Gambia
Milling Corporation Company Limited, GMC, last Thursday 17 November 2016 hosted
a daylong seminar for the local flour industry.
The
seminar, attended by representatives of various groups of bakers, and staff and
management of the GMC, was held at the new warehouse at the company’s main head
office in Banjul.
The
seminar was held to expose the bakers to the GMC company, about their role and
function in the flour industry.
According
to the GMC officials, the seminar was also held to let local bakers have an
idea and get first-hand information on how the GMC company processes products,
its potentials, quality and safety aspects, which is of priority to the
corporation.
GMC
Limited is a local flour milling industry located at Makumba Jallow Street
(Dobson Street) at Half-Die in Banjul.
In a brief statement, Mr Dirk Van Develde, General
Manager of GMC, said he was convinced that GMC, which is proudly Gambian owned,
is the leading company when it comes to food and safety.
“GMC
is introducing a new wheat mix that will help meet your needs and help you with
your daily challenges as a baker. The new mix will give you more
volume/quality, better water absorption and more protein stronger flour,” said
Mr Van Develde.
This
was the first of its kind to organize a seminar for bakers in the history of
the existence of GMC, he said, adding that “a bigger workshop will be organized
in the future”, where many topics and concerns will be shared.
Mr
Van also said the seminar was held to introduce the bakers to the GMC company;
the types of weed it produces as a company; how much its produces per day and
what types of weed it has placed at their facilities, and the capacity of their
facilities; its potential to help the local bakers to improve in their working
conditions, and also to expose the bakers to better understand their working
facilities.
During
the seminar, various presentations were made by the general manager of GMC and
other partners, on the existence of GMC.
Discussion, clarifications and concerns were also addressed and noted by
the GMC management.
At
the end of the presentation, the participants were divided into various groups,
and taken on a conducted tour of the milling corporation facility to showcase
their quality systems in place, and the staff who did their best to provide the
best quality flour made in The Gambia.
According
to the general manager, GMC was incorporated on 11 April 2013 and started
trading on the same date.
“The
GMC was officially inaugurated on the 4th July 2013 by His Excellency, Sheikh
Professor Alhagie Doctor Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh Babili Mansa, President of the
Islamic republic of The Gambia,” Mr Van announced.
He
also disclosed that US$19.1 million, equivalent to D855,000,000, was injected
for the initial investment of GMC, which has a current capacity of 350,000 kg
or 7020 bags of 50kg per day.
He
spoke extensively about the GMC’s vision and mission, and said GMC’s vision is
to “make The Gambia’s manufacturing industry prosper”.
“The
GMC vision and mission is to produce high quality and superior flour, bread and
animal feed, to satisfy The Gambia’s growing demand for bread flour and
derivative products, and also geared towards setting standards for excellence
in The Gambia manufacturing industry by providing high quality products.
The
GMC general manager further stated that the mission and vision of GMC is also
to export the “Made in The Gambia” brand,
and create a strong positive reputation
and image of GMC products within the sub-region; and to make a strong ,
positive contribution to the socio-economic development of The Gambia by
providing skilled employment opportunities for Gambians; enhancing the national economy, transferring of technology, training and capacity building
and supporting The Gambia’s strategic location as a gateway to West Africa.
Regarding
quality control, the general manager said: “Gambia Milling Corporation has a
complete quality control system in place, and follows HACCP rules.”
He
added: “Flour samples are taken every 2 hours, which are checked by our
qualified staff and calibrated equipment.”
Mr
Dirk Van Develde went further to present a paper on Seaboard West Africa, which
is a major family-owned company based in Kansas, USA.
