Zimpapers Logo

Lovemore Zigara Midlands Correspondent
THE country’s sole flint glass manufacturer, Zimbabwe Glass Industries (Zimglass), is sitting on a 500-tonne Delta Beverages order of bottles worth $200,000, which has been in the company’s warehouse for over a year because it has not been electronically inspected.

Zimglass, an Industrial Development Corporation Zimbabwe (IDC) subsidiary, voluntarily applied for judicial management in July last year citing lack of working capital, debt and mismanagement.

Speaking during a tour of the company by a joint mission of World Bank and Africa Development Bank officials, acting chief executive officer, Gilbert Tapfuma said an electronic inspection machine, which is already at the plant, needs to be installed before the bottles can be delivered.

“We’ve 500 tonnes of 750 millilitre quart bottles worth $200,000, which we’ve stocked because the bottles should be electronically inspected before they are delivered.

“However, the challenge is that we need to install the machine which inspects these bottles and it costs $50,000.

“We also need to call the manufacturers of the machine from Britain to come and mount it,” he said.

Zimglass is yet to find investors to resume operations since it shut down operations in 2013.

The company is saddled with a $32 million debt, which was mainly used to revive the company’s operations following its closure in 2010 as well as short term loans that were borrowed from local financial institutions.

AfrAsia Zimbabwe, ZB Bank, Agribank and FBC Bank were jointly owed about $8 million before the glassmaker entered a deal to avail land in exchange for debt relief from the banks.

The company manufactures container glass products for alcoholic and sparkling beverages, food, liquor and pharmaceutical segments.

Its major domestic customers include Delta Beverages, African Distillers, Mutare Bottling Company and Datlabs among others, while its major regional supplier is brewery conglomerate, SABMiller in South Africa.

Tapfuma said due to the company closure its customers are now being forced to source from South Africa, Tanzania, Egypt as well as the Middle East.

Zimglass has the potential of producing 2,400 tonnes of molten glass per month operating at full capacity.