Con-Plant Technology: An emerging giant

(Pvt) limited is one of Zimbabwe’s emerging firms in the supply and delivery of fluid handling, construction and earth-moving equipment and accessories.
Anticipated high growth in Zimbabwe’s construction industry in the outlook period could present a boon for firms such as Con-Plant, what with the extensive number of private construction projects and national development programmes that have been lined up.
The company is however competing for a market niche that has been traditionally been dominated by foreign companies, albeit very few resident in the country.
The company’s director Mr Bernard Chiondengwa leads Con-Plant’s drive into uncharted territory.
“Con-Plant Technology is a wholly-owned Zimbabwean company and was formed to satisfy all consumers of the equipment and complimentary services for the mining and construction industries.
“In terms of the services that we offer to both construction and mining projects, the company gets involved with the customer from project design to implementation and evaluation,” said Mr Chiondengwa.
The company is an official commercial agent of the range of Volvo construction equipment.
The Volvo range of products that the company offers include motor graders, front-end loaders, excavators, backhoe loaders, dump trucks, pavement breakers.
However, Con-Plant also offer accessories for other brands like Caterpillar (CAT), Hyundai, Komatsu, Bell, Liebherr, and JCB among others.
Other products offered by the company include Winget and Benford concrete mixers both new and refurbished with the following specifications, diesel or electric mixers with capacity of up to 500 litre output, mechanical or electric scales/loadcells, driven by reputable engines like Lister, Hatz, and Lombardini.
Winget and Benford concrete dumpers both new and refurbished with the following specifications, up to two tonne capacity in two and four-wheel drive, driven by reputable engines like Lister, Hatz, Lombardini.
Bomag, Benford, Dynapac and Wacker compactors with the following specifications, tow behind (pedestrian), sit-on and self propelled pneumatic tyred rollers of up to 22 tonne capacity, reversible and no-reversible plate compactors, rammers/jumping compactors, driven by reputable engines like Lister, Hatz, Lombardini, Kubota, Kama, Yanmar, Honda, Robin, Firman, and Lombardini.
Dynapac and Wacker concrete vibrators with the following specifications, mechanical petrol or diesel drive units driven by reputable engines like Honda, Robin, Firman, and Lombardini, electric drive units and pokers, 26-75mm range of mechanical pokers and repairs, submersible water pumps driven by drive units.
The company also sells power floats, beams, mortar mixers, surveying equipment, site generators from 1,5KVA, road construction equipment, and road making materials (bitumen and tar).
Their range of pumps include, clear water pumps, slurry pumps, dosing pumps, chemical process pumps and pumps for sewage and waste water.
Con-Plant offers support services for the equipment that they sell.
“Our services are constantly evolving, incorporation new ideas to ensure that our clients feel the warmth and benefit immensely from our offerings of our full range of services.
“We offer a technical buying service for the respective industries and supply spares throughout Zimbabwe for most mining, agricultural and construction machinery.
“We also have a very strong after sales back up service thus ensuring that the machines we sell to our customers are repaired promptly as and when necessary,” said the director.
Con-Plant Technology’s strategic business partner, CPT Import and Export is located in South Africa where the majority Original Equipment Manufacturers of the equipment and accessories the company distributes are based.
According to Mr Chiondengwa CPT Import and Export was formed to bolster the services of Con-Plant both in Zimbabwe and in the Southern African Development Community region.
“We achieve it by expediting asset delivery lead times by direct communication with OEMs, holding stock spares for clients whose consumption trends have been established and agreed by both the client and Con-Plant and coordinating logistics and liaising with OEMs for technical information at the request of clients.”
Mr Chiondengwa admits the local construction industry took a beating during the years of hyper-inflation, but remains optimistic for the foreseeable future.
“Prior dollarisation the demand for construction equipment and complimentary services was relatively subdued due to inhibitive costs and the absence of direct capital injection.
“We are witnessing signs of an upturn as indicated in a number of proposed projects for the year including the Zimbabwe Plati-num Holdings’ Ngezi Phase 2 project, developments at Unki, Mimosa Phase 6, and Murowa.
“There is also dualisation of the Beitbridge-Chirundu road, development of the Kunzvi and Muchabezi dams and open cast mining in Kadoma by RioZim just to mention a few,” he said.
“We encourage these big industry players and Government to engage local firms such as Con-Plant as this entails wider benefits to the economy and society at large to the extent of increased employment and greater cash flow into the national coffers,” he said.
Earlier this year, Zimplats spent around US$26 million on acquiring mining and construction equipment from a Swedish supplier, Atlas Copco.