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Text by Perry Kaande
Photos by Fotohaus
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS, MARIAN CHOMBO, SAYS THE GOVERNMENT HAS SET IN MOTION THE NATIONAL QUALITY POLICY WHICH AIMS TO UPSCALE THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF ZIMBABWEAN PRODUCTS IN LINE WITH INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKS. She said this at the commissioning of the Zimtile brick manufacturing plant in Epworth on the 9th of June.
“Government has taken a three-pronged approach to enhance the competitiveness of local products both in the domestic and international market through increased production and productivity, regulation of quality as well as standardisation and creation of a favourable business environment,” she said.
The newly commissioned brick manufacturing plant has a daily capacity of up to 500 000 bricks or pavers. This adds to the existing daily capacity of 200 000 bricks at other production centres in Southerton (Harare), Bulawayo and Masvingo.
The nation’s goal of building 250 000 housing units by 2025 was recently revised upwards to one million structures, which is an opportunity for diverse stakeholders in the built environment sector.
“It is companies that will position themselves in distinctive capabilities and productivity that will seize the opportunities,” the deputy minister added. She urged participants in the construction and infrastructural development value chain to work towards delivering new and differentiated solutions.
Zimtile is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PG Industries Zimbabwe and is the leading manufacturer and supplier of bricks, pavers and roof tiles. PG Chief Operations Officer, Innocent Taru, highlighted that the company’s International Standards Organisation (ISO) certification guarantees that the end user acquires a world-class product.
“Our customers and business partners can trust our products for quality, safety, durability and standardisation,” he stated.
The plant runs two fully automated lines. They run independently or simultaneously either producing bricks or pavers. The COO confided that “the concrete brick plant confirms adoption of digitisation of the manufacturing sector as we march into the Fourth Industrial Revolution characterised by human-machine interaction, automation and improvements in robotics.”
He also noted that the combined production capacity demonstrates Zimtile’s commitment to support the Government, private sector and individuals efforts to ensure that every citizen owns a house by 2030 in line with the Government’s Vision 2030 and National Development Strategy 1.
In an aside with Structure and Design Magazine on the sidelines of the ceremony, the plant’s Operations Manager, Gerald Madzvamuse related that they procure the requisite aggregates within the plant’s vicinity hence the manufacturing process is cost efficient and the final product is price competitive.
He also indicated that despite the recurrent power outages, there is a power plant on-site that ensures production continues without a hitch. He had reassuring words for potential customers, pointing out that “the only time you wait is when your truck is being loaded.”
At present the brick manufacturer has a small fleet for deliveries, but has logistics partners to ensure that customers receive their products timeously.
Mr Madzvamuse noted that the company is cognisant of the community it operates in. The 35-member staff complement consists of residents of Epworth and constitutes a notable gender balance
The Operations Manager hinted that as operations expand, there is scope for recruitment. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility activities, PG has donated building materials to various worthy causes.
Riding on the back of its commitment to ‘Quality Assurance’, Zimtile exports products into Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Malawi as well as Botswana.
The company indicates that it intends to contribute significantly to the upgrading of property values for both individual and commercial developers through the provision of quality roofing and building materials.
