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Tichaona Kagurabadza points to the new kiln under construction at Dete Industrial Ceramics factory in Dete

Fairness Moyana recently in Dete
DETE Industrial Ceramics is set to finalise construction of a new brick making plant, which is expected to churn out 100,000 refractory bricks per month.

The company’ general manager, Godfree Zivanai said the construction of the new ovens would be completed in June this year.

He said the company’s capacity utilisation had dropped by about 30 percent owing to obsolete machinery and stiff competition from imported merchandise and the new investment was therefore expected to turn around the company’s fortune.

“We’ve finished the walls now we’ll be producing bricks for the roof. We expect the plant or kiln to produce about 100,000 bricks per month, which would allow us to service Hwange and Victoria Falls where there is a lot of construction activity going on. As you maybe aware we’ve only been producing clay bricks on a small-scale for local production here in Dete,” said Zivanai.

He said the company requires about $500,000 capital injection and was exploring potential customers in the mining industry with sights set on Mimosa and Unki mines.

“Plans are underway to expand our market instead of just supplying Harare. We’re looking at mines such as Mimosa in Zvishavane and Unki in Shurugwi,” said Zivanai.

Dete Industrial Ceramics is a subsidiary of the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ) and started operating in 1989.

The company used to be a major supplier of refractory or fire bricks and its biggest customer was Ziscosteel.

The company has not been spared from the economic meltdown that gripped the country’s industries over the years which forced it to retrench more than 200 employees leaving just 20.

The company gets its clay from Gwayi area situated about 40 kilometres from its plant in Dete.

It presently manufactures pressed and quarry floor tiles and limited quantities of bricks and pavers.