This is Wenchi Tomacans, a popular factory in the Bono Ahafo Region that was noted for the processing and packaging of vegetables, particularly tomatoes, garden-eggs and okra, as well as all kinds of fruits for local consumption and export.
It employed over 3,000 people directly and indirectly. I was told how young graduates and even illiterates moved to Wenchi to search for jobs in this factory back then.
Had an over 2,000 acres of land used for the cultivation of the vegetables and also bought from local farmers.
Besides the canning of vegetables and fruits, the company also produced a popular alcoholic beverage called Bramsco.
The factory’s generators had excess power which supplied electricity to Wenchi and its adjourning communities
They established a football club, Wenchi Toamacans FC, that competed in Ghana’s top division. Former Black Stars captain Kwasi Appiah once played there.
During the long vacation in the 1960s and 1970s, High School students from the locality were temporarily employed to expose them production processes in the factory.
Long story short, this economic lifeblood was shut down in 1987.
Wenchi that used to be the hub of fruit and vegetable processing is now full of Chinese Tomatoe paste and foreign fruit juices.
The factory after going through several phases, is rotting away in the bush. Photos and excerpts from Graphic Online.
Source: Saddick Adams of Angel Fm
