eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
BETA Holdings has exited its transport and logistics business to concentrate on its core activities of producing and supplying infrastructure inputs, an official has said.
BETA, popularly known for manufacturing a wide variety of bricks and concrete roofing tiles, said it had ventured into the logistics business to provide decent transportation of bricks.
However, there are now many operators in that space and the most logical decision was to discontinue the operation, CEO Godfrey Manhambara said.
“The market has now enough pallet transfer vehicles offering decent, modern service and we have withdrawn from that segment,” Manhambara said in a recent interview.
“We have engaged some private transporters who provide service to our customers but our clients are free to choose service providers of their choice but we are not liable to anything that happens after they leave our factory,” he added.
Manhambara said the trucks being operated by BETA were those carrying production inputs such as coal.
“What our logistics business did was to attract players with modern brock transporting trucks unlike before when ordinary lorries were used.”
Apart from the brick and roofing tile divisions, BETA also owns an aggregate plant in Shamva.
BETA is currently installing two state-of-the-art brick-making lines-one at its existing plant in Mt Hampden in Harare and the other one in Melfort.
The two productions line, expected to be fully operational in the next three months, are expected to double the capacity of BETA and significantly reduce the current market shortages.
While Zimbabwe has traditionally struggled to meet the demand for bricks due to capacity constraints, the shortages worsened in recent years largely due to demand from private and public sectors as well as home developments by diaspora funds.
Even with the coming of various players into the brick-making sector, the industry’s combined capacity still remains below the levels required to meet the demand.
“There is massive additional demand coming from the Government,” said Manhambara. “Previously, orders from the Government would account for about two percent but they have grown to around 20 percent,” Manhambara added.
The Melfort plant, which is behind its original commissioning timelines following the late delivery of the equipment due to Covid-19-related shipping challenges is expected to start production in August this year.
It is expected to churn out about 18 million bricks per month. The site of the factory has suitable soils for brick production and its proximity to key markets as well as road and rail infrastructure makes it an ideal location.
The Mt Hampden line, situated where the company is currently producing from is expected to start “soft” plant commissioning this month in preparation for full commercial production, Manhambara said.
It is expected to produce between 1,2 and 1,5 million bricks per week or up to 6 million per month.
“We hope the new capacity we are putting in will help solve the current supply constraints that have seen people placed on waiting periods after paying,” said Manhambara.
“For us, that is not business; that is why we have taken a position of adding capacity.
“The capacity has been largely stagnant and the inevitable happens (the shortage). There is no other solution than to increase the capacity,” added Manhambara.
The power line to the plant has already been installed. “When we did the groundbreaking ceremony, it was during the height of COVID-19. Apart from shipping challenges we, earlier had challenges in accessing foreign currency from the auction system. Then obviously, the lead time (the period between the placement of an order, manufacturing, and delivery) but we are happy everything is now on course.”
The expansion of the Melfort plant, which will be the company’s flagship operation will come later on and will involve adding the drying tunnels. This will eliminate production stoppages due to the rains. Brick producers normally halt production in rainy seasons as the wet conditions are not favorable to operations.
“We call it an all-weather plant. They will be no shutdowns because of the rains,” said Manhambara.
