DIVERSIFIED Bulawayo group, Treger Products, is operating at around 70% capacity and is doing extensive marketing in Mozambique to identify niche opportunities following the collapse of the local consumer base.
BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
Treger has five manufacturing divisions — Monarch Steel, Kango Products, Treger Plastics, Zimbabwe Grain Bag and Treger Harare.
In an emailed response to NewsDay, Treger Holdings managing director Gavin Stephens said the group has embarked on an ongoing capital expenditure to improve efficiency, quality and cost of manufacturing within its divisions.
“Within other divisions there is ongoing capital expenditure to improve efficiency, quality and cost of manufacturing. These projects have all proved beneficial to the company and there will be steady replacement of old or obsolete equipment. We have recently purchased a PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) pipe machine allowing us to down-gauge or light weight our value proposition again in line with our low cost producer strategy,” Stephens said.
“At present, the group is operating between 60 and 70% capacity. (We are currently exporting to) Botswana and Zambia, but we are doing extensive marketing in Mozambique to identify niche opportunities as we now have competitive quality commodities.”
Stephens said the group employed about 2 680 people as at the end of December 2015, but currently this figure was lower since not all units were back in production.
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In 2014, the group acquired a new plant for Treger Plastics which Stephens said had since improved production at the division.
“The acquisition of the new plant at Treger Plastics in 2014 has enhanced production and quality at the Treger Plastics factory in Bulawayo. A range of new packaging options have now been made available to the market,” he said.
Going forward, Stephens said the group would continue to grow their position in the market segments identified that are aligned to their new world class technology.
“We will continue to innovate and strive for lowest cost producer status to fight off imports and maintain jobs in Zimbabwe. We will be launching a number of new products at the ZITF (Zimbabwe International Trade Fair) in April this year, demonstrating the ability of local industry to be innovative and compete with imports”.
ZITF themed Innovate, Integrate and Industrialise will run from April 26 to 30.
Tregers Products is part of the privately owned Treger Group of companies and has been operating in Zimbabwe since 1911.
