By Bill W. Cooper
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jeety Rubber LLC, Upjit Singh Sachdeva, has legally and officially taken over the ownership of the Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC), thus increasing his workforce by 900 Liberians.
Even though no fixed price has so far been attached to the purchase, Jeety Rubber LLC won the bid for SRC’s 4,400-hectare natural rubber plantation against the Firestone Liberia and a former shareholder of the Socfinaf Group.
The Socfinaf S.A., which owned SRC is Liberia’s fourth-largest rubber-producing and processing company, as it produces semi-processed rubber used in the manufacture of tires.
The company was formed in July of 2007 through the merger of a stand-alone rubber processing factory (Weala Rubber Company) and a stand-alone rubber plantation (formerly Salala Rubber Corporation).
Before the sale of the company, SRC had for years been accused by its workers, Green Advocates, and other international rights groups of poor working conditions and causing significant harm to local communities, including land grabbing, environmental degradation, and human rights abuses.
Also, SRC, one of the country’s biggest rubber companies, shut down and laid off its entire workforce of about 900 workers after days of violent protests, leaving the company’s operations paralyzed about two months ago.
However, the laid-off workers, according to the company, had received end-of-service benefits in accordance with Liberian law.
In a release issued over the weekend, Jeety Rubber LLC, quoted Socfinaf S.A., as saying it recognizes the importance of matters relating to land compensation and access to sacred sites to the local communities and has pledged its support to Socfinaf.
This indicates that “despite the sale of SRC to Jeety Rubber LLC, it remains fully committed to SRC’s 2023 Action Plan regarding land compensation issues and access to sacred sites, based on the findings of the Earthworm Foundation’s on-site investigation.”
Jeety Rubber LLC, which is also based in Weala, the same as SRC, buys and processes rubber into finished and semi-finished products, including TSR 10, for shipment, but it has struggled of late to buy enough latex cup lumps to operate its factory at full capacity.
It has complained for months that it was not getting enough tonnage of “latex (cup lumps) to run the factory at optimum capacity”, thereby prompting the acquisition of SRC as a strategic move that would go a long way in addressing the factory’s raw material needs.
Also, the company that owned SRC noted in a statement that “despite this divestment, Socfin Group shall remain fully committed to implementing SRC’s 2023 Action Plan based on the findings of the Earthworm Foundation’s on-site investigation.”
“This includes resolving land compensation issues and access to sacred sites, as the new shareholder recognizes the importance of the Action Plan for the local communities and is supportive of its implementation,” Socfinaf S.A. August 27, 2024, release noted.
Socfinaf S.A.’s statement furthered that its decision to sell SRC came after several years of sustained losses, and said as mentioned in the notes to its 2023 Annual Report, published on April 30, 2024, it had made the strategic decision to divest SRC operations in Liberia.
Socfinaf S.A. added that due diligence and discussions with the interested party, Jeety Rubber LLC, have been concluded, and that the sale of SRC has been effective since August 26, 2024.
“From this date forward, the natural rubber harvested at SRC will no longer be processed within Socfin Group nor sold via its trading arm, Sogescol,” Socfinaf S.A. asset asserted.
However, Socfinaf S.A. emphasized, “As per the wish of the new shareholder, Socfin Group’s consulting arm, Socfinco, shall remain as managing agent of SRC for a period of one year to ensure the appropriate transfer of technical know-how.”
Also, Jeety Rubber LLC said it requires a minimum of 225 tons of latex (cup lumps) daily and 6,750 tons monthly to run the factory 24 hours a day, noting that it needed to stockpile a minimum of “two months’ supply of cup lumps/latex to operate the factory at optimum capacity.”
“This purchase of SRC, a concessionaire, moves Jeety Rubber from the category of processor into the category of both processor and concessionaire, thereby giving it immense leverage to achieve its goal of producing ‘Made in Liberia’ rubber products, including latex gloves and tires, in the short and long term,” the company added.
Meanwhile, in response to the purchase, Jeety Rubber LLC Chief Executive Officer, Upjit Singh Sachdeva has vowed to address the Liberian public and provide relevant details regarding the purchase of the SRC at the appropriate time.
