A.M. Machado (Pvt) Ltd Building Contractors is one of the oldest, well established and dependable building contractors in Zimbabwe. Three generations of the Machado family have worked hard to build up an outstanding reputation for the company known for completing projects on time and on budget as well as providing excellent attention to detail. Their range of experience and expertise includes commercial and residential developments, multi-storey buildings, civil construction, concrete works as well as fast track and turnkey projects. From shopping malls, hotels and schools to small renovations and extensions A. M. Machado can deal with any construction needs.
They are registered with the Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe in Category A – General Contractor Building. A. M. Machado provide construction services for architects, engineers, civil engineers, quantity surveyors, project managers, property developers as well as for local government and municipal work. But A. M. Machado are not just bricks and mortar. They are also skilled carpenters and joiners and they can provide full shopfitting services like flooring, suspended ceilings, bulkheads, partitions, glazing, wall and floor tiling – in fact their turnkey service will manage every detail of the build. They have their own in-house artisans and professionals including plumbers and electricians, as well as a vast network of specialist sub contractors.
They take a flexible attitude to projects and are equally comfortable acting as the main contractor or simply supplying and supervising labour once the client has secured their own materials. Not only is their approach to projects highly adaptable they are proud of their ability to come up with innovative solutions to seemingly difficult problems. They were one of the first construction companies in Zimbabwe to formulate the policy of pre-buying all the construction materials upfront in order to minimise cost increases linked with inflation. A. M. Machado (Pvt) Ltd was started in 1966 by Mr Antonio Miranda Machado together with his wife Connie Machado, so they’ve been in business for over 50 years, making them one of the longest running and most experienced building companies in Zimbabwe.
The company was originally based at 8 George Avenue in Msasa and later moved to their current premises at 15 Neil Avenue in Msasa in 1994. The company had been so successful that it had grown to the stage where they found they needed more yard and office space. Antonio left his native Portugal in 1953 and moved to Lourenco Marques – now Maputo – seeking better prospects away from Europe. He was a carpenter by trade but soon ventured into the construction business learning his trade from hands on experience. He spent three years working on a civil construction project involving building a bridge in Tete near the Zimbabwean border.
In 1956 he moved to what was then Salisbury and worked for a civil construction company, Andrews and Kidd, for around ten years before branching out on his own and setting up A. M. Machado Building Contractors in in 1966. From a fairly small and unassuming business A. M. Machado has grown into one of the leading construction companies in Zimbabwe, now employing over 100 members of staff, including highly skilled project managers, quantity surveyors, supervisors, administration staff, and drivers and labourers.
Machado has a company policy of looking out for their staff and has an outstanding Health and Safety programme to support their employees. Some staff members have been with the company for many decades – like Mr David Brewer who joined the company as a quantity surveyor in 1973 and stayed with the company for 42 years until 2015. Some employees have risen through the ranks from menial workers to supervisors and foremen, like Mr Conrad Nyambiya who joined as a general labourer a rose through the ranks to become a contracts manager. Others have used their training and experience gained at the company to branch out on their own. Apart from investing in their staff welfare and ongoing training the company continues to invest capital in plant and machinery to maximise their capacity for large scale construction projects and to keep up with new technology and construction methods.
The founding Mr Machado passed away recently in 2018 in Portugal. At this time his son Tony Machado had already been running the company for several years. Tony Machado Jnr had been helping out at the company since his schooldays so he was already knew how the business worked and he was familiar with all aspects of the construction process from hands on experience. While working at the family company Tony was also studying for his Construction Diploma at the Harare.
Polytechnic. Tony has been the Managing Director of the company from 1984 up until today. His broad experience includes seven years working as project manager for various mining concerns in the DRC, as well as construction projects in South Africa, Botswana and Portugal. Recently, in 2018, Tony’s son Alexandre joined the company, making him the third generation of the Machado family to be involved in the business. Alex studied Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management at Oxford Brookes University in the UK and has brought new energy to the company as well as fresh ideas about contemporary technologies relating to the construction industry. Alex has also developed and grown the company’s Health and Safety position. In line with global trends Alex has encouraged the company to embrace a greener, more eco-friendly outlook with an emphasis on sustainability.
Consequently A. M. Machado endorses implementing the use of alternative energy sources like solar power and inverters in the design of new construction projects. The company encourages a recycling policy in terms of both waste disposal and re[1]cycling materials for new projects. Wherever possible the company seeks to preserve existing trees on new sites and has a method of capping and diverting the roots of trees that are close to a building’s foundations. A. M. Machado can also incorporate landscaping into the implementation of new projects. Just a few of A. M. Machado’s bigger projects include
RESIDENTIAL Larmenier Retirement Village adjacent to Nazareth House in Highlands ZRP housing at Tomlinson Depot on Enterprise Road Chikurubi Camp/Support Unit on Arcturus Road Spencer Cook Gardens – Josiah Tongogara Avenue Dandaro – houses 3 and 4
COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL ZB Bank – Rotten Row Nestle House – corporate Head Quarters on Samora Machel Avenue The Colonnade – Mutare Road, Msasa – shops, offices and factories MMCZ Building – Mutare Road, Msasa – offices E. U. Office Block – Arundel James North – now Halsted’s Supply Chain Management, Msasa Green Fuel – Chisumbanje Bakers’ Inn – Graniteside
EDUCATIONAL Chitungwiza College Harare International School FOOD COURTS AND
ENTERTAINMENT Vistarama Cinema – Avondale Chisipite Food Court Chivu Food Court Fife Avenue Food Court Simon Mazorodze Food Court
OTHER RECENT MAJOR PROJECTS Borrowdale Village Walk – prestigious upmarket shopping mall Trade Kings – Workington Lusitania School – double storey classroom block
CIMAS – fit out of their new HQ in Borrowdale CABS – fit out of their new branch at Borrowdale Village Walk Oncocare Cancer Treatment Centre – old Enterprise Rd Mashonaland Tobacco Company – refurbishment of their corporate HQ and new warehouse in Willowvale
CURRENT PROJECTS Trauma Centre Borrowdale – a state-of-art mini-hospital and emergency medical facility Cross Country Containers – warehouse in Willowvale A housing development in Chisipite Refurbishment of an office block in Alex Park A. M. Machado is situated at 15 Neil Avenue in Msasa, Harare. Call: 0242 486639, 0242 486640, 077 227 8472 Email: toni@ammachado.co.zw, alexandre@ammachado.com
