BIDCO opens new KES. 2Billion detergent Plant in Thika.

BIDCO Africa CEO Thiagarajan Ramamurthy (centre) takes visitors on study tour around their new Sh. 2 billion detergent plant in Thika on Friday.

BIDCO Africa Ltd. has commissioned a KES. 2 billion factory at their Thika Headquarters designed to meet the growing demand for detergent across the East & Central Africa region.

The new state-of-the-art facility, that will initially produce about 3,000 tonnes of washing powdered soap, is part of the company’s KES. 200 billion expansion plan that will see it venture into new product categories as it seeks to grow its revenue base to the billion dollar mark.

In the same forum, the company also launched a new brand of washing detergent, “Msafi Washing Powder”, to add on to their popular brands “Powerboy” and “Gental” detergent soaps.

“We are hitting the market in a big way as we continue introducing new products and ensuring we have strong distribution networks and fresh campaigns. Msafi washing powder is a quality and affordable that is available across the country,” said Bidco Africa Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Thiagarajan Ramamurthy (TRM).

To take the advantage of the available market, TRM says Bidco Africa has been very specific on what their customers want in each particular region of their market base. He adds that the use of technology to be in touch with their customers in real time is key to their fast growth.

“We are very well connected and can communicate with our customers via instant messaging so that they don’t live in perceptions but in actual experiences. Our supply chain is broad, enabling us to reach all our customers across the country and within the region,” explained TRM.

He reckoned that in the next one year, the company’s revenue base will have doubled with the new plant alone expected to grow by about 50% and having a turnover of over $300 million.

The CEO pointed out that their company was unperturbed by the current political temperatures as their long-term growth strategy had put into consideration all aspects of market trends thus their confidence in the prevailing economic conditions.

“We have a lot of confidence in the economy. The political climate has not affected our business and we will continue expanding our investment and creating more jobs in this country,” said Ramamurthy.