admin
Business Reporter
LISTED roofing and building products manufacturer Turnall Holdings Limited is nearing the targeted 45 000 tiles per day capacity at its tiles making plant which was commissioned in August this year, a company official has said. The company has targeted capacity of 45 000 tiles per day and it is currently operating at 42 000 tiles per day with expectations to reach the target pegged for the end of this year.
In an interview with Herald Business yesterday, Turnall Fibre Cement managing director Mr John Jere said following the commissioning of the production plant, all operations have been moving on positively.
“We have managed to operate positively and complemented the equipment that we used to have in the past.
“Our current production levels are now nearing our plant capacity target of producing 45 000 tiles a day,” he said.
Mr Jere said the production is going on well in terms of maintaining market share though the industry was currently suffering from liquidity crunch.
He said the commissioning of the plant has enabled the company to boost production levels of asbestos and other cement products.
“We are currently re-orienting our business model considering that we used to focus on low segment housing. Therefore, the company wants to bridge the gap on the market and we have rolled out initiatives meant to cater for all consumers on the market,” Mr Jere said.
He said Turnall Fibre Cement was looking at exploring new investments although he could not divulge more details saying the information was still confidential.
“The company’s major focus has been on the low-income product range, but the plant is expected to build capacity in the medium and top-tier market segments through new and expanded product offering,” he said.
He added that market dynamics demanded that the company adopt new technologies to remain competitive on the market.
Mr Jere revealed that their investment in high technology has enabled them to reduce production costs as well as making products competitive on the market.
According to Mr Jere, the company’s profitability has been largely affected by costs of importation of chrysotile fibre, the main ingredient in the manufacturing of asbestos from Brazil and Russia, following the closure of Shabanie-Mashava Mines.
This year in August, Turnall Holdings Limited commissioned a state-of-the-art US$2,5 million plant as the company wanted to dominate the market and increase capacity utilisation.
Turnall has since last year been investing in new equipment as part of a repositioning exercise aimed at turning around operations.
Presently, Turnall’s capacity utilisation is estimated to be around 80 percent, supported by lucrative running contracts in South Africa.
Online Reporter