Who We Are

 

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Bidco Uganda Limited (BUL), headquartered in Masese Industrial Area, Walukuba in Jinja City, is Uganda’s leading manufacturer of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Established in October 2005 as an edible oil and soap manufacturing plant, BUL has continuously grown over the years to be the home of some of Uganda's most loved brands for edible oils, hygiene and personal care and food products. To date, our products include:

  • Edible Oils (Fortune Butto, Fortune Gold, Fortune, Golden Fry & Fortune Sunflower Oil)
  • Spices (Fortune Nuunu & Nyama Binzari)
  • Vegetable Fat (Kimbo, Cowboy, Chipo & Chipsy)
  • Detergent (White Star Magic & Blue Breeze)
  • Laundry Soap (Blue Magic, White Star, Light Star, Brown Soap, Kuku, Brown Soap-Star Natural, Bul Star and Bull)
  • Bathing soap (White star premium-aloe vera, lemon and menthol) and
  • Food (Fortune Spaghetti)

Today, our products are also available in five other African countries – Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan.

As we are a food company, we embrace the use of automated systems to achieve little or no human contact during processing and packing of our products.
Through partnerships with the Government of Uganda, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank among others, we have grown to employ over 5,000 workers in plantations, mills and refineries.

For the past years, we have been recognized by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) as one of the largest taxpayers (in the top 10) in the country.

In a bid to cut on imports of raw materials and sustain the market supply, we have plantations in Kalangala and Buvuma while land is already allocated to us in Kyotera (Sango Bay) and Mayuge where we intend to have plantations.

In a way of giving back to the community, BUL has a dedicated budget that goes into sports, health, education and infrastructure (feeder/community roads).

 

History

 

Believing that Africa has a competitive advantage in agro - business, Bidco Uganda Limited and its Joint Venture partners ventured into achieving this edge by operation on a soil-to-pan principle, with its production systems starting with the farmers and ending with the consumer.
In pursuit of this, Oil Palm Uganda Limited signed an agreement with the Uganda Government to undertake an integrated palm oil project in Kalangala District of Uganda in 2002. Kalangala Oil Palm project was and still is part of the Ugandan Government Vegetable Oil Development Project (VODP) initiative geared towards increasing Vegetable oil production in Uganda. The project is supported by IFAD and the World Bank with Bidco Uganda Limited and Wilmar Plantations playing a major role as the private investors.
The Bidco Uganda Limited Complex in Jinja was built in a record 10 months and officially launched in October 2005 and has since been producing high quality products that have been very well accepted in both the local and export markets.

 

Our Joint Ventures

 

Bidco Uganda Limited is a joint venture between BIDCO Africa Limited and Wilmar International Limited, supported by IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) and the World Bank. It was formed to empower smallholder farmers and increase vegetable oil production in Uganda.

 

Goal

 

To grab, grow and sustain No. 1 market share in the African markets by 2030. We are determined to achieve this through conventional marketing and enhancing the everyday experiences of our customers.

 

Our People

 

Will seek opportunities and overcome challenges ethically and strive to make them a reality. All our people value integrity and uphold it ruthlessly, building trust leading to empowerment.

 

Our Organization

 

Is committed to continual renewal so that our people, structures, products, facilities, systems and partnerships remain dynamic.

 

Technology And Processes

 

BUL is the only company of its kind in the region to have fully integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) and intelligence resource planning (IRP) systems. BUL was the first company in the sector to venture into e-commerce and the first to network all its multi-location facilities, through V-Sat and the Internet.

BUL's modern refinery produces palm oil adhering to international standards. It has mechanical and automated handling systems that operate continuously. The biomass powered boilers that produce superheated steam which is used to generate electricity through turbine generators and the lower pressure steam from the turbine is used for heating purposes throughout the factory. Upon refining, the oil is separated or fractionated into liquid and solid phases by thermo-mechanical means. The liquid fraction, also known as olein, is extracted and used extensively as a liquid cooking oil. Furthermore, vitamins are added and the products are fortified to ensure the consumer benefits to optimum levels. BUL’s processing operations are automatically controlled and routine sampling and analysis by process control laboratories support smooth and efficient operations.

BUL’s laboratory ensures that key tests are conducted appropriately. Today, BUL’s laboratory possesses state of the art equipment such as the Near InfraRed System, which tests moisture content of the oil, while simultaneously undertaking a myriad of other tests. The Uganda National Bureau of Standards fully recognizes BUL products.