Honeywell International Incorporated and GIL Automation have signed an agreement to boost automation technology transfer in the country’s oil and gas as well power industry.
According to a statement on Wednesday, Gil Automation and Honeywell will open a plant for local manufacturing of oil and gas field products in Nigeria before the second half of 2014.
The field instrumentation products comprise smartline transmitter range such as pressure transmitter, temperature transmitter, flowmeter, level transmitter, wireless field transmitter, sensors, recorders, HMI and SCADA systems among others.
The Channel Manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mr. Greg Clark, who reiterated that plans had been concluded for the manufacturing plant in Nigeria, said the collaboration between the two firms would promote local competence in automation technology.
According to him, Honeywell has, prior to this time, concentrated its African operations in South Africa, but Nigeria has clearly become a bigger player in Sub-Sahara Africa, thus prompting a renewed focus on the country.
Clark said, “We are now considering that Nigeria is probably a more important player, so we are bringing our field products to Nigeria, now that it has overtaken South Africa.
“Honeywell is very strong in oil and gas, and our business strategy now is to work with local partners, who understand the culture and business terrain.
“We have made our research and we have resolved to make GIL Automation Limited our major partner in Nigeria.”
According to him, Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is fast growing and it has a lot of automation requirements, which the partnership is ready to develop.
“This intervention will avail the Nigerian oil and gas industry access to field instrumentation products with shorter lead time at a lower cost,” he added.
On the interim, he said Honeywell being the original equipment manufacturer, would supply products from its factories overseas, while GIL Automation would act as local partner in Nigeria.
The Managing Director, GIL Automation, Mr. Lawal Gbolahan, described the partnership as much more than a business relationship, saying it was a way of meeting its customers’ demands with quality instruments.
He added that the relationship was borne out of the responsibility to fill the vacuum created by the dearth of manufacturing hub in the country and the pressing need to always rely on foreign supply to meet industry needs.
