, she said, “When a target is set, some will meet and some will not. However, note that there is always a prize for meeting up with the target.”
Gbemi Faminu
