Dorothy Onyeka
Ugochukwu Ozurumba is the CEO Ugomac Nigeria Ltd, a firm that specialised in the area of importation, distribution, installation and maintenance of industrial kitchen, laundry bakery and refrigeration equipment in Nigeria.
For more than two decades, the company has been in active business touching lives of Nigerians for good.
Ozurumba in an interview with Daily Sun recently said: “We are representing 18 companies in Europe and America that deal with the above industrial equipment. However, we partner mostly with Electrolux because of their popularity and quality of their equipment which are tested and trusted. We have been in active partnership with them for more than two decades, no wonder the export manager, Mr. Marius Stoltz came for the grand opening ceremony of Ugomac place/ Electrolux sales and service centre at No. 151 Badagry Expressway, Opp. Volkswagen of Nigeria, Ojo, Lagos recently.”
According to Chief Ozurumba, the only reason why they have been active in business for that long is because they are consistent in selling quality products and their after sales services is second to none. He speaks further:
Exerpts
What are the challenges in the business?
The major challenge in the business is that it is naturally slow in terms of sales and it is also capital intensive. So anybody who is into this line of bussiness should be patient.
Since industrial equipment business is capital intensive, how do you raise money to run the business?
Well, because of the slow nature of sales associated with the business, it is not advisable for any dealer to take loan from the bank because of the high interest rate. It is usually better to gradually raise capital on your own. Except on urgent need, you can go to the bank to take a short term loan.
Any regret going into the business?
I don’t have any regret rather I am enjoying it because it is the only business I can do. It is the business that I grew up with. I have been in it for two decades.
What is your marketing style
Our marketing style starts from the quality of our products. We know what our clients want, which is high quality and long lasting industrial equipment. We sell European and American industrial equipment and Electrolux is one of the best manufacturers of professional industrial equipment in the world. Our customers come from various sectors which includes: Hotels, hospitals, churches, oil companies, food processing companies like Nestle, Indomie, pharmaceutical companies, big firms, bakeries, laundries/dry cleaning, in-short any company or factory with up to 50 workers. In anything that one is doing, foundation is very important. So, the foundation of Ugomac is entrenched on high quality products. That is why we have our motto as original things are cheaper in the long run and that has given us an edge over other competitors.
How do you see Ugomac in the next five years?
The fortune of Ugomac in the next five years would increase in leaps and bounds. Now, that we have consolidated our business by being in Ugomac Place, our perception in the eyes of our customers has improved significantly. We are now in a world of our own. In our show room, a good number of our products are showcased. We now have space to do demonstration of products in a conducive atmosphere. It is because of our customers that we are in business, so, our ultra modern show room is a way of serving them better and taking our business to the next level. It will enhance greater public relations and interaction between us and our clients and if our clients are happy with us, they would make repeated purchases and we too would be happy. So, we are calling for customers patronage.
Any hope of one day going into politics?
I don’t like politics. I like this place that I have found myself, that is selling industrial equipment and helping to industrialise our country and reduce unemployment. The stories that I have heard of people who have gone into politics has made me to de-taste it. I see it as a shark infested water that I am not ready to swim in.
As I said earlier, I am happy with what I am doing at the moment. I can support any candidate that can bring about positive changes in the politics of my state Imo.
Has the closure of the nation`s borders affected your business?
Not at all because I import through our seaports and airports. The border closure is one policy of the government that I like so much. It takes a lot of political will to take such decision.
The border closure is in the interest of national security and once something borders on security of a nation, government is free to take any measure to protect her citizens even if it amounts to breaking regional or sub-regional diplomatic protocols. However, it should not take too long. Nigerians should endure the effect of the policy because it is in our overall interest.
What other policies of government do you like?
The industrialisation and agricultural policies are very beautiful. They are making us to look inwards to discover and exploit our potentials in agriculture. Almost every geo political region is now producing rice in commercial quantities. There is no doubt that in few years time, Nigeria would be self sufficient in rice production with our vast arable land. Also the policy on the ease of doing business is a well thought out policy which needs to be sustained and improved upon. It took just four days to clear out our last consignment from the port .Honestly, I could not believe it.