SAHCOL’s chairman, Afolabi wins The Sun’s ‘Business Man of the Year’ award 2014

THE Chairman of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL), Barr. Dr. Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi (MON), a lawyer, has been given The ‘Sun’s Business Man of the year award 2014’.

The award was presented to him at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos in a very elaborate ceremony which had in attendance Crème de la crème of the private and public sectors.

According to the newspapers’s Board of Editors, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi was picked for the award in recognition of his exceptional performance as one of the pillars on which the nation’s maritime sector stands, and his significant contributions to the Aviation and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

The Sun further noted that, “having worked for some years to gain the requisite experience, Barr. Taiwo Afolabi’s robust entrepreneurship skills propelled him to quit his job and established his own company, Sifax Nigeria Limited, from next to nothing. 

Speaking further about his achievements, The Sun noted: “The journey was not particularly smooth, but you weathered the storm, trod on converting daunting challenges into stepping stones. Interestingly, your entrepreneurship resilience paid off as Sifax, which morphed from a small company in 1988, has grown into a conglomerate of companies with interests in maritime, aviation, oil and gas, hospitality, and logistics.” 

Apart from its branches in Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt, Sifax operates in Ghana, United States of America, London and Equatorial Guinea. It also has business relationship with many countries worldwide” said the organizers.

Business Man of the year category of The Sun Award is usually presented to the Chief Executive of a business organization, or a top business manager who, despite obvious challenges that confront businesses in Nigeria, has displayed unparalleled acumen at value creation and service in ways that have impacted positively on the nation’s economy.

The subsidiaries of Sifax Nigeria, includes Sifax Shipping, Sifax Offdock, Sifax Stevedoring, Sifax Oil & Gas, SAHCOL, amongst others.

 Since Sifax took over SAHCOL in December 2009, SAHCOL has successfully established a strong market presence in the domestic and international airline ground handling industry, with peerless expertise in providing exceptional Passenger, Ramp and Cargo/Warehousing services.

 Owing to the boost in confidence, SAHCOL now provides ground handling services to some of the world best airlines, amongst which are Arik Air, Emirates Airlines ,United Airlines, Air France, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Allied Air, Aero Contractors Airline, Dana Air, Sudan Air, African Open Sky Airlines, Med-view Airlines, Camair-Co, South African Airways, Etihad Airways, Atlas Jet Airlines, Max Air, Kabo Air, African Word Airways (AWA), Gambia Bird Airlines, AZMAN Air, Ethiopian Air, Air Cote d’ivoire, and other ad-hoc operators.

This has made SAHCOL a reference point where efficiency of a successful flight is born in the Nigerian Aviation sector.