An old photo of Union Trading Company PLC, also referred to as UTC PLC, was publicly listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1961 and was a diversified company formed in Switzerland. Swiss traders who were connected to the Basel Mission and the Basel Trading Company created it with the intention of donating a portion of their profits to the mission’s operations. Before entering the Nigerian market, the traders had prior business interest in Ghana and India. Before the First World War, the corporation had a successful cocoa business in Ghana. Years later, in 1932, the group opened a subsidiary in Nigeria.
Through trade and acquisitions, the company expanded into Nigeria, where it established a number of subsidiaries, including HF Schroeder, UTC Foods, Dorman Long Nigeria, Amalgamated Metal Containers, and a motors division. UTC’s revenues soared from 150 million francs to around 1.5 billion francs during Nigeria’s oil boom, which followed World War II and led to a rise in merchandise importation into the country.
