admin
Oliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter
TEXTILE giant National Blankets’ capacity utilisation is set to increase from an average 20 percent to 50 percent due to an anticipated rise in demand during the winter season.
The Bulawayo-based textile firm needs about $3 million working capital and is currently under judicial management.
The firm’s acting chief executive officer Freedom Dube said his organisation was hamstrung by funding challenges.
“We’re aiming to increase our production this winter season to about 50 percent taking advantage of the increased demand of our product during the winter season,” he said recently.
“We’ve embarked on a revival strategy to turn around the company. In February, we were operating at between 16 and 20 percent capacity.”
Presently the textile company produces an average 200,000 blankets per year compared to a historical capacity of two million.
National Blankets manufactures a wide variety of products ranging from high-tech blankets such as airline blankets to quality furpile and felted products, relief blankets and woven products.
Dube said although the company was showing signs of recovery, they were still grappling with competition from cheap imported textile products from the Far East.
“Due to the influx of imported textile products from the Far East, we no longer have that monopoly on the market. As a result of competition and our product being seasonal, we’re not able to get finance to stimulate production to competitive levels at the pace we want it to be.
“We’re also going to capitalise on the winter season to increase our production and sales,” he said.
At its peak, National Blankets employed about 5,000 workers compared to 65 at present.
Dube said the textile company had stream lined operations as part of its survival strategy.
In 2013, National Blankets received a payment of $2,6 million as settlement of sale to the National Social Security (NSSA) of the Industrial Plot Number 39, that was bonded to Capital Bank.
The proceeds of the sale amounting to $1,944,035 were transferred to Capital Bank as a means of liquidating the debt owing to the bank.
The remaining balance from the proceeds net of statutory costs, taxes and Bulawayo City Council rates were then made available for distribution to creditors.
Online Reporter