British Minister visits Nissan Assembly plant
A high-powered delegation from the British government, led its Minister of International Development, Andrew Mitchell, last week, paid a working visit to Japan Motors’ Nissan Vehicle Assembly plant.
The group was ushered on a tour of all sections in the brand-new plant, starting with the assembly line and ending with the tester line through to the unique water test facility.
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Delegation
The delegation included the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) Trade Envoy to Ghana, Baroness Kate Hoey; the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, and a team from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the representative of Jobs for Economic Transformation Programme (JET) Ghana.
The Managing Director of Japan Motors, Salem Kalmoni; the Assistant Managing Director, Mohammed R. Byrouthy; the Assembly Plant Manager, Emmanuel Jason-Solomon Penneh, and the Marketing Manager, Harriet Esi Mensah, were present to usher the delegation on a tour of the facility..
Opened by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in March this year, the assembly plant assembles a full range of the all-new Nissan Navara pick-up.
Mr Mitchell and the entire delegation were impressed by the level of standards and quality at the plant and encouraged the management of the plant to maintain the very high standards set by the company for the admiration and emulation of others.
The Managing Director, Nissan Africa, Mike Whitfield, said the plant was proof of what could be achieved when two parties were absolutely focussed on the end results of their partnership.
Therefore, he said it was a testament to the fantastic public-private partnership (PPP) between the Government of Ghana, Japan Motors and Nissan Africa, adding that the country stood as a benchmark for the African automotive industry.
“The existence of this plant is a tribute to the passion and commitment of Japan Motors investing US$ 9 million, which in itself would not have been possible without the security and certainty offered by the government,” he said.
Production
Mr Byrouthy disclosed that the plant had produced more than 500 Navara pick-ups since it began production and had plans to ramp up production and extend the product line.