Happy Foam Industry Company Limited has announced that it will produces mattresses and sofa sets for the local market in South Sudan.
This announcement was made during a visit by a delegation of the South Sudanese Ministry of Trade to the factory premises outside Juba on the Kajo-Keji road.
Simon Nyang Anei, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, told reporters that the initiative is welcome, stressing that Happy Foam has the support of the government.
“I see that the company is doing very well and they are distributing to all parts of the country, I promise that they will be provided with some letter of credit to support their activities in the country,” Nyang said.
The official acknowledged that one of the major challenges face investors in South Sudan is lack of hard currency. Nyang said, “I know the local industries are lacking hard currency, and government is trying to minimize the challenges through letters of credit.”
For his part, Mohamud Farah, the manager of Happy Foam Company Limited said they produce a high-quality product which is better than imports from other countries. He said when a trader comes to buy from their company they give a guarantee of one year.
Farah explained that the company started testing in 2013 and has employed so far 11 South Sudanese national and some expatriate workers to control the machinery used in production.
He stated that the company imports their work materials from South Korea.
The manager said the company would produce according to market demand. He claimed they would be able to produce as many as 2000 mattresses or more per day if demand is high.
Correction: Happy Foam Industry Company Ltd. says it imports its raw materials from South Korea, not North Korea, as was originally stated in this article. A correction to the text has been made.