Coleman's fibre optic cable'll place Nigeria in 5th position in Africa

28th December 2021

By Merit Ibe

The Managing Director of Coleman Wires and Cables, Mr. George Onafowokan has said the manufacturing of fibre optic cables by the company would place Nigeria in the 5th position in Africa.

Onafowokan, who spoke on the production of the cables that will begin in January 2022, disclosed that this would serve telecommunication, oil and gas and some other sectors.

On the economic value of this to the country, the CEO said the production of the cables will place Nigeria 5th in the production of cables in Africa and that this will provide fibre optic cables in 48, 96,144 and up to 288 fibres in country.

He noted that the key impact of this is that "we will meet up with the local supply and demand of fibre optic cables and the large capacity that we are putting in place on the phase one will help us to produce up to 150 to 200,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables of different sizes and that to us is a game changer for the country."

He said the drive for data communication in the country would improve greatly because until now, the country was importing the cables.

"This is what Coleman is known for, making it possible to have expertise in the country and we have been able to show that we are capable and irrespective of the problems, a lot of things can still be done."

Meanwhile, the company has expressed willingness for technical partnership with MTN Nigeria.

In a letter to Mr. Karl Toriola

Coleman Technical Industries Limited ("Coleman") expressed it's interest at establishing a technical partnership with ‘‘MTN Nigeria"on the supply of fibre cables for various projects.

The letter further read: "Coleman Technical Industries Limited currently is the largest and fastest growing indigenous wires and cables manufacturing company in Nigeria and West Africa coast, producing the highest quality wire and cable products that meet the required local and international standards with relevant certifications. The company is ranked the first cable manufacturing company in the west African sub-region with the establishment of three ultra-modern cable factories of over 200,000 square meters combined floor capacity, located at Arepo and Sagamu, Ogun state. We are committed to manufacturing consistent quality wires and cables that meet and exceed our customers’ expectations; thus, we are known for excellence.

In line with the Federal Government and NCC drive to have a localized fibre optic manufacturer in country, Coleman has embarked on this laudable project. The commercial production of fibre optic cables will start from January 2022, providing fibre optic cables in 48, 96,144 up to 288 fibres in country.

This plant and the technical know-how are being done in partnership with the largest fibre optic producer in the world Corning Inc., who are the biggest and largest producers of fibre in the world. For nearly 170 years, Corning has combined its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramics science, and optical physics with deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities to develop life-changing innovations and products. The installed capacity of this Coleman's fibre optic factory ranges from 100,000km – 150,000km of fibre cables annually.

"Corning incorporated is a fortune 500 company on New York Stock Exchange and it also has the track record of delivering quality, thus; the partnership between coleman and corning will ensure the highest quality standard for all fibre optic cable products from Coleman's factory, whilst ensuring that prices remain extremely competitive due to the localization of production in the country.

"Over $1m has been invested in testing equipment to ensure that quality is delivered in a first-class manner to our customer. 80% of our machines has already been delivered at the factory ready for production as shown in the pictures in this letter.

Given the above, we would be grateful if MTN can send us their fibre optic cable specification (to which we are willing to sign an NDA with MTN if required). In addition, we would like to use this opportunity to formally invite MTN to visit the factory.

We would also invite your company in the future (i.e. by January 2022) once production has commenced. "Furthermore, we are also exploring the opportunity to provide certain required accessories such as patch cords, splice closures and pigtails – which we believe are necessary items to the value chain required for fibre cable users."