Recently, Mr. Jude Nneji, the Managing Director of ABC Transport Plc., reflected on the path the firm has taken since it started operations in 1993 and stated that there have been some difficult obstacles along the way.
However, he revealed that the company managed to overcome the obstacles to stay alive and reach several milestones that characterize the road transport industry today by combining clever management with the support of devoted customers.
Speaking on ABC Transport’s 32nd anniversary, the MD said: “There have been challenges in the past 32 years. But, we are braced up for them. You know it is not easy for a company to survive three decades in Nigeria.”
According to him, the company’s present priorities are rebranding and building on its accomplishments over the previous thirty years. He said: “We are doing a lot of renewal; the logo change, the rebranding, and reflecting, among other things, just to move on to the next stage.
“We are consolidating the divisions we have. For now, the focus is on our Haulage and Cargo divisions, as well as our Driver Training Academy (DTA), which is turning a lot of graduates into the professional driver market,” he added.
On February 13, 1993, five small buses bearing the ABC Transport reindeer emblem set out from Owerri on their first journey to Lagos, marking the beginning of ABC Transport PLC’s remarkable journey. The buses were laying the foundation for what is now Nigeria’s leading land transportation enterprise, but the onlookers had no idea.
A youthful and bold businessman named Mr Frank Nneji OON, who aspired to provide Nigerians with top-notch transportation services, borrowed money from Diamond Bank (now Access Bank) to purchase the historic Toyota Hiace buses. With Nneji at the helm, ABC Transport transformed road transportation and established the benchmarks for contemporary, long-distance passenger services, even though it was not one of the first generation of luxury bus transporters, where a trailblazer like Ekene Dili Chukwu (founded by the late Chief Augustine Ilodobe) belongs. As the creator of ABC Transport, Nneji recently recounted that the idea for a modern transport company was born in 1993 as a result of a bad personal experience he had travelling from Owerri to Lagos on a bus that broke down at Ore.
According to him, the goal was to establish benchmarks for luxury bus transit at that time, with a focus on passenger safety, comfort, and rigorous schedule compliance. With a fleet of over 500 trucks and a network of more than 90 locations throughout the nation and West Africa, ABC Transport has become a household name in the road transportation industry and, like the oak tree, has achieved numerous firsts.
Following the first success, further minibuses and cutting-edge luxury coaches were added to the ABC Transport fleet sustainably. Being the first to offer air-conditioned coaches with restrooms and onboard entertainment, the company gained praise from passengers nationwide.
The ABC Customers’ Forum, which was previously unheard of in the nation’s road transport sector, was one of the innovations that the management implemented in the years after the five minibuses made their first trip. The management engaged with the consumers at the event, which was held yearly until a few years ago, and addressed their inquiries, grievances, and recommendations for how to enhance the business’s offerings.
ABC Transport achieved yet another first on July 16, 2004, when its Coach West Africa, the first scheduled coach service in the ECOWAS area, took off from Lagos (via Cotonou, Benin Republic, and Lome, Togo) to Accra, Ghana, and back on board specially designed coaches.
Travellers may now schedule their trips and pay from the comfort of their homes and offices thanks to ABC Transport’s 2007 introduction of online ticket booking, which has subsequently been adopted by the majority of luxury bus transport operators. Later, a mobile app was released to improve self-service. Likewise, ABC Transport was the pioneer in setting up state-of-the-art terminals in Nigeria and other countries, including Lagos, Abuja, Owerri, and Port Harcourt. Since then, the company’s success has been fueled by its stellar safety records, innovative reputation, and distinctive client experience, as well as the founder’s entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to perfection.
The acquisition of ABC Cargo Express, the logistics and warehousing division, and ABC Hauls, the haulage services arm, are just two of the many milestones that ABC Transport has accomplished over the last 32 years.
Continuing, ABC Hauls and Cargo Express make up over half of ABC Transport PLC’s operations, and the company recently deployed Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks to increase its cement hauling capacity at Lafarge Africa Plc’s cement production. One of Lafarge’s main carriers for cement distribution around the nation is ABC Hauls.
ABC Cargo Express began as a division and has since expanded to become a fully owned subsidiary of the parent corporation. Its quick expansion and capacity to concentrate on ongoing advancements made this necessary.
Along with being the first and only road transport company to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, ABC Transport has a record of moving hundreds of thousands of packages throughout West Africa through its Cargo division, empowering many businesses with its dedicated e-commerce services. The company has been enjoying significant stability, liquidity, and ease of management thanks to a smooth succession plan that ensured that Mr Jude Nneji, the former Deputy Managing Director, succeeded Mr Frank Nneji as Managing Director.
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The older Nneji, the Founder and former Managing Director, has since advanced to higher responsibilities, including serving as a Director of the company.
Additionally, the company has received numerous national and international awards and medals for its exceptional performance in the transportation sector. In 2004, the first group of trainees graduated from Driver Training Academy, another ABC Transport PLC subsidiary and the first of its kind in Nigeria. The Academy was established with the goal of “preparing and producing” safe, law-abiding drivers who recognize the worth of human life for Nigeria’s driving environment.
BrandSpur Night news today reports that trainees from ABC Transport and other organizations that want to take advantage of the extensive training programs authorized by the Federal Road Safety Commission are admitted.
With its 50% ownership in Transit Support Services Ltd (TSS), which assembles heavy and light-duty trucks under the flagship brands Shacman (including fire trucks and other vehicles), SETRAC CNG buses, and Forland trucks, ABC Transport made its foray into the auto industry in 2012. At its factory in Emene, Enugu, TSS also assembles BAW minibuses, ambulances, and Asiastar luxury buses for the local automotive market. This is on top of the after-sales support services and car component sales.
The most diversified transport company in the West African subregion is ABC Transport PLC, which operates DTA, Cargo Express, TSS, and ABC Hauls. It has also opened a hospitality division with City Transit Inn in Abuja’s Utako neighbourhood to provide travellers arriving in the Federal Capital Territory with affordable lodging. Looking back to 1993, the Founder noted that for ABC to flourish, his management made it a policy to focus exclusively on the quality of service ABC provided. Gradually, they started to raise the bar for road transport operations in Nigeria.
They achieved this by offering the discerning traveller who would have otherwise chosen to fly an appropriate and comfortable alternative mode of transportation—the road. As a result, the typical Nigerian traveller adopted ABC Transport’s novel, inventive, more comfortable, timely, customer-focused, and safety-conscious services, which were far less expensive than flying.
Nneji is thankful to God as the management puts its best foot forward in its ongoing efforts to rejuvenate. He said: “and all our customers who have kept faith with us and kept faith with the brand. We will not let them down.”
