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Harare Bureau
Mazowe-based Alpha Omega Dairies is expecting a 100 percent raw milk production increase to 40,000 litres a day from the current 22,000 litres by the end of the year as the company steps up efforts to consolidate its presence in the dairy market.

Alpha Omega has already increased its storeroom capacity at the plant to 100 percent with the intention to meet the demand of its product portfolio.

The company increased its storage capacity of 120 tonnes to about 240 tonnes.

Alpha Omega general manager Stanley Nhari told Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha during a tour of the company’s dairy plant yesterday that the company will make sure that it produces enough raw milk to meet the demands of its state-of-the-art dairy plant.

“Before the end of the year we must be producing about 40,000 litres a day, we’re around 22,000 at the moment. We’ll continue to maintain our dairy herd so that we’ll be able to meet the demands of our plant at the same time producing the quality needed by our consumers,” said Nhari.

Nhari said by the end of this month the company would have started the production of ice cream and chocolates.

“We’ve done much of the installation on the ice cream and chocolate manufacturing plant which is required to be done by our company.

“We believe that before the end of this month we must have the ice cream in the streets. We’re still installing some ancillaries,” he said.

He said apart from the dairy business the company is expanding its beef division as it steps up efforts to diversify the group’s potfolio.

Alpha Omega is currently operating at 20 percent capacity utilisation and by next month a first batch of products will be exported to Botswana.

The dairy company will also introduce Alpha Ultra Heat Treatment milk this year.

The company’s Munandi lacto has been driving volumes pushing over about 500,000 litres per month and the product has become so popular that the company had to purchase new processing equipment since the original equipment could not cope with the local demand.

Alpha Omega purchased new equipment specifically to increase capacity in the production of the Munandi lacto as the company intensifies its efforts to tap into the summer market.

Alpha Omega Dairy (Pvt) Limited, is a subsidiary of Gushungo Holdings.

Minister Bimha commended the company for its efforts to invest in new equipment and technology when the country is currently suffering from several economic challenges.

He said other dairy companies should emulate what Alpha Omega has done as investment in new technology plays a huge role in increasing viability and competitiveness on the local and international market.