East Africa: Manufacturing Company to launch in forth coming months
Posted on : Tuesday, 16th December 2014
Medtech Ceramics Manufacturing Plc (MCM), a ceramic and sanitary ware manufacturer, is expecting the delivery of two ceramic manufacturing machines in three months, for the factory which could begin operation in 10 months. MCM was established jointly by Medtech Ethiopia Plc and Sheikh Faisal bin Al Qasimi, chairman of Julphar Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries, and Star Group Holdings.
The Company, established six months ago with a capital of 450 million Br, has finished construction of its factory building on a 20ha land. It is situated in Butajira, Southern Regional State, 132Km south of Addis Abeba, according to Mohammed Nuri (MD) general manger of the ceramic factory.
Medtech Ethiopia, a local pharmaceutical products manufacturer, has a 30pc share. The two United Arab Emirates (UAE) based shareholders, Sheikh Faisal and Star have 30pc and 40pc shares in the ceramics and sanitary products company, respectively.
"The main aim of the factory is to substitute imported ceramics," said Mohammed.
Ethiopia imported ceramic products worth four billion Birr during the 2012/13 fiscal year; imports mainly come from China and the United Kingdom (UK), according to ceramic importers in Merkato.
Medtech says its goal is to produce 30,000sqm of floor and wall tiles on a daily basis when production begins in September 2015. It could employ 500 people, some of them coming from India and Arab countries.
The company and the Ministry of Mines (MoM) have identified an area adjacent to the factory site, where the company will mine red ash. It will only receive a mining license from the Ministry when it has finished the factory, according to a Ministry source.
The Company will get 98pc of input locally and the remaining two percent will be imported, including dices, mixers and colouring materials, according to Mohammed.
"We decided to establish the Company because thanks to the recent construction boom there is high demand for ceramic products which cannot be met by current production," says Mohammed.
The only local ceramic manufacturer currently is Tabor Ceramic Products S.C, which was founded in 1989 on a 206,259sqm plot of land in Hawassa, in the Southern Regional State. It manufactures ceramic electrical insulators, table ware products, sanitary products and tiles.
Medtech made the order for the two machines three months ago from Caravan & Marine Equipment Company (CAMEC), a machinery equipment manufacturer, for 10 million dollars, according to Mohammed.
"The Medtech that is already planted in Butajira is at phase one. We are in phase two, getting land for the project in Addis Abeba," Mohammed told Fortune.
Medtech-Ethiopia and Julphar Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries were inaugurated in February, 2013. It is a 170 million Br pharmaceutical manufacturing factory in Bole District, Addis Abeba, and has a production capacity of 25 million bottles of suspensions and syrups, 500 million tablets and 200 million capsules annually.
