Kasapreko – An example of Ghanaian ingenuity and fortitude
Many middle-aged and older Ghanaians who saw Ghana’s industrialisation drive in the 60s and 80s have often reminisced that period with fond memories.
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Those were the days that ‘men were men’, because there were so many jobs to go around and life was essentially good as they called the shots; they have time without number rued.
Indeed, those were the good old days; workers during Ghana’s industrialisation epoch who have also witnessed the collapse of many industries have referred to that period.
However, much as people still continue to lament the demise of Ghana’s once thriving industrial sector, especially the North Industrial Area hub of Kaneshie in Accra because it has created hordes of unemployed youth, other daring and ingenious Ghanaians have weathered the storm to create industrial empires that are not only offering employment to many, but are also selling brand Ghana across the globe.
Small beginnings
From a very humble beginning in 1989 at Nungua in Accra with just five workers, Kasapreko Company Limited (KCL), a member of the Ghana Club 100, today employs 600 people with an expanded vision beyond the shores of Ghana through its global focus.
A company that was started in response to the growing demand for quality and affordable alcoholic drinks, now has a plant with the capacity to produce 70,000 bottles of alcoholic and 40,000 non-alcoholic beverages every hour.
It also boasts an expansive warehouse with a loading bay, material storage areas and state-of–the-art production and packaging lines.
The success of KCL is not hard to trace. The Founder and Group Chairman, Dr Kwabena Adjei (not the NDC’s former National Chairman), stated at the inauguration of a new factory last Tuesday, that, “Innovation has been instrumental to our growth since our founding and remains our hallmark for success,” adding, “We are constantly striving to improve what, where, when and how we do things in a safe workplace through our ‘spirit of safety’ programmes.”
Still sharing the secrets of his success, Dr Adjei said, “We need to gather the courage to move forward. Let us not forget that courage does not equal the absence of fear. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you. This is the reasoning behind our decision to transform from an alcoholic beverage company focusing on spirits to a total beverage company.”
The company’s flagship brand, the award winning ‘Alomo Bitters’, is an embodiment of the success story and is famous for being Ghana’s first scientifically crafted herbal-based alcoholic beverage.
“In the last quarter of 2013, CNN Money pole identified ‘Alomo Bitters’ to be among the top 5 emerging spirit brands in the world. With this recognition, we are convinced that we are definitely on the right path to telling the African success story while flying high the flag of Ghana,” Dr Adjei said.
The new facility
The new $70 million production facility is equipped with world-class machinery that contributes to the production of the various brands of beverages in different packaging formats including two state-of-the-art customised high speed production lines for alcoholic brands.
The new production lines, the first of their kind in the country, package in both glass and PET formats, in line with the company’s commitment to quality and its drive to remain the market leader through research and development and the use of modern technology.
Dr Adjei explained that KCL’s adherence to the five behaviours of curiosity, courage, collaboration, creativity and an aim to be champions, had contributed immensely to the company’s success.
“Kasapreko relies heavily on agricultural inputs to produce some of our beverages. In line with the saying that the frog does not drink up the pond in which it lives, Kasapreko has undertaken a number of strategic investments in re-afforestation to guarantee sustainability for our key ingredients to ensure supply chain resiliency. We have a number of herbal plantations in Kwesi Tenten and lately within the tropical rain forest of Ajuaben in the Western Region,” he said.
Presidential endorsement
Inaugurating the factory last Tuesday, President John Mahama said the coming on stream of the facility and many others over the last few years was a demonstration of confidence in the economy.
While acknowledging the crippling effect of the power crisis, particularly on the manufacturing sector, he reiterated the government’s commitment to finding a permanent solution to it.
President Mahama stated that the performance of the company was an example that with a clear corporate vision backed by a determined and hardworking team, success could be achieved.
He said while it was safer to engage in commerce and trading because manufacturing was risky, no country was built on commerce and trading alone.
“It is manufacturing, agriculture and agro-processing that would change the structure of the Ghanaian economy and make it rub shoulders with the league of industrialised countries,” President Mahama stressed.
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“Kasapreko is one of those companies and Dr Kwabena Adjei is one of those people who see the risk and still believe it is worth taking to produce quality products like Kasapreko,” he added.
President Mahama described KCL as a successful Ghanaian company and said Dr Adjei was “a good example of the voice of quality and standard Ghana-made products could attain”.
He said the company had over the years given Ghanaians local alternatives to foreign brands of liquors and wines and the natural blend of herbs from local sources made it a product that was unique and Ghanaian.
“This goes a long way to show the Ghanaian potential to excel in business and create great products that could compete on the world market,” the President said.
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A peek into the future
Kasapreko is in partnership with Caltec, a world-renowned science and engineering research and education institution, to produce ethanol from a cassava plantation in Ho in the Volta Region.
“In line with our strategic vision, we will continue to work with credible research institutions such as the Centre for Research into Plant Medicine, Applied Sciences Department of the University of Ghana, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the Ghana Traditional Medicine Association.
“Quality is the biggest launch pad on which the recently launched MADE IN GHANA drive will thrive in a consistent and sustainable way. It is in this spirit that we have recently renovated our flagship brand, Alomo Bitters, by giving it a bold new look and standard befitting an international brand while maintaining the authentic liquid that it’s renowned for,” Dr Adjei stated.