Following years of reports of proposed industrial parks in Naivasha, today witnessed a major milestone with the signing of a contract between Maxim Agri, better known as Maxim and Oserian Two Lakes Industrial Park. The signing ceremony was attended by His Excellency the Governor of Nakuru Lee Kinyanjui, Oserian Chairman Mr. Peter Zwagger, Two Lakes Managing Director Mr. Robert Ward Maxim General Manager Muhammad Salman and Oserian Finance Director Mr. Tim Ndikwe. The signing of the contract makes Maxim the first tenant at the park which is the first industrial park of its kind in Nakuru County.
Mr. Salman said he realised it would be a challenge to find land suitable for setting up their plant two weeks into his stay in Kenya. He credited the ‘magic of social media’ for leading him to find out more about Oserian and soon after visiting described it as “love at first sight” due to its access to labor, ample security and the amount of land that was available for development. “Our only focus is to produce quality food for animal consumption and improve productivity of animals.” Mr. Salman said he was confident that he would be able to deliver this promise. The company plans to open their plant in January 2021.
Oserian Finance Director Mr. Tim Ndikwe explained the rationale behind the Industrial park citing a board meeting four years ago in which it was decided they needed to diversify their business into different sectors due to challenges in the flower sector. This included taking advantage of their available resources which included land. Mr. Ndikwe said the park would eventually turn into a medium industrial town with Industries, commercial centers, residential areas and hospitals. He thanked the County government of Nakuru for standing with them in this journey stating that Oserian had seen significant benefits from their relationship, the national government which was involved through the Lands Office, the Ministry of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Committee, the Nakuru Governor and Maxim.
His Excellency Governor Lee Kinyanjui emphasised animal feeds manufacturing was crucial to increasing productivity of farmers in the area as well as that of the animals through Maxims involvement in Genetics Research. Mr. Kinyanjui said he is determined to see the company meet its ambitious goal of opening up their state-of-the-art plant in January 2021.Maxims total investment in the area is $10million. To further show his commitment to the project Mr. Kinyanjui announced that the County Government together with Oserian plans to carry out regular marketting cycles to promote the park to other investors. The park has also included value addition, one of the Big 4 Agenda through working with the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) which terminates in Mahi Mahiu which he said would be a major attraction for investors looking to put up factories in the area. On the logistics side of things the Governor mentioned that 1300 acres has been set aside at the railway terminus to handle logistics.
