The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter
THE country’s leading manufacturer of polyurethane insulated panels, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (Ref-Air) has set sights on expanding operations buoyed by anticipated improved business following Government’s decision to include certain goods and products under imports restrictions.
Ref-Air managing director Mr Clive Oxden-Willows said the Bulawayo-headquartered company was looking forward to increase its production after the Government included some of the products it manufactured among the 36 products put under imports restriction by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016:-Control of Goods (Open General Import Licence).
He said this during a tour of the company’s plant in Bulawayo on Wednesday by Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha and officials from the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries.
“We have been doing panelling for quite a long time. We are glad that we have been recognised by the Ministry (of Industry and Commerce) in that recently it’s taken off the Open General Import Licence. It will support our company here and two companies in Harare.
“So it will be good for industry. Everybody was just buying from South Africa but we are capable of doing it and we have been for many years. So it’s wonderful that we are getting this support from the Ministry. It’s really good,” said Mr Oxden-Willows.
He said since the introduction of the import restrictions, the company has received a number of inquiries for its products.
“We have had a lot of inquiries (since the introduction of SI 64 of 26) but I think it will take a lot of time but, yes it will certainly benefit us definitely,” said Mr Oxden-Willows.
The company exports its products to Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and Botswana. Through exporting its products, the company is in line with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) which is a result-based management blueprint with the aim of increasing and improving quality of Government expenditure, increasing productivity and competitiveness and improving the business environment as a whole — fitting in well the value addition and beneficiation cluster.
Mr Oxden-Willows said the company needed about $1 million to recapitalise its operations.
“Financing is the biggest challenge we are facing as well as the cost of financing. We are just ready to start rebuilding again so we need an additional plant. There are a lot of challenges but I think finance at the moment is probably the biggest,” he said.
Minister Bimha encouraged Ref-Air to engage into a Joint-Venture so as to remain viable in the wake of lack of capital.
“I am glad that there are things that you can do on your own, which is for you to grow and that growth can only come if you go probably into some joint ventures. If you have other players in the same business to join you and support you and give you something in terms of technology as well as capital, which is really one of the things which most of our current enterprises are suffering from.
“We believe with what we saw you have the potential to do more and even to export. We are there together as a ministry to get together with you and see how best we can give you the support and also to ensure that we probably assist you in opening those doors for you to do more,” said Minister Bimha.
Ref-Air was established in 1982 and specialises in refrigeration and air-conditioning with a manufacturing facility specialising in design, manufacture and installation of foam injected polyurethane cold and freezer rooms, pre-fabricated buildings and vehicle insulated panelled bodies.
@DNsingo
