ZIMTILE, a division of PG Industries, is set to double its cement brick manufacturing capacity after commissioning a US$1 million state-of-art cement brick manufacturing plant in Adelaide Park, Harare, recently.
This comes as Zimtile seeks to meet the growing demand for concrete brick and roofi ng tiles in export markets, among them Zambia and Mozambique.
“This brick-making plant has a daily production capacity of up to 500 000 concrete bricks or pavers. This capacity adds to the already existing daily capacity of 200 000 bricks at other production centres in Harare (Southerton branch), Bulawayo and Masvingo which started in 1996, 1997 and 2014 respectively,” Zimtile’s chief operating offi cer Innocent Taru said.
“The company’s concrete roof tiles daily production capacity stands at 100 000 units for the two production centres in Harare and Bulawayo.”
Taru said the plant would enhance capacity and stimulate Zimtile’s sales volume driven by the soaring individual home constructions and government projects around the country.
Officiating at the same event, Local Government and Public Works deputy minister Marian Chombo lauded Zimtile for retooling to meet the growing demand and also playing a role in promoting housing delivery in the country.
“The coming in of Zimtile to Epworth complements government efforts in upgrading and modernisation of Epworth through the regularisation programme which culminated in His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa issuing title deeds to qualified stand owners in Epworth,” she said.
“Indeed, the project has come at a very opportune time and I urge the company to prioritise the employment on merit of people from Epworth. It is important to note that key priority areas in the national development matrix and the quest to improve the standard of living of Zimbabweans include a contribution to home ownership as well as access to modern and affordable housing.”
Zimtile is the leading manufacturer of quality concrete roof tiles in Zimbabwe, as well as pavers and bricks. Zimtile has been operating in Zimbabwe since 1957 under Marley Roofing (South Africa). Zimtile was incorporated in 1992 after the South Africa Company disinvested and the company was acquired by PG Industries Zimbabwe in 2003 making it a wholly owned subsidiary of PG Industries Zimbabwe.
At full capacity, with maximum employment of resources, the company can produce 100 000 tiles in a day at its two production centres. However, at different times the company has different objectives and conditions that might cause it to produce different volumes. By Sharmaine Chirimujiri
