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May & Baker creates science award
at 60
FLORENCE UDOH
MAY and Baker
Nigeria will soon formally launch a science scholarship award as part of its
60th anniversary.
The pharmaceutical firm was 60 years in
the country last September 4.
The award which has an annual monetary
value of N150,000 will go to the best secondary school science student and is
aimed at encouraging the study of the sciences A national selection committee
comprising eminent scholars and educational institutions is being put together
for the award.
According to statement from May & Baker
signed by Eugene Olewuenyi, customer relations & communications manager, other
activities by the company to mark the Diamond Jubilee include a charity visit to
the SOS Children’s Village, Isolo and a thanksgiving church service.
Speaking at a party organised for the
staff to mark the anniversary, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr Joseph
Odumodu said the management opted for a low key celebration to create room for
sober reflection. He said the company has reason to thank God for attaining 60
years in Nigeria.
"You will agree with me, that a lot of
many other businesses that were set up in this country prior to independence in
1960, have become moribund. That we have survived this long 60 years, shows that
God is with us," he said.
Mr. Odumodu said May & Baker is a major
force to reckon with in the pharmaceutical business, but urged staff to put in
more efforts to ensure that the company does not lag behind competition. He said
the next corporate strategy is to reinvent the wheel to make a new company of a
60-year-old business.
May & Baker was registered in Nigeria on
September 4, 1944 as a trading outpost of the British firm. May & Baker, United
Kingdom Limited. The company commissioned its own local production factory in
1978 and was quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1994. Today, its
stock commands a premium price and it remains a leader among pharmaceutical
firms.
Though the foreign partners of the company
have since completely divested their equity, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, remains
affiliated to the World number two Pharmaceutical and Chemical manufacturers,
Sonafi-Aventis, France, who serve as technical partners. It has been adjudged
the only fully owned Nigerian owned company with multinational outlook.
Over the past 60 years, the company has
proven to be a formidable force in the pharmaceutical market with brands that
command major segments of the market. After a Business Process Re-engineering
project carried out in 2000, the company joined the league of first rate turn
over companies in the pharmaceutical sector with over N1 billion turnover. It
has been projected that by next year, the company will exceed N5 billion in
turnover.
In 2001, the company diversified into
consumer business with the launch of Lily table water and has plans to launch
more products. It also intends to invest heavily into the diagnostics market.
Last April, May & Baker launched a new
corporate vision ‘to be the first choice brand’.
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