Ghana Rubber Estates : Proudly Ghanaian
Controlling 98 percent of the domestic rubber market, Ghana Rubber Estates Limited is the leading name in the Ghanaian industry.
Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd (GREL)
Staying FlexibleWriter: Emily JarvisProject Manager: Joe Palliser Remaining solvent despite facing a global decline in the international price of rubber (SICOM) and steadily increasing operational costs, Ghana Rubber Estates (GREL) has placed a concerted focus on strategic ways to improve efficiencies and increase production for minimal cost in order to maintain its competitive position in a toughening market.“2015 was a difficult year, so we have been concentrating on lowering the cost of production while maintaining our high level of quality to meet our sales commitments,” explains Lionel Barre, Managing Director of GREL.Proud of its locally-recognised status as a truly Ghanaian Company embedded in the country’s industry since 1957 - and led by Barre who has brought his extensive history in the international natural rubber and agri-business sectors to Ghana - GREL is well experienced in handling fluctuating rubber prices and the many ways to adapt to keep its head above water.Continued consolidationAfter gaining support from the Government of Ghana and private interest from various tyre companies to rehabilitate Ghana’s natural rubber plantations in the 1990s and early 2000s, GREL has grown to a size of more than 20,000 hectares of estates today, with phase five of its outgrowers project nearing completion.“We have more than 40,000 hectares of outgrower rubber trees planted and are working to extend our activities to the western, central and Ashanti regions, and have most recently expanded into the eastern region,” says Barre.Not only has GREL been expanding the amount of land managed by outgrowers, but the Company has been replanting and extending its own estates…
Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd
Stretching Across West Africa GREL’s integration into the community has been successfully accompanied by the reinjection of profits to encourage growth Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager James Smith Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) prides itself on its position as a truly Ghanaian company, fully embedded into the local community. Managing Director Lionel Barre has brought his extensive history in the natural rubber and agri-business sector in order to bring his international experience and in-depth product knowledge to Ghana, having previously spent 24 years with renowned tyre-maker Michelin, travelling the world through various management positions. When Ghana declared its independence from Britain, becoming the first country to free itself from colonial rule, GREL started its life in 1957 at a 923 hectare site known as Dixcove. In 1996, French management company, Société Internationale des Plantations d’ Heveas (SIPH), became a major shareholder of the company. Consolidation and Rehabilitation In the 1990s and the first part of the 2000’s, GREL shifted its focus towards consolidation and rehabilitation of the natural rubber plantations in Ghana, which had gained private interest from various tyre companies and the government of Ghana (25 percent shareholder), seeking a share in the organisation. Since then, GREL has grown considerably to a size of more than 20,000 hectares of estates and is now in Phase five of the outgrowing development and Phase two of factory extension. “Phase five will run for three years, financed by Agence Française of Développement for more than €17 million, during which time we will work with more than 4,000 outgrowers.…
