Nnabugwu Transport Ltd takes delivery of another 50 Mercedes-Benz Actros vehicles for beverage logistics in Nigeria, West Africa

Wörth/ Enugu-Nigeria – Another 50 Inca-yellow Mercedes-Benz Actros 2031 S semitrailer trucks have been handed over to the owners of the Nigerian beverage logistics company Nnabugwu Transport Ltd. in the Mercedes-Benz truck plant in Wörth. According to Mr. Onuorah Ben Nnabugwu, CEO of Nnabugwu Transport Ltd, “If you really want to save money, you have to use high-quality trucks like the Mercedes-Benz Actros. We already have a large Actros fleet that has never let us down, which is why we decided to order 50 more Actros semitrailer trucks.” The first Mercedes-Benz Actros vehicles joined the Nnabugwu Transport Ltd fleet in 2003.

The transport company Nnabugwu Transport Ltd is based in Enugu in south-east Nigeria. The company is the main forwarding agent for Nigerian Breweries Plc., a Heineken group company, which operates the largest and most state-of-the-art brewery in all of Africa, located near Enugu. The brewery has a capacity of 3 million hectoliters per year, or the equivalent of an output of a million cartons per week.

With its fleet of more than a hundred Mercedes-Benz trucks, Nnabugwu Transport Ltd delivers beers of the group brands Heineken, Star, Amstel and Gulden-Bräu to beverage wholesalers throughout Nigeria, and particularly to the capital Lagos, which is eight hours away by truck. The brewery group not only operates the breweries but also owns bottle and crown cork factories throughout the country. Therefore, the beverage logistics company Nnabugwu Transport Ltd also has the task of collecting empties with its Mercedes-Benz Actros truck/trailer combinations and delivering new bottles, crown corks and packaging material to the breweries.

Along with oil, breweries are one of the fastest growing industries in the West African coastal state of Nigeria. Revenue at Nigerian Breweries Plc. grew from €489 million (112 billion Nigerian naira) in 2007 to €637 million (252 billion Nigerian naira) in 2008. Production is expected to increase from 7.5 million hectoliters in 2006 to 13.3 million hectoliters in 2012. In the context of this growth, Nigerian Breweries intends to maintain a steady market share of well above 50% in Nigeria. Transport requirements are also growing in line with brewing capacity, which is one reason for the rapid expansion of Nnabugwu Transport Ltd.

Nigeria Breweries Plc. does not have its own logistics company, but outsources the task to 147 forwarding agents and wholesalers. The key distributors are selected carefully to ensure that the beverages can be shipped reliably throughout Nigeria.

Nnabugwu Transport Ltd, with its well-known Inca-yellow Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks, enjoys a special position among this group of transporters: In 2009, Nnabugwu Transport Ltd won an award from the management of Nigeria Breweries Plc. for being the group’s best and safest beverage logistics company.

The leading Nigerian brewery group Nigerian Breweries Plc. has formed a partnership with the Nigerian Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to work towards safe road use in Nigeria in cooperation with its forwarding agents – with Nnabugwu Transport Ltd right up front. This will be achieved partly by ensuring that the fleet is always based on the latest technology and is optimally serviced. With Daimler’s Fleetboard telematics system, the condition and location of the truck fleet can be called up at all times. In addition, the drivers regularly undergo driver training and must demonstrate what they have learnt in a test before receiving a certificate. All of which are requirements which Nnabugwu Transport Ltd sees fulfilled with the Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks, from the purchase of a safe, economical, high-quality truck, to reliable spare parts supply and the Mercedes-Benz professional training carried out abroad as well, i.e. in Enugu, by Wörth-based instructors.

With these positive signs, the presence of Mercedes-Benz trucks on Nigeria’s roads is sure to grow – with an added number of trucks sporting the Inca yellow garb of Nnabugwu Transport Ltd.