Unilever signs multi-million dollar land deal with Tatu City to boost growth
18 November
2015
Leading consumer goods company, Unilever East Africa, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Tatu City Limited for the acquisition of 70 acres of industrial land for future expansion of its manufacturing operations. The site is located at Tatu Industrial Park, adjacent to Tatu City’s 2,500-acre mixed-use, mixed-income development near Nairobi.
This move is part of a stream of investment activities that Unilever aims to roll out over the coming years to drive growth in East Africa and develop new sustainable business models to help secure the region’s future prosperity.
Speaking about the MOU, Marc Engel, Unilever CEO for East Africa, said. “Our goal is to meet our consumers rising expectations for high quality local and international product choices for years to come while leading the way in sustainable business in Kenya by deploying state of the art technology and thinking. This investment demonstrates our commitment to Kenya’s sustainable growth as the hub of our operations in East Africa.”
He added, “We are also very proud to be associated with the Tatu City urban development and Kiambu County, which is an ideal location for Unilever’s longer term strategic growth plans.”
The land acquisition announcement follows the recent opening of a new Ksh155 million state of the art production line by the consumer goods company that is set to double the production of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly in the current Nairobi plant to meet growing regional demand.
Stephen Jennings, founder and CEO of Rendeavour, the majority shareholder in Tatu City, hailed the agreement as a demonstration of Kenya’s robust economy and Africa’s consumer growth. “We welcome this very strategic decision by Unilever in choosing Tatu City as the company’s destination of choice for expansion in East Africa. Tatu City is delivering on its promise to create a live-work-play environment free from congestion that provides homes and jobs for tens of thousands of people and attracts leading Kenyan and international companies to set up business.”
Unilever also announced plans to relocate its current offices from Industrial Area to Watermark Business Park in the Karen area, in early 2016. “We have been at our current industrial site for over 80 years, moving our head office will give us room for immediate expansion, upgrading our current operations and enhance capacity of the manufacturing and distribution of our brands to meet our consumer needs.” added Engel.
About Unilever Kenya
Unilever Kenya is one of the leading suppliers of food, home and personal care products across East Africa. With about 19,000 employees, Unilever is one of the largest private employers in Kenya. Working to create a better future every day, Unilever helps people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Its portfolio includes Kenya’s best loved locally produced brands, OMO, Sunlight, Blue Band, Royco, Geisha and Vaseline, as well as key world’s renowned brands, like Knorr, Dove, Lux, Axe, among many others.
The company was ranked Top Employer for 2015 in Kenya by the Top Employer Institute, an international certification institute.
Unilever’s global ambition is to decouple growth from environmental impact (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increase social impact. Unilever is committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all its agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling its growth from its environmental impact. Supporting its three big goals, Unilever has defined seven pillars, underpinned by targets encompassing social, environmental and economic areas. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/.
For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.
About Tatu City
Tatu City is a 2,500-acre, mixed-use and mixed-income development with residential, commercial, industrial, tourism, social and recreation amenities for more than 70,000 residents and 30,000 day visitors. Underlying Tatu City’s design is a visionary concept aiming to shift urban development in Kenya from the familiar single node model to a decentralized urban environment. By doing so, Tatu will significantly de-congest the City of Nairobi by offering a unique live, work and play environment.
For more information about Tatu City, please visit www.tatucity.com
Media Contacts:
Susan Njoroge, Head of Corporate Affairs, Unilever East Africa
Tel: +254 6922 272
Mobile: +254 719 371 355
Email:
Preston Mendenhall, Head of Corporate Affairs, Rendeavour
