By: ROTIMI ASHER
Boulos Enterprises Limited, Nigeria’s oldest motorcycle assembler, is on the verge of making history again, building in Lagos, Suzuki Super Carriage Trucks Assembly Plant, which will commence production before the end of the year.
Motoring World Correspondent, who was conducted through the plant’s location within Boulos premises on Acme Road, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday, witnessed construction of the first assembly line in progress.
The company’s General Manager, Mr Julian Hardy, in an interview, confirmed to Motoring World correspondent that representatives of National Automotive Design and Development Council(NADDC) recently visited the location of the plant and, according to him, were pleased with the company’s ability, capability and level of preparedness.
”The assembly plant,” said Mr. Hardy, “has already got the rubber stamp of the Director of Policy and Planning, National Automotive Design and Development Council, Mr Luqman Mammud. Final approval of the Director General, Engineer Jalal is what is being awaited.”
Stressing his organization’s readiness to take-off as soon as it receives final approval from NADDC, Mr. Hardy revealed to our Correspondent some pictures of the Super Carriage Trucks in his laptop.
He said: ” These are the vehicles we are going to assemble. We are just waiting for the first 21 units to arrive from India. They will first come as CDU. Then we are going to move to SKD and subsequently CKD”
According to him, Boulos Enterprises is already making plans to manufacture the vehicle’s body locally.
“We will manufacture the body here,” he stressed. “We have already created the type for Quargo. We will have a normal pick-up, low body refuse collector, which LAWMA(Lagos State Waste Management Authority) may be interested in. It is a pot concept.
“Then we are looking at the water filtration unit, which we are going to mount on the back of city carriage trucks. This is for water. What it does is to take well and dirty water through the system. The water goes through the membrane filter and fill the tank with World Health Organization approved drinking water.
“The idea is to carry water on city truck throughout Nigeria. It can provide water, where there is water problem”.
Body for the 21 units being expected, says Mr. Hardy, shall be built locally.
“We will build body for the 21 units we are expecting, showcase them and quickly move to SKD,” he added.
Earlier, in an exclusive interview, the company’s Research and Development Manager, Mr Segun Adekoya, confirmed to Motoring World that Boulos Enterprises had already switched fully from Piaggio to Suzuki.
” We have switched fully back to Suzuki,” he affirmed. “We are bringing in Suzuki Super Carriage Truck. In essence, I sit as the Project Manager for the Suzuki Carriage Truck Assembly Plant, which we are constructing now.”
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