Raila Odinga, the former Prime Minister of Kenya has had a long and successful political career. However, his achievements in the business world are often overlooked.
In particular, Odinga’s role in building EA Spectre Limited, a leading LPG cylinder manufacturing and revalidation company, is a story that deserves attention.
Odinga established EA Spectre during his tenure at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nairobi in 1971.
The company, which specializes in the manufacturing and revalidation of LPG cylinders, dominates about 20% of the market share in the production of new LPG cylinders and more than 80% of the market share in cylinder revalidation, according to the company’s official website.
Odinga himself sits on the company’s board, along with his spouse Ida Odinga and engineer Israel O. Agina. His elder brother Dr. Oburu Odinga chairs the board of directors.
In a May 2022 meeting with the European Business Council, Odinga spoke about how he established EA Spectre. He explained that he establish the company after purchasing equipment from an Indian businessman who was looking to dispose of it following his departure from Uganda during Idi Amin’s reign.
A collection of welding machines, sheet metal cutting machines, and rolling machines were kept in a yard in Nairobi’s Parklands, and after a thorough inspection, Raila confirmed that the equipment was in excellent condition.
Unfortunately, the Indian businessman who was selling the machines was asking for Sh12,000, which Raila could not afford at the time. In order to obtain the equipment, the young entrepreneur made the difficult decision to sell his Opel left-hand drive car, which he had brought with him from Germany after finishing his studies.
Odinga then registered the Standard Processing Equipment Construction & Eréction Ltd (later renamed East African Spectre). He revealed that the firm started out manufacturing casements, steel doors and windows before later venturing into manufacturing LPG cylinders after spotting a gap in the market.
“I went and started a workshop in Industrial Area, on Kingston road, now it’s called Kampala Road. I got employees also who were kicked out from Uganda, they were doing what they called Ugandanization,” Odinga recalled.
Spectre soon found its niche in LPG cylinder manufacturing as there were no local firms making them at the time. It grew and bagged clients including Total Kenya among other major oil marketing companies.
It also expanded over the years to grow its capacity. In 1988, Spectre entered a financing agreement with Industrial Development Bank Ltd (now IDB Capital) for expansion funding, allowing it to put up a new factory along Mombasa Road.
In 2008, East Africa Spectre Ltd embarked on a major upgrade of its factory to strengthen its market position. The firm installed a new state of the art cylinder manufacturing plant. Old machines were replaced and various processes mechanized.
Among machines that were installed as part of the upgrade were a heat treatment furnace, hydrostatic testing rig, and spray painting system.
Spectre has been a key player in the LPG cylinder manufacturing industry in Kenya for decades, providing quality products that meet the needs of customers.
The company’s success is a testament to Raila Odinga’s entrepreneurial spirit and ability to identify opportunities and capitalize on them.