Zimpapers Logo

Flora Fadzai Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter
A BULAWAYO furniture manufacturing company that is export-oriented, Senwork Timber, has lost machinery worth US$100 000 in an inferno that gutted its workshop, halting production and leaving workers stranded.

The company manufactures a range of products that include timber doors, beds and benches and exports most of its products to neighbouring countries.

A report by the Bulawayo Fire Brigade which attended the scene said “overheating of machinery which was left on by occupants ignited combustibles” at the warehouse that is located in Kelvin West yesterday morning.

The company employs more than 50 workers in Tsholotsho, Harare and Bulawayo.

The computerised machinery that was destroyed includes the computer numeric control and the vacuum pump.

Without the machinery, the Harare branch which is responsible for marketing and sales as well as Tsholotsho where they get timber, will not have business.

Ms Grace Phiri, the company’s administrator, said:“It is really sad because the computerised machinery that has been destroyed cost about US$100 000.

This warehouse is the one that caters for the other branch in Harare and without the machinery it means production has stopped.

“Another sad thing is that most of our interns are people from Jairos Jiri who have disabilities.

They were getting a chance to use big computerised machinery as most companies do not give the deaf such an opportunity.”

She said after losing the ccomputerised equipment they could go back to use manual ones but this would compromise quality and quantity of the products.

Ms Phiri said also since they export, the low quality product would not be competitive.

Mr Stephen Togara, the owner of Senwork Timbers, said they got a loan in 2019 to buy the machinery that has been destroyed and because of Covid-19, they were not able to recover the money since business was closed for two years.

He said because of economic challenges, the machinery was not insured so they do not know how they will recover the destroyed computerised machines.

Ms Phiri said their only hope is that they will get help from the Government and other well-wishers.

The company is supposed to attend a timber expo in Zambia late in October, but most of their products that they planned to use were destroyed.