Blog – Siat Group

News : Siat Founder, Pierre Vandebeeck, receives National Award, Lauds Nigeria

Siat Founder, Pierre Vandebeeck, receives National Award, Lauds Nigeria

The Federal Government of Nigeria has honoured the Founder of Presco Plc and Siat Nigeria Limited, Mr Pierre Vandebeeck with a National Award in recognition of his contributions to the development of Nigeria’s economy.

President Muhammadu Buhari conferred the National Honours Award of the Order of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria (OFR) on Mr Vandebeeck on Tuesday at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Mr Vandebeeck was among the recipients of Awards at the investiture of distinguished Nigerians and foreigners by President Buhari at the 2022 National Honours Awards.

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Speaking on the Award, Vandebeeck, who was accompanied by his wife, Managing Director of Presco Plc, Felix Nwabuko and his wife, Fidelia, commended Nigeria for recognizing his contributions to economic growth in the last 50 years.

Vandebeeck also projected economic growth for Nigeria, especially in the area of agriculture and oil palm development.

Making reference to oil palm production, Mr Vandebeeck said: “Expect more growth and more dividends for Shareholders of Presco Plc.”

Mr Vandebeeck, a Belgian National, is an Officer of The Order of the Crown of Belgium, was Honorary Consul of Belgium for Gabon and was also conferred with the Distinguished Service Star of Rivers State of Nigeria (DSSRS).

Mr Vandebeeck, has been part and parcel of Nigeria’s economic growth, especially in the Agricultural Production and Agro-Allied Industries.

Born on the 16th of August 1945 in Munsterbilzen, Belgium, Mr. Vandebeeck is an Agronomist with specialty in Tropical Agriculture, graduated in 1969.

He immediately started his career working as plantation manager and then group inspector for five years for Afrifina’streecrop estates of coffee, rubber, cocoa and oil palm, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He came to Nigeria in 1974 as Project and Team leader for Socfin Consultant Services (Socfinco) which was hired by the World Bank to develop Oil Palm Plantations in Nigeria.

His first assignment was the land acquisition and development of a 4,700 hectares oil palm estate at Adapalm Ltd Plantation, presently owned by the Imo State.

He successfully pioneered that project and delivered same at the end of 1977. He was subsequently transferred to undertake a similar but larger project in Rivers State to commence another process of land acquisition, land preparation and planting of over 11,400 hectares of oil palm plantation in ten communities at the Ubima Nucleus Estate and 7,000 hectares at the Elele Estate – all for Risonpalm Ltd – owned by the Rivers State Government then.

In 1983, he was appointed SOCFINCO’s Country Director of Operations for Nigeria. Upon completion of the job in Rivers State, Mr. Vandebeeck repeated the same feat at Okomu Oil Palm Company in Edo State owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria prior to its privatization.

He established his own company, Siat Group (Société d’Investissement pour l’Agriculture Tropicale) and in 1991 took a significant participation into PRESCO, then wholly owned by President Industries of which he became Managing Director.

Today, Siat Group’s holdings in Nigeria represent over 48,000 ha of oil palm estates, mainly located in Edo, Delta and Rivers States.

According to available information, these plantations are serviced by the most modern/sophisticated palm oil mills, combined with palm kernel crushing and oil refining facilities, at Presco Plc,Edo State and Siat Nigeria Limited, Rivers State respectively.

Presco Plc has grown to become a market leader in the Nigerian vegetable oils and fats industry and industry leader in oil palm plantation development, palm oil milling, palm kernel crushing and refining and fractionation of crude palm oil into vegetable oil products.

These mills have installed capacities to process over 150 tons of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) per hour to produce Special Palm Oil (SPO). The vegetable oil refining facility of 500 MT/day is one of the largest in Nigeria, wherethe Special Palm Oilisfurther processed into specialty vegetable oils and fats, for domestic use and forindustrial use by other multinational companies in the food and confectionaries industries.Palm kernel oil is extracted for allied industries while kernel cakes for animal feeds are also producedat the facilities of Presco Plc and Siat Nigeria Limited respectively.

The companies employ over 10,000 Nigerians in various categories, including specialized skills for millers and associated technologies.

Privacy

Privacy Policy

SA Siat NV, with its registered office at Romboutsstraat 6-8 – 1932 Zaventem – Belgium, registered with the Crossroads Bank of Enterprises under number BE 0444.559.314 RPR Brussels (“Siat”), is the data controller of the data processing described in this privacy policy.

Siat attaches great importance to adequate protection of personal data and to compliance with applicable legislation in this respect.

As from 25th May 2018, Siat is subject to and complies with the revised data protection rules applicable in the European Union under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 2016/679 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data) and from that date this Privacy Policy is effective.

It is explained below what kind of personal data are collected by Siat, for what purposes and on what legal basis they are processed; how long your personal data are stored; whether your personal data are passed on to third parties; how these personal data are protected; and what rights are attached to these personal data.

What personal data are collected?

Siat collects and processes the personal data it receives in the context of your professional contacts with Siat.

This concerns the following personal data:

personal data of (representatives of) shareholders, (representatives of) future shareholders, analysts or third parties following the Siat Group, including persons who have registered on the website of Siat.
personal data provided directly by you (for example, when registering or via a request sent by email or via the website of Siat). When you register on the mailing list to receive certain documentation relating to Siat (such as press releases and financial reports), certain personal details need to be provided. Siat strives to limit these personal details to the necessary minimum. Examples of categories of personal data that are collected and processed in this way are: your name, your title, your contact details, details of the company or natural person you represent, your position.
personal data obtained through your use of the website of Siat. In some cases, additional electronic identification data and information about browser and hardware from visitors to the website may be collected. Statistics and general information, for example regarding the use of the website may be collected.
personal data that are communicated to Siat by the person you represent or by one of our service providers (such as financial institutions).
personal data obtained from other sources, such as public registers or publicly accessible sources.

You are not obliged to provide Siat with your personal data. However, if you choose not to do so, there is a risk that Siat may not be able to provide full access to its services, and may not be able to achieve the purposes set out below.

For what purposes and on what legal basis does Siat process personal data?

Siat only processes personal data for a specific purpose, whereby only those personal data that are relevant to achieving this purpose are processed. The collected data is only used for this purpose and is not passed on to third parties.

In essence, Siat processes personal data to enable the company to conduct its business, and more specifically for the following purposes:

compliance with the legal and regulatory obligations;
maintaining contact with its current shareholders, future shareholders, analysts and other business contacts;
the management of its investments, e.g. for corporate governance purposes;
the dissemination of press releases, financial reports and invitations to roadshows and events;
replying to requests sent on its website or by email;
for the management and improvement of its website.

For the first purpose described above, the processing of your personal data is based on a legal obligation. For the other purposes, the processing of your personal data is based on compliance with the legitimate interests of Siat in order to conduct its business, to communicate with its contacts and to continue to improve its services. For more information about the legitimate interests of Siat, and the balance of your interests and freedoms, please contact the company at info@siat-group.com.

How long are your personal data stored?

Your personal data are stored and processed as long as necessary to develop and manage our professional relationship with you or the person you represent. Your personal data will be kept for as long as this is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, also taking into account any legal or regulatory storage obligations.

Are your personal data passed on to third parties?

Siat does not pass on your personal data to third parties for commercial purposes.

Siat may transfer or make your personal data available to its employees and managers; to other companies in the Group; to authorities or to subcontractors or service providers for the purposes mentioned above.

The employees and managers of Siat are bound by a contractual obligation of confidentiality. If Siat transfers personal data to sub-contractors or service providers in accordance with the above, it will ensure that contractual obligations are imposed on these sub-contractors or service providers in order to protect the confidentiality of your personal data.

Where your personal data are transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area, Siat always does so to countries with an adequate level of protection or on the basis of a mechanism that justifies such a transfer. For more information about the mechanism used for such international transfers, please contact the company at info@siat-group.com.

How are your personal data protected?

Siat takes all reasonable and appropriate technical measures to prevent and minimise the risk of unauthorised access, modification or destruction of your personal data.

Please note that there is always a risk associated with the provision of personal data (for example, when entering data via an open and unprotected network; when sending emails containing personal data) and no technology system can be fully protected.

Your rights

You have the right to access your personal data processed by Siat, to have them rectified, or to have them deleted. You may request that the processing of your personal data be restricted. You can object to the processing and you can also ask for your personal data to be transferred.

You can exercise your rights by sending a specific request by email to info@siat-group.com. You must enclose proof of your identity with this request for identification purposes. This information will only be used to verify your identity.

You can lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority at any time.

You can also unsubscribe from the distribution of the press releases and financial reports of Siat at any time via the function provided for that purpose on the website. Your personal data will then no longer be processed for these purposes.

Any questions or comments regarding this policy should also be addressed to info@siat-group.com.

Further information on the protection of your personal data and your rights in this respect can be found on the website of the Belgian Data Protection Authority, https://www.dataprotectionauthority.be/

Subsequent adjustments

This statement may be amended from time to time, for example to bring it into line with applicable regulations, guidelines or market practice or the business practices of Siat. Revisions will take effect upon publication of the new version on the website: this date will be clearly stated.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to improve the user experience and avoid having to enter information twice.

These tools record certain information and data communicated during exchanges with the internet page from your browser. This includes (i) login authentication details (if the visitor registers and logs into the website), (ii) user’s name, email address, and website URL (if the visitor leaves a comment), (iii) cookies preferences, defined from the initial “cookies splashscreen”.

This information makes it possible to evaluate the use of the site, to provide and improve by personalizing our services accessible through the use of the site and also to personalize the display and advertising actions for users, especially for our customers. This form of advertising is completely anonymous.

You can disable the cookies that we use by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser. However, this may prevent the full use of some of the features of this site.

Disclaimer

Information Disclaimer

All information on this website is intended purely for general information purposes. It does not, under any circumstances, constitute a business proposal or investment advice relating to the shares of Siat or its Group companies.

The website is updated regularly to the best of our ability. Siat reserves the right to modify the content of its website in whole or in part, to delete it or to temporarily suspend its distribution at any time and without prior notice. Nevertheless, Siat shall not, under any circumstances, be liable for harm which may be caused further to data provided via the site which may be incorrect, not updated or incomplete.

Siat establishes links only to sites from which it has requested authorisation and is not in any way responsible for links established to its site.

The copyright to this site belongs to SA Siat NV. Any copying or use of the contents of our website is possible only with our consent. Users of the website undertake to use the information and data available on the site for their personal use only. A page from this site may not be presented in a frame that does not belong to Siat.

Any dispute arising from or related to the use of our website and any dispute relating to or arising from the acceptance, interpretation or observance of this Disclaimer shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent Courts of Brussels, which will apply Belgian law.

Focus : Presco, mechanism for land dispute resolution

Land dispute are inevitable especially with population increase and demand for more resources vis-à-vis human needs. Addressing this could be sometimes complicated due to prevailing traditional, cultural practices and the number of parties/stakeholders involved.

However, as a corporate organization, Siat has developed strategies and a framework to ensure that land disputes are prevented. In a situation where this is unavoidable, the following mechanism is in place to address and resolve such disputes:

Stakeholders identifcation: this helps to identify and explore tools for analysis and for better understanding by interested parties, of their respective needs and concerns in relation to the land issue(s).
Respect for each other’s concerns and interests: using the FPIC process, mutual respect is safeguarded in order that each party’s concerns and interest on the land are respectfully
addressed.
Engagement and dialogue: through dialogue, relevant stakeholders deliberate on the identifed issue and develop innovative approach(es) to resolving the conﬂict and building a win-win position between the parties involved.
Mediation: in the event that both parties could not resolve the issues through dialogue and engagement, a third party may be sought as a mediator to assist and guide the parties towards resolution. The mediator does not decide the outcome but helps the parties understand and focus on the important issues needed to reach a mutualy benefcial resolution.

The beauty of this approach is that the outcome usually results in mutual respect, understanding, and goodwill.

Focus : Creation of the committee on gender parity and equality

Joyce Ewudzie, nursery assistant and gender committee responsible
Mariama Diallo, HSE responsible

The Committee started in October 2017. It consists of 21 members selected from all workers’ categories (manage-ment, senior staff, junior staff and contractual workers). It was established with as main goal:

Promote gender equality;
Address particular concerns to women;
Provide workers with an appropriate grievance mecha-nism, against all forms of undesired sexual behaviour, whether directly or implicitly, and any other form of human rights violation at the workplace.

The Committee’s day-to-day role related to harassment can be defined as:

Mediate in case of harassment incidents or any other form of human rights violation at the workplace,
Support and protect plaintiffs, while safeguarding their anonymity,
Inquire about the harassment complaints or any other form of human rights violation at the workplace,
Determine whether appropriate sanctions or discipli-nary measures can be taken without substituting legal procedures,
Raise awareness with the workers on this subject to en-courage good behaviour.

News : SIAT contributes to stop illegal deforestation

SIAT contributes to stop illegal deforestation

In 2018, SIAT became a member of the World Cocoa Foundation to contribute to stop illegal deforestation of the classified forest of Goin-Débé, in the vicinity of its Cavallly rubber plantation, in south-west Côte d’Ivoire. See how Siat decided to be part of the Cocoa-Forests Initiative and intends to mobilize its expertise to scale-up sustainable development and reforestation…

Read SIAT’s CFI Action Plan – English

R ead SIAT’s CFI Action Plan – French

News : SIAT wins 2 National Energy Globe Awards!

SIAT wins 2 National Energy Globe Awards!

Siat submitted 2 projects to the Energy Globe Awards, and we are proud to announce we have won the National Award for our Cogeneration plant in Ivory coast , and for our Biogas plant in Ghana.

This year there were over 2000 submissions from over 180 countries. High-profile experts from the Energy Globe evaluation committee have evaluated and selected the national winners.

The projects of all national Energy Globe winners were presented on June 5th, on the World Environment Day on www.energyglobe.info.

With 187 participating countries, the ENERGY GLOBE Award is today’s most prestigious environmental award. It is awarded annually to projects focusing on energy efficiency, renewable energies and the conservation of resources.

Link: https://www.energyglobe.info/cotedivoire2019?cl=en&id=337404

Link: https://www.energyglobe.info/ghana2019?cl=en&id=337288

News : Best International Agricultural Plant Award!

Our future is turned towards energy mixes and the use of renewable energies.

In recent years, the Siat Group has invested heavily in these fields (see Focus on co-generation).In 2018, the group was awarded the prize of: “Best International Agricultural Plant – Siat, First Large Scale AD & Biogas Plants in West Africa: A Hope for the Palm Oil Sector”, awarded jointly by the World Biogas Association and the United Kingdom Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA).

This award recognizes the two biogas plants installed at GOPDC (Ghana) and Presco (Nigeria) to recover, by anaerobic fermentation, methane from organic sludge contained in oil mill effluents.

Methane, a very strong greenhouse gas, is captured, and while used as energy effluent and sludge are treated.

In 2019, GOPDC and CHC was awarded the prize of: “Energy Globe Award” (https://www.energyglobe.info/), respectively for Biomethanation and Cogeneration. It is awarded annually to projects focusing on energy efficiency, renewable energies and the conservation of resources.