Delivering value in the built environment

Nispo Porcelain Limited is the first indigenous manufacturing company engaged in the design and production of Superior and exquisite wall and Vitrified floor tiles in Nigeria. Nispo serves the needs of the building and construction industry with the state of the art ceramic and porcelain plant located in Igbesa, Agbara industrial area of Ogun State. Mr. Afam Mallinson Ukatu, the CEO of the firm and Chairman of Mallinson and Partners has been in business for over three decades and leads the board of several thriving businesses around the country. In this exclusive interview with Nnamdi Nwokolo, the recipient of the Integrity in Business Award for his outstanding business character and noble work ethic, glazed with transparency and truthfulness by the Nigerian Association of Christian Journalists, spoke on the Focus of a CEO.

WHAT influenced your choice of business? I studied Philosophy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka because it’s all about deep thinking and further thinking which I see as a means to resolving life challenges. In terms of my choice of business, I’ve always been interested in business from childhood.

Although my mum wanted me to be a pastor but somehow I couldn’t attend pastoral school which shifted my interest from that vocation. I had the opportunity of having a father who is into business and I had to understudy him each time we are on holidays.

So, as a little kid, I picked interest in trading and I can tell you that marketing is my strongest point. Upon graduation, I stayed with my dad and uncle for about three to four years before I went into partnership with a school friend of mine, though the partnership didn’t last long enough but we still remained the best of friends. It’s been quite challenging but with God on my side, I’ve been able to achieve the little milestone we’ve achieved so far.

Did you entertain any phobias when you wanted to set up?
I didn’t entertain any phobias at all. I always believe that whatever I set my eyes to do that it must definitely succeed. One good point I have is that I always have a positive mental attitude towards anything I engage in. I believe in forward ever, backward never as I view challenges as issues and not problems. This positive mindset has really helped me in the sense that I’ve taken so many business risks and still came out unscathed.

What has been the most challenging experience of running the first indigenous tile manufacturing firm in Nigeria?
The biggest challenge that we face as entrepreneurs is getting the right human capital. Most employees in Nigeria do not work with their minds. If you can get 20% of your employees to be committed, they will in turn motivate the remaining 80% but unfortunately you can hardly get 15%.

Getting the right human capital has been the greatest challenge because most people are no longer interested in delayed gratification. Funding is also a challenge, what we did was that when we started our pilot plant, we relied on personal funds as the banks are not ready to give facility to start ups. We were able to overcome the challenge of funding by creating strong partnerships that was of great benefit to us. But recently, the Bank of Industry is doing greatly in terms of supporting indigenous firms.

You started with trading, at what point did you decide to go into manufacturing?
To be honest with you, I went into manufacturing by accident as a lot of factors contributed to our venturing into manufacturing. For example, when issues of duties with the Nigerian Customs and Excise were becoming unbearable and we had to deal with disappointments from our suppliers that sometimes we’ll stay for more than two months without getting stocks. I discovered that when there’s internal demand in their countries, it affects our supply, because it is only when they have surplus that they remember the export market. The issue of demurrage at the ports when we have little documentation challenge is also of great concern.

All these issues got me thinking on how to bridge the gap. Another factor that also influenced my choice of manufacturing is that no matter the volume of importation you do, you cannot provide employment for many people whereas in manufacturing you can provide employment for hundreds of people who are ready to work, even though their best might not be good enough. I also wanted to promote the concept of “goods made in Nigeria by Nigerians”. The journey hasn’t been easy but with the help of Bank of Industry and the little help we are getting from the banks, we were able to get to where we are now.

It’s been argued that no Nigerian company is as old as Nigeria, what this means is that Nigerians don’t build to last, what’s your take on that?
I’ll ask you a few questions; when did we start encouraging local manufacturing and who are the people who are into manufacturing? I think that in the next few of years coupled with the awareness on succession planning; most organizations will outlive their current promoters. People have seen and I believe they’ve also learnt from the mistakes of the past. Don’t forget that a section of the country came into the scene after suffering from the effects of the civil war.

What can government do differently to help the real sector?
There are a lot of things the government can do in terms of giving tax incentives to the real sector. This will encourage more people to go into manufacturing thereby creating the needed jobs to boost the economy. It is disheartening that we are being charged the price of export in natural gas and it is killing local manufacturers. Our bill went up to 25% when the Naira was devalued and till date we have not been able to factor it into our production cost. If the government is subsidizing petrol, what stops them from subsidizing natural gas for local manufacturers?

On the craving for foreign goods:
In terms of quality, some Nigerian goods can comfortably compete with their counterparts globally. I can confidently tell you that we are a success story. When we started, we had people approach us to change our cartons and put made in Spain which I rejected out rightly. The reason for my rejection was basically my philosophy to promote “made in Nigeria by Nigerians”. Today, we’re doing great because our quality has been accepted in the market when compared with some of the imported ones from China and other countries. It may interest you to know that there are so many local products that are far better than foreign goods. For example, Nigerian made cables are the best in the market. For us, we are a quality driven company and we consistently strive to be on top of the market.

Projections:
In the next couple of years, we’ll still be waxing very strong in the industry and we’ll definitely go into other areas of interest in the built environment. At the moment we have close to 400 staff and the number will increase as we increase our production capacity by the Grace of God. The attribute that define our firm includes technical competence, years of experience and a deep knowledge of our working environment. But it is this element of commitment that you will find in our organization that separates us from the rest. We have a genuine subscription to helping clients achieve their goals.

Leadership Philosophy
Humility is the best form of leadership as you can disarm anybody with humility. In this organization, I try as much as possible to be on the same page with all of them. It might also interest you to know that I’ve not lost a staff in a very long while. Young people must be truthful to themselves and realize that it may not be easy but it’s achievable. They should be steadfast and approach their fears with courage. Consistency and integrity is the key to a successful life.

Driving force:
God is the ultimate driving force. The desire for excellence also drives me. The meaning of success to me is the ability to take care of my immediate needs. I don’t long for what I don’t have.

Last line:
We should love Nigeria. We need to re-orientate our minds to create a better future. We also need to reengineer our thoughts and look inwards and acquire skills that will help us to achieve our goals. It is impossible for everyone to get white collar jobs with the situation on ground, but we can look at the society and try to identify the needs of the society and provide them, that way we will generate employment, not just for ourselves, but for others.