In this exclusive interview for CEO Today Magazine Africa Awards, Yusuf Haliru Binji, Managing Director and CEO of BUA Cement Plc, reflects on his remarkable journey in the cement industry, spanning over three decades. From his early days as a trainee to leading one of Nigeria's foremost cement companies, Binji shares insights into navigating transformative mergers, driving strategic growth, and fostering sustainability in a dynamic market. With a steadfast commitment to innovation and excellence, he discusses BUA Cement's pivotal role in shaping Nigeria's infrastructure and economic landscape, while offering advice for aspiring leaders in the manufacturing sector.
Can you share your journey to becoming the Managing Director and CEO of BUA Cement Plc?
My over 30-year career has been primarily in the cement industry, starting as a trainee in a humble beginning and traversing through the ranks to become the Executive Director Technical of the now-defunct Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, under the Scancem Group and later moved on to Cement Projects with the acquisition of CCNN by BUA Group. I served as the Managing Director of Obu Cement Company in Edo, and later CCNN. In 2019, I was appointed the MD of the newly listed BUA Cement Plc, which was established from the merger of these two companies, and I'm still in the role to this day. Looking back, I would say that my career journey has been characterized by a great deal of commitment, hard work and perseverance.
What have been the key challenges and opportunities you've faced during the merger of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria and Obu Cement, and how did you navigate this transformative process?
Mergers always present opportunities and challenges and the merger between the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria and Obu Cement was no different. We looked at the merger through the prism of strengths of the two entities independently and in unison to attain economies of scale for a wider competitive advantage. At the time of the merger, Obu plant situated in the south-south had a capacity of 6mmtpa and CCNN located in the Northwest of Nigeria in Sokoto was a 2mmtpa production facility. The Nigerian cement demand around the same time was around 28mmtpa owing to the increasing population growth rate put at 2.5% per year and coupled with a high urbanization rate along with infrastructural and housing deficits in the country, which meant the market was undersupplied by the key players, thus presenting a big opportunity for us. By consolidating the businesses, the company's production capacity increased to 8mmtpa in 2020, which repositioned our market offerings. In terms of challenges, we were not insulated since every merger comes with its own peculiarities. Nonetheless, we knew what to expect from our due diligence. So, it came as no surprise when having to deal with issues around product synergy implementation, technological integration, customer engagement, and culture shift which arose subsequently. Thanks to visionary leadership, the Management had a clear roadmap in place that was designed to address all impending issues, and the post-merger integration was seamless as the company put its human resources to tackle the challenges.
How has BUA Cement evolved under your leadership, and what strategic initiatives have you implemented to drive growth?
With the understanding of the industry dynamics, staying competitive will require that we continually grow and evolve. As our sector is consistently plagued by marked demand surges, thereby creating significant domestic supply gaps, exploiting the market to meet the anticipated rise in demand requires capacity expansion and improved efficiency. So, in the past 5 years, we embarked on an expansion of the facilities across the two plants, allowing us to increase the company's production capacity to 17mmtpa. By our mantra of always driving cost and revenue synergies and taking advantage of the strategic positions of the two plants, we were able to increase our presence locally and take additional market share. This was possible with the deployment of over three thousand dedicated fleet of trucks for delivery of cement locally and across the border into Burkina Faso and Niger.
How does BUA Cement approach sustainability and environmental responsibility within the cement industry?
Our approach to sustainability and the environment rests on the fact that standards acceptable now will be inadequate for tomorrow. Thus, no matter what, we remain committed to lowering the negative environmental effects of our operations while promoting our good social impacts in compliance with local and international best practices.
What role do innovation and technology play in BUA Cement's operations?
Innovation and technology have been the pillars of all our state-of-the-art plant operations. Our automated production lines were built with features that guarantee high-quality cement production with lower emissions through energy-efficient processes. The technologies provide us with the opportunity to reduce waste, resulting in long-term cost savings, and foster safer work environment by drastically reducing staff injuries that result in lost time. Apart from that, automation allows us to maintain an edge in a highly competitive business sector. For instance, our innovative acumen was at play as we significantly improved our customer experience with the incorporation of banking integration with sales automation. This move not only markedly improve staff value addition, but also optimizes our product delivery to customers.
How do you see the future of the cement industry in Nigeria and Africa, and more broadly supporting Nigeria's economic growth, and what role will BUA Cement play in that future?
The outlook for the cement industry in Nigeria remains bright, considering the massive investments witnessed in the industry over the past decade, which shows no signs of slowing down. Our investments in new production lines to cater for the growing market needs have created positive gains for the country in terms of contribution to the GDP and employment opportunities for our people. Looking ahead, BUA is determined to leverage the yet untapped opportunities within the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to expand its market reach and increase revenue generation for the government as the country moves towards self-sufficiency in cement production. Nigeria has a huge infrastructure deficit and will continue to need cement to build and maintain its social infrastructure.
Can you share some of the corporate social responsibility initiatives that BUA Cement is involved in?
BUA Cement operates in two locations in Nigeria. As a responsible corporate entity, we are consistently engaging with our local stakeholders to proactively identify their needs and priorities, and simultaneously charting up ways to address them pragmatically. Our corporate social responsibility initiatives are synchronous with United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) and focus on five key thematic areas, namely education, livelihood empowerment, infrastructure, health and sanitation. Aligning with our core values, we are determined to ensure a targeted and effective approach to community development. Nonetheless, BUA Cement is enthusiastic about fostering a culture of accountability and trust with our stakeholders to achieve mutual growth.
How do you foster a culture of excellence and continuous improvement within BUA Cement?
I would say that the culture of excellence and continuous improvement we have championed has been the epitome of our cultural transformation in the past years. My approach to fostering cultural shift was embedded in the active participation of our employees. From the moment of engagement, a new employee passes through a regimented integration process which ideally sets the groundwork for their productivity by getting them up to speed on the organization's culture and guidelines. Every member of staff understands that improvement is a key part of their job and should be given utmost priority while taking responsibility for their actions. As a leader, I strive to set the tone for my team members showcasing a strong work ethic and dedication to achieving our collective goals. Of course, our journey would not have been possible without aptly enabling technology, investing in staff capacity building and consistently aligning ourselves with improvement practices. This, in my opinion, has contributed to our culture's shift toward a mindset of continuous improvement. Moreover, I ensure that hard work is rewarded to promote a sense of value and motivation.
How would you describe your leadership style, and how has it influenced the company's direction and success?
I lead by showing integrity, honesty, and accountability in my actions and decisions. I inspire my team to stay motivated and engaged. Also, I advocate for a positive and inclusive workplace culture in which all employees feel welcome, valued, and respected. Our leadership commitment to providing employees with the necessary resources to improve their skills and knowledge has helped us retain and attract top industry talent who value engagement and collaboration as the driving forces for increasing efficiency and productivity. I cannot stress enough how important our human resources are and how valuable they have been to the company's success.
No doubt you are an extremely busy person, but what does a typical day look like for you as the Managing Director and CEO of BUA Cement?
I usually kick off my day with morning prayers and a brief exercise session. To keep myself informed, I will check my phone for what's trending in the news and emails before rushing to work as well as skim through the various operations and safety updates on our dedicated communications channel. Subsequently, following up with my team to catch on the issues they are facing and where they need my approval or support. Of all, I can communicate with every project team effortlessly almost any place daily thanks to modern technology at our fingertips. Having to work with a motivated and engaged staff makes the rigors of the work look so easy to accomplish. At the same, I make sure to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
What advice would you give to young professionals in Nigeria aspiring to leadership roles in the manufacturing and industrial sectors?
Just like other industries, there are a lot of opportunities in the manufacturing sector. So, my advice to young professionals is simply to be open to learning new things and to take advantage of every opportunity that arises. You can become the successful leader you want to be if you have a strong work ethic, self-motivation, discipline and resilience, and don't shy away from taking risks.
Looking forward, what are your key priorities and goals for BUA Cement in the next five years?
In the past decade, we generally had the opportunity to boost the production capacities of our two cement plants. As a CEO managing a listed company, my key priority is to add value to the shareholders by identifying more growth drivers for the business. Our goal in the next 5 years is to continue implementing the decarbonization initiatives as much as we can. We intend to seek opportunities to accelerate the shift to net zero and keep exploring innovative approaches to stay ahead of the competition.
