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Business Reporter
Beta Holdings is optimistic that the coming online of a new clay brick plant in Melfort- situated about 40km east of Harare – will help to fill the current market supply gaps while enabling the company to meet its delivery commitments.
BETA recently installed a new brick in Mount Hampden where it already operates two factories. But the Melfort plant could be a game changer for the industry that has traditionally struggled to meet demand despite the emergence of new players.
“Our Melfort plant is expected to commence operations before end of November this year and it will give us the capacity to produce 180 million bricks per year,” spokesperson Ms Cynthia Chizwina told The Herald Finance & Business during a tour of its new factory in Mount Hampden.
The Mount Hampden new line will see output increasing by 50 percent to 4,5 million bricks per week. “We are happy that we now have the additional capacity here in Mount Hampden but the real game change is our Melfort plant and we are optimistic that additional output from the new plant will help fill market supply gaps,” said Ms Chizwina.
The Melfort project started at the height of Covid-19 and logistical challenges related to the pandemic saw the company missing its initial commencement timelines.
In a statement last week BETA said: “The net effect of these investments is to ensure that the company pivots back to its leadership position in the infrastructural inputs supply sector now and into the future. Despite a temporary work stoppage last week, the normal operating environment has been restored the company resolved the impasse with its employees at Mt Hampden who have taken industrial action at the factories citing the backlog on wages.
Earlier, BETA had assured employees that it had sourced raw materials to enable the kick-starting of a sustainable production process, which should see capacity improving at the Mount Hampden factories while works and the Melfort plant were completed.
“Management is fully confident that as the production levels improve, so will the cash inflows that will address all the legacy creditors, backlogged deliveries, and staff remuneration.”
While Zimbabwe has traditionally struggled to meet the demand for bricks due to capacity constraints, the shortages worsened in recent years largely due to demand from private and public sectors as well as home developments by diaspora funds.
Even with the coming of various players into the brick-making sector, the industry’s combined capacity remains below the levels required to meet the demand.
Phase two of the Melfort project will involve adding the drying tunnels. This will eliminate production stoppages due to the rains.
Brick producers normally halt production in rainy seasons as the wet conditions are not favorable for operations.
Apart from brickmaking, BETA is also involved in the production of concrete roofing times and aggregates.
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