The Sunday News
Dickson Mangena, Business Reporter
ONE of Matabeleland region’s leading and fast emerging indigenous milling companies, Fulgens Enterprises will this year invest about $300 000 in the construction of a stock feed manufacturing plant in Bulawayo as it seeks to grow its business.
Fulgens Enterprises managing director Mr David Moyo said the company has opted to include stock feed in its production line after noticing an existing gap in the market owing to few players in the sub-sector.
“We managed to obtain a commercial stand at Kelvin North industrial area where we intend to set up a stock feed manufacturing plant. We decided to diversify into stock feed production after realising that there are few companies that are involved in it, resulting in massive shortages culminating in increased prices.
“We are also looking at grabbing a niche in the market since we are located in Matabeleland region, which is predominantly a livestock rearing area. The region has relatively low annual rainfall, a situation which has seen farmers losing their animals to poverty due to lack of adequate pastures thus our coming in will see an increase in the number of stock feed manufacturers,” said Mr Moyo.
The country’s stock feed manufacturers include Agrifoods, Gerghaan Feeds, Capital Foods, Feedmix, Grain Marketing Board, National Foods Limited, Profeeds, Hyperfeeds, Manyame Milling, Meadow Enterprises, Novatek Animal Health, Windmill, Irvine’s Zimbabwe, Triple C Pigs, Ice Feeds, Hamara Feeds and Fivet Animal Health.
“We are going to start construction work in June and we are looking at spending about $150 000 on that and possibly an additional $150 000 towards the purchase of machinery and we anticipate to start production before the end of the year,” said Mr Moyo.
Fulgens Enterprises is the manufacturer of Lumelang Batho super-refined mealie-meal and Tholakele roller meal.
The company was established in 2009 and it employs over 20 workers.
“Our mealie-meal brands have been well received on the market to the extent that we are supplying a number of big supermarkets and various other shops in the city. We also have a presence in Matabeleland South and some parts of Matabeleland North.
“At the moment we are producing about 120 tonnes of mealie-meal per month due to maize shortage in the country, which has resulted in its price being relatively high at the Grain Marketing Board. We, however, have the capacity to produce 300 tonnes a month,” said Mr Moyo.
He said just like all small-scale millers, the company was failing to exploit economies of scale being exerted by bigger millers.
“As small millers we face more difficulties to survive compared to our larger rivals when trading conditions become challenging. This is because we don’t have the resources to draw on when the economy takes a turn for the worst.
“Most of the times we are being forced to sell our mealie-meal to wholesalers, various institutions and retailers on credit and many a times they delay in making payments and this adversely affects our operations as we struggle to raise finances,” said Mr Moyo.
He said the company was looking forward to opening another milling factory in Binga.
“As part of our long-term plan we are looking forward to opening another factory in Binga and this will all depend on our financial capabilities as well as the performance of the country’s economy. By so doing we will be able to offer mealie-meal in this drought prone area at a very affordable price and we will also be supplying Dete, Hwange, Victoria Falls and some parts of Lupane,” Mr Moyo said.
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