WITH THE OPENING OF THEIR NEW BRANCH AT 124 MUTARE ROAD IN MSASA DRIPTECH IRRIGATION NOW HAS FIVE BRANCHES IN HARARE AS WELL AS A BRANCH IN MUTARE. THE HARARE BRANCHES INCLUDE THEIR FLAGSHIP BRANCH ON DOUGLAS ROAD IN WORKINGTON AS WELL AS THEIR BRANCHES IN SECOND STREET, BELGRAVIA, THE GLENARA ROAD BRANCH IN EASTLEA, (JUST OFF SAMORA MACHEL) AND THEIR FAIRLY NEW BRANCH IN POMONA WHICH THEY SHARE WITH SISTER COMPANY ONE STOP SOLAR. THE MUTARE BRANCH IS SITUATED AT 33 TO 39 TEMBWE STREET. APART FROM ONE STOP SOLAR OTHER COMPANIES IN THE GROUP INCLUDE COALZIM, BUFFALO STEEL AND TYREZIM WHICH IS REPRESENTED AT THE NEW MSASA BRANCH.
The Glenara Road branch, which occupies fairly small premises, has proved to be extremely popular and very busy, so the Msasa branch was intended to relieve some of the pressure on them. The strategy has proved to be successful with some customers preferring the convenience of the Msasa branch which is more spacious, less congested and provides easier access and ample, secure parking. The Msasa branch is intended to provide convenient services for the farming community from Ruwa, Marondera and further afield in Mashonaland East, as well as the industrial and manufacturing concerns in Msasa, and households in the eastern suburbs. They also supply a number of contractors, both big and small, in all areas of the ‘water moving’ industry. The premises at 124 Mutare were originally home to Tiles for Africa, which has rebranded to become Tile Essentials. Tile Essentials still has a more modest presence on the site. DripTech shares the space with sister company TyreZim which has a service counter and some storage space to the left of the main entrance as well a newly constructed fitment centre to the right of the entrance.
DripTech started the renovations and refurbishments at the beginning of June this year and were ready for their official opening on the 7th July. Tiles for Africa had created a number of small display areas for their bathroom fittings which needed to be demolished. The ceramic tiled floors in the front area were mostly good and could be retained but the suspended ceilings were completely replaced – by ASA Construction – and new LED strip lighting was installed. New counters were built for TyreZim as well as a long counter for DripTech that covers the front span and includes six sales counters and a raised platform for the sales manager. Bulkheads were installed above the counter providing display space for DripTech’s main brands.
DripTech Irrigation supplies a wide range of equipment to the agricultural sector as well as the domestic, urban irrigation market in Zimbabwe. Their range includes centre pivots, drip, micro-jet and overhead irrigation equipment, borehole pumps, booster pumps, solar pumping solutions and garden irrigation. They also supply PVC, HDPE, LDPE, copper and galvanised pipe, as well as and fittings and valves. DripTech are agents for leading brands including DAB, Tesla, Netafim, Elysee, Global Water Solutions, Morrison, Adelino and OTech. They not only supply these brands they also carry a full range of spares and offer a complete workshop repair and maintenance service. The counter-front logos and colourful graphics – supplied by The Banner Man – help to brighten up the space and add interest.
Behind the main counter DripTech’s storage space is clearly visible with products stacked on custom shelving in a neat and orderly fashion. The premises were given a fresh coat of paint, inside and outside, with the exterior tiled roof section receiving a coat of grey paint to help tie it in with the rest of the steel and Chromadek structure.
Inside the new shop the two walls of one small display areas were retained and aluminium and glass partitions were fitted to create the manager’s office. The glass means the office is light and bright and the manager can see the whole shop – at the same time it provides a bit of privacy. In the office new floor tiles were laid and a new ceiling installed. The office partitioning was installed by Inso Aluminium. An existing counter of glass bricks was repurposed to create the in-store coffee shop under the Zimbarista brand.
The glass bricks were painted grey to bring the area up to date with current décor tends. New plumbing was installed for the coffee shop’s sinks and washing up facilities. Of course, DripTech have installed their own storage tanks and water reticulation systems to supplement the sometimes unpredictable Council water supply, as well as a 5kVA solar and inverter system so they can continue to operate off grid during the increasingly frequent power cuts across the country.
In front of the new branch DripTech has maintained the generous, secure parking space for customers and they’ve installed a huge exterior billboard supplied by SuperStructures and signage by Claude Neon – so you can’t miss them! Their signage is positioned above a small landscaped street frontage which provides a welcome patch of greenery in the industrial area and draws in customers from Mutare Road.
DripTech strives to be a one-stop irrigation shop for both contractors and end users. They offer technical advice on everything from the design to the installation of irrigation and pump systems. Just one of their many recent projects includes the design and installation of the specialised irrigation and fertigation system at the blueberry farming project at Palmlife in Shamva.
To contact the Msasa branch:
Visit: 124 Mutare Road, Msasa
Call: 0786664994 – Sales
0780999240 – Sales
0780999769 – Sales
0782738457 – Manager
+263 867 700 7000 – VOIP
Email: msasasales1@driptech.co.zw
msasasales2@driptech.co.zw
msasasales3@driptech.co.zw
msasasales4@driptech.co.zw
msasasales5@driptech.co.zw
scott@driptech.co.zw
nigel@driptech.co.zw
Website: www.driptech.co.zw
text by Michael Nott
photos by Structure and Design
