Capsule, tablet, purified water, metal can and tube lines for manufacturers in Lagos, Ogun, Ibadan and Port Harcourt.
Built for 230 V / 50 Hz with wide-voltage tolerance and AVR protection, shipped CIF Apapa or Tin Can with SONCAP support.
Nigeria is one of the most active pharmaceutical markets in Africa, with a manufacturing cluster concentrated in Lagos and Ogun State — Ikeja, Ilupeju, Agbara, Sango Ota — plus a smaller base in Ibadan and Port Harcourt. The companies we work with are usually expanding a specific dosage line rather than building a plant from zero, and they are extremely cost-aware on landed price because the naira has made imported capital equipment expensive in local terms.
The engineering consequence is different from Europe or the Gulf. Machines have to tolerate a supply that sags and spikes, run through outages by switching to generator power without tripping a drive, and keep running when the spare part you need is three weeks away by sea. YohoAI has supplied West African plants since 2010 from our Shanghai factory.
This page covers what Nigerian buyers ask us most: which machine fits which product, how we build for unstable 230 V supply, what SONCAP and NAFDAC actually require, and how equipment reaches Apapa or Tin Can without a demurrage bill.
Every line is built in our Shanghai plant and CE certified at machine level. If your site runs on generator power for part of the day, tell us at quotation stage — several parameters change and it is cheaper to specify them now than to retrofit.
NJP series 30,000–228,000 capsules/hour at ±3–5 % accuracy. The NJP-800 and NJP-1200 are the volume fit for most Nigerian capsule plants.
Most requested here: NJP-800
ZP series rotary presses from 19 to 45 stations, 50,000–400,000 tablets/hour, with single-punch units for pilot batches.
Most requested here: ZP-19
PW series 250–5,000 L/h with RO and EDI, sized for borehole feed water — which is what most Nigerian sites actually use.
Most requested here: PW-500
RG series rotary die machines 5,000–60,000 capsules/hour, with chiller and dryer for a complete turnkey line.
Most requested here: RG-100
YC series 60–300 cans/minute for food, beverage and paint tins, with easy-open end capability.
Most requested here: YC-60
YG series 60–150 tubes/minute for cosmetic and pharma creams, ABL and PBL, with inline capping and leak testing.
Most requested here: YG-120
Nigerian industrial supply is nominally 230 V single phase and 415 V three-phase at 50 Hz, but the number on the nameplate is not what the machine usually sees. Voltage swings of ±15 % are routine, and a plant that switches to generator power mid-shift introduces a further step change in both voltage and frequency stability.
We therefore specify differently for Nigeria: a wide-input AVR or stabiliser on the machine incomer, contactors and drives rated with headroom rather than at the nominal value, a phase-sequence and under-voltage relay that stops the machine cleanly instead of letting a servo fault mid-cycle, and a documented generator-changeover procedure in the manual. On purified water systems we add a low-pressure cut-out so the pump does not run dry during a supply interruption.
| Parameter | Typical Nigerian supply | What we build |
|---|---|---|
| Three-phase | 415 V / 50 Hz nominal, ±15 % swings | Wide-input drives, AVR on incomer, under/over-voltage relay |
| Single phase | 230 V / 50 Hz | Controls isolated; surge protection on the control transformer |
| Changeover | Grid ↔ generator, several times a day | Clean-stop logic documented in the manual; no hot switching |
| Ambient | 30–34 °C, high humidity on the coast | 304 SS product contact, IP65 panels, anti-condensation heaters |
| Feed water | Borehole, high hardness and iron | Sand + carbon + softener + anti-scalant ahead of the RO skid |
Two documents decide whether your machine leaves the port: a SONCAP certificate and a clean import file. SONCAP is Nigeria's conformity assessment programme — the exporter registers the product, obtains a Product Certificate, and each shipment is issued a SONCAP Certificate (SC) that customs requires before release. Ship without it and the container sits at Apapa while storage charges accumulate.
NAFDAC regulates the product, not the machine, in the same way BPOM does in Indonesia. What NAFDAC inspection looks for is the equipment's qualification evidence: DQ/IQ/OQ, material certificates for product-contact parts, cleaning validation support and calibration certificates. We prepare that package as part of the order, not as an afterthought.
| Document | Purpose | Who prepares it |
|---|---|---|
| SONCAP Product Certificate | Pre-registration of the product for export to Nigeria | YohoAI, before first shipment |
| SONCAP Certificate (SC) | Per-shipment release document required by customs | YohoAI, per shipment |
| Form M / PAAR | FX allocation and pre-arrival assessment | Buyer's bank |
| Commercial invoice + packing list | Customs declaration basis | YohoAI |
| CE certificate + declaration | Machinery safety conformity | YohoAI |
| DQ / IQ / OQ protocol | NAFDAC inspection evidence | YohoAI |
| Material certificates (SS 304/316L) | Product-contact compliance | YohoAI |
We quote FOB Shanghai or CIF to Apapa, Tin Can Island or Onne. CIF is usually the better choice for a first order because it fixes the freight component of your landed cost before the Form M is raised, and currency movement between order and shipment is the single most common reason a Nigerian project becomes unaffordable halfway through.
Manufacturing runs 6–10 weeks. Ocean transit to Lagos is 30–35 days on the direct service, longer via transhipment. Then add clearance: with SONCAP in hand and a complete file, two to three weeks is realistic; without it, considerably more.
| Destination port | Ocean transit from Shanghai | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Apapa (Lagos) | 30–35 days | Main gateway; the most congested — book early |
| Tin Can Island (Lagos) | 30–35 days | Often faster release than Apapa for containerised cargo |
| Onne (Port Harcourt) | 35–40 days | Better for south-east and Niger Delta plants |
| Lagos air freight (urgent spares) | 5–8 days | Used for critical spares only, cost is high |
Installation is supervised remotely by video for single machines and on site for full lines. Because a service visit to Nigeria is a real cost for both sides, we front-load the planning: before the container ships you receive the layout drawing, foundation and utility requirements, and a commissioning checklist so that site preparation is finished by the time the machine lands.
The spares question matters more in Nigeria than almost anywhere else. A worn punch or a failed sensor that would be a two-day fix in Europe can stop production for a month if it has to clear customs as a small parcel. We therefore recommend a first-order spares kit sized for twelve months of running — dies or punches, seals, filter cartridges, one drive, one PLC module — and we will tell you honestly which parts wear and which do not.
Yes, provided we specify for it. Nigerian orders are built with an AVR or stabiliser on the incomer, wide-input drives, under-voltage and phase-sequence protection, and a documented clean-stop procedure for generator changeover. Tell us at quotation stage whether the machine will run on grid, generator or both — retrofitting this protection afterwards costs more than specifying it.
Yes. SONCAP is a pre-shipment conformity programme: the product needs a Product Certificate, and each shipment needs a SONCAP Certificate (SC) that customs will ask for before release. Without it the container cannot clear and storage charges start accumulating at the port. We handle the exporter side and issue the documents with the shipment.
Yes. Because all six lines are built in one factory, a single purchase order can cover capsule filling, tablet compression, purified water, and the packaging line, with one commissioning plan and one documentation package. Most Nigerian customers start with one machine and add lines as volume grows, which is why our machine ranges overlap rather than jump.
Standard terms are 30 % T/T deposit with the balance against the bill of lading, or an irrevocable L/C at sight for larger orders. For repeat customers we can discuss staged payments tied to production milestones. We do not ship without a confirmed deposit and a signed PI.
Six to ten weeks manufacturing, 30–35 days ocean to Apapa or Tin Can, then two to three weeks clearance with a complete SONCAP file, then one to two weeks installation and commissioning. A realistic planning figure is four months from deposit to first batch for a single machine.
Spares ship from Shanghai by air within 48 hours of a confirmed order, typically 5–8 days door to door. We strongly recommend a twelve-month spares kit with the machine, because a small urgent parcel can spend longer in customs than the repair itself takes.
Send the product, target output and destination port. You receive a model recommendation, a 230 V / 50 Hz configuration built for unstable supply, CIF pricing to Apapa or Tin Can, and a realistic delivery schedule — including what SONCAP needs before shipment.