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Industrial and medical gas company Angases is building on an illustrious reputation with lucrative new national contracts

Oil services company Sonamet, renowned for quality and safety, has worked with all major international oil operators in Angola

REGIONAL industrial powerhouse prior to the war, Angola is now facing the challenge of reconstructing its industrial sector after three decades of decline.

In the 1970s, Angola was the world’s fourth largest coffee producer and 80% of its exports were composed of a wide range of commodities such as fish, flour, cotton, corn, timber, and iron. Over the last 25 years, however, economic activity has all but collapsed in most sectors except oil and diamonds, leaving the Angolan economy heavily dependent upon imports and highly vulnerable to shocks from fluctuating oil prices.

Production in the coffee industry – Angola’s chief export earner after oil and employer of over 6% of the population – has plummeted from 400,000 tons per year in the early 1970s to around 2,000 today. Agricultural production as a whole fell from 29% of GDP in 1991 to just under 6% in 2000, and the country will need to import more than 725,000 tons of cereals in 2003.

Nevertheless, the agricultural sector, as well as the construction, manufacturing, and services sectors, registered double-digit growth in 2002, a testament to the benefits of peace. Angolans are confident that they can regain their industrial standing, according to Mr. Ari Carvalho, Administrator with the National Private Investment Agency (ANIP).

“Angola is a country full of history, which has to a large extent been built upon the character of its people. Even after all they have gone through, when you wander around the streets of Angola in any province you see hope on the faces of the people,” he affirms.

“We went through colonization and civil war and now Angola is a country ready for the next stage. We have great natural resources, but the most important thing we have is the Angolan persistency and ingenuity. Not many countries that have gone through what Angola has gone through are in as good a shape as Angola is right now, and I think that is 90% to do with the character of the people.”

Two Angolan companies leading the way in the new industrial initiative are Angases and Sonamet. Angases was founded in 1949 to produce industrial and medical gases and has more recently been granted an exclusive contract to supply Coca-Cola with gas for their Angolan bottling company. The company also does business across the country for Sonamet, Petromar, the Port of Lobito, and various beer companies.

Sonamet was created in 1997 to support the oil industry and has since built oil platforms for all of the major international oil operators in Angola, including ChevronTexaco and Exxon Mobil. Sonamet’s mission is to provide state-of-the art fabrications, as well as sub-sea and survey services, and is recognized as a manufacturer that insists on quality and safety. The company is also committed to being a leader in Angola’s development through the employment and training of local staff. Sonamet has set up a school in Luanda to implement a training program for local technicians and surveyors, and is helping build a ‘Made in Angola’ image that is synonymous with quality and good business practices.