Chronicle Editor
Harare Bureau
ZIMPLOW Holdings Limited has allayed fears of a possible shortage of mining and infrastructure equipment after its unit – Barzem – exited the Caterpillar (CAT) distributorship.
The distributorship arrangement was established over 70 years ago.
However, Barzem will now exit the Caterpillar distributorship on September 30, 2022 on the back of the changes in the strategic direction by both the supplier and the Zimplow group.
Group chief executive officer, Mr Vimbayi Nyakudya, indicated that whilst this exit is expected to have an impact on the group’s revenue performance initially, management believes that the risk management protocols that have been put in place by the board and management will ensure that the group preserves value and shareholder returns.
The group is upbeat of maintaining its strong position to deliver its corporate strategy in the mining and infrastructure segment at a time the country is angling for a US$12 billion revenue mining sector by 2023.
“We are working closely with Ministries of Transport, Mining, and Agriculture as our business is aligned to these key sectors of the economy and we want to ensure that we have the right equipment available for the market,” said Mr Nyakudya.
“Going forward we do not expect the CAT exit to be such a big issue because some of the products we used to buy via Caterpillar are available locally, look at the oil, grader blades, the teeth, the tyres for earth moving equipment, we are looking at engaging another supplier so as to reduce the gap.
“We will make sure we have the right capacity and equipment, skills and exposure needed so that we meet our customer needs and objectives in line with aspirations of the NDS1 (National Development Strategy),” he said responding to questions during an analyst briefing this week.
Mr Nyakudya added the company was also working on enhancing capacity at its factories in order to meet demand and ensure the market gets services across sectors and value chains.
While the CAT brand was mostly a high-end brand, indications are that the group will engage a premium brand that caters to all market segments.
“We are looking at a competitive brand and opening up a little bit more to be able to service more markets.
Some of our customers are looking at short term yet for the CAT it’s more of long-term products, so we are looking at how we can competitively position ourselves to cater for a wider market with a premium brand,” he said.
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