Sponsored
Research
Government agencies and non-government
local and international organizations
commission the Institute to
carry out research works on
their behalf and at their expenses.
The projects are generally for
the benefit of the public and
the sponsoring organizations
rarely have any private commercial
interest in them. The results
are, therefore, made available,
both to the sponsors and any
interested persons.
Contract Research
Private companies commission
the Institute to carry out research
on contract basis, on agreed
fees and terms. The fees charged
cover use of equipment, consumables,
staff time, overheads and incidental
costs. Results are kept confidential
and communicated only to the
clients.
Analytical
Services
The analytical laboratory of
the Institute is one of the
few well-equipped laboratories
in Nigeria today. It is a centre
of excellence in analytical
services. It has a wide range
of instruments, amongst which
are Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer,
UV Spectrophotometer, Flame
Photometer, Moisture balance,
Fibretec, Vibratory Sieve Analyzer,
Porosimeter, Tensometer, Dilatometer,
Carbon and Sulphurs analysis
apparatus, etc
The Institute’s team of
analysts is an impressive mix
of microbiologists, biochemists,
food technologists, toxicologists,
all of them highly qualified,
well trained and experienced.
With this combination of good
equipment and competent staff,
FIIRO is able to handle various
analytical problems. It handles
both routine and investigational
types of analyses for various
clients and purposes from the
different sectors of the economy.
Typical among the products analyzed
are: foods, feeds, water, beverages
(alcoholic and non-alcoholic),
cosmetics, toiletries, fine
chemicals, as well as industrial
effluents. The areas of coverage
include material, chemical,
microbiological and toxicological
analyses. In addition, it undertakes
routine quality control and
safety evaluation checks on
foods, food products drinks,
water, cosmetics, etc, for the
purpose of registering such
products with NAFDAC (National
Agency for Food and Drug Administration
and Control) and for ascertaining
standards and specifications
set by SON (Standards Organization
of Nigeria).
The chemical analyses cover:
protein, total sugar, fat, crude
fibre, ash, moisture, carbohydrate,
trace elements (sodium, calcium
and others), calories, vitamins
and cholesterol.
Microbiological analyses cover:
counts of total aerobes, yeasts
and moulds, coliforms, etc;
detection of Salmonella, Shigella
and Staphylococcus and other
pathogenic species; plant sanitation
analysis; spoilage diagnosis;
thermal death time studies;
microbiological assay of vitamins
and amino acids and consumer
complaint investigations. Non-metallic
mineral materials analyses specifically
focus on ceramic materials which
it concerns particle size, porosity,
water absorption, tensile strength,
compression strength, thermal
expansion, loss of ignition,
carbon and sulphur contents.
Consultancy
and Counselling Services
These are services rendered
to the public by the Institute
to assist prospective investors
to investigate the economic
viability and financial profitability
of proposed production ventures.
The services, amongst others
include; surveys of markets
ascertainment of raw materials
availability, identification
of appropriate know-how, and
sourcing of machinery and equipment,
on behalf of prospective investors.
The services have been very
helpful to small-scale industrialists
who can hardly afford to engage
commercial firms for same. Apart
from meeting requests for these
kinds of services, the Institute
also prepares pre-feasibility
reports on its completed projects
to encourage businessmen to
take up such projects for commercialization.
Engineering
Services
The Engineering Division of
the Institute renders various
services to meet the internal
needs of research and development
work, as well as to industries
and the general public. For
R & D works at the Institute,
the Division designs and fabricates
machinery and equipment (M &
E) needed to demonstrate the
technical feasibility of completed
projects. For the industrialists
interested in commercializing
its projects, it provides all
or some of the M & E, together
with plant installation service
required, and for others it
provides complementary technical
services.
The
engineering services rendered
to the public include:
•
Design and fabrication of equipment
and machinery
• Cutting of various types
of gears
• Machining of spare parts
• Production of cast components
of iron and aluminium materials
up to 200kg weight.
• Glass blowing
• Refurbishing of sparking
plugs
• Electroplating of metals
• Metal forming, rolling,
cropping and aluminium welding.
• Heat treatment - annealing,
normalising, case-hardening,
tempering etc
• Foundry Casting
Technology
Transfer Services
The Institute is obliged to
put the results of its R&D
work at the disposal of interested
Nigerians, to enable them exploit
such results for better living
and economic benefits. Towards
this end, it transfers the process
technologies and production
know how of its ready for commercialization
projects to the public, through
scheduled training workshops,
technical assistance services,
acquisition of machinery and
equipment and licensing. The
projects for which training
workshops are organized are:
•
Laundry and toilet soap production
• Body and hair pomade
production
• Adhesives from gum arabic
and cassava starch
• Cassava processing into
fufu flour, gari, lafun, starch
and detoxified cassava starch
• Beniseed and other seeds
oil extraction
• Electroplating of metals
• Spark plug refurbishing
• Edible mushroom cultivation
production
• Bread and Confectionery
baking (including the use of
composite flour &production
of soy-snacks)
• Dry Milling of Grains
and Legumes
• Instant Pounded Yam
Flour production
• Fruit juice extraction
• Zoborodo drink production
Industrial
Extension Services
These services entail visits
to large, medium, and small
scale industries for the purpose
of seeking to know and proffer
solutions to their problems.
Originally, it was limited to
the small and medium enterprises,
but it has been extended to
the big firms and the multinationals.
The visits to the multinationals,
however, have a different objective,
namely to discuss areas of cooperation
and explore possibilities of
the Institute carrying out contract
research for them.
Textile
Testing and Quality Control
Services
There are facilities in the
Institute for carrying out textile
testing and quality control
and assessment tests. Such tests
are carried out at the request
of local textile firms, most
of which cannot afford the cost
of setting up these facilities.
All types of fibre, yarn and
fabric, including carpets, are
tested for various quality parameters,
such as yarn length and strength.
The Textile Laboratory carries
out quality control tests on
raw textile materials, intermediate
and finished products.
The
services deal with the following:
• Quality assessment of
textile/carpet yarns.
• Examination of colour
fastness
PUBLICATIONS
The Institute’s activities
and records of achievements
are documented in the following
publications: Research Reports,
Technical Memoranda, Technical
Information Bulletin for Industry,
and Annual Reports. Any of these
can be obtained from the Institute’s
library.
Other publications are: Selected
FIIRO technologies for industrial
development in Nigeria, and
“Development of Technological
Capabilities in Nigeria”.
