The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter
COLD Storage Company (CSC)’s subsidiary, Wet Blue Industries is expected to come out of judiciary management soon with its new strategic partner, Boustead Beef Zimbabwe expected to inject capital into its business operations.
The Bulawayo-based company was placed under provisional judicial management in September 2014 after business went down following shortage of inputs after the major supplier, CSC started experiencing problems. Wet Blue Industries is one of the biggest tanneries in the country.
The company’s judicial manager, Mr Crispen Mwete, of C Mwete and Company Public Accountants told Sunday News Business that the process of moving the tannery out of judiciary management was at an advanced stage.
“We are in the process of taking Wet Blue Industries out of judiciary management. A resolution to that effect has already been signed and of course there are certain procedures to be followed before the process can be finalised and we are working on that. A meeting between the new investor and creditors has been scheduled for the 7th of May,” he said.
It owes its creditors over $2 million with its biggest creditor being its workforce which is owed about $500 000 in salary arrears.
At its peak, the tannery used to process 1 200 hides a day using 18 tannery drums and employed over 230 workers.
“The company is owing about $2,4 million to its creditors with the biggest being its employees and statutory bodies like Zimra (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) as well as utilities like Zesa and the Bulawayo City Council. The debt issue is something, which is being discussed between the company directors and the creditors and they will come out with a way of handling it,” said Mr Mwete.
Boustead Beef Zimbabwe recently affirmed massive capital injection of US$400 million to revive CSC’s operations that will be spread over the next five years.
The company’s managing director, Mr Nick Havercroft, confirmed that efforts to bring Wet Blue Industries were underway and further stated that about US$12 million would be injected into Wet Blue Industries’ to ensure that it operates at full throttle.
“Our forecast for Wet Blue is that we need to spend at least US$12 million but we will be expanding into full value addition. We want to be processing the leather further rather than just doing the Wet Blue hides, right all the way through to making shoes. Zimbabwe imports 20 million pairs of shoes a year, so we are bringing in the machines to do further processing for value addition for shoes, handbags and belts,” he said.
Mr Havercroft said the company would replace all the obsolete equipment at the plant with latest technologies hinting that they were satisfied with the expertise exhibited by the workforce at the tannery. He said the company was also going to support entrepreneurship for youths involved in the leather sector.
“We are going to create entrepreneur businesses, cottage industries for the youth as well who will produce the leather we want and encourage them to start making belts, hats, handbags, jackets . . . ,” said Mr Havercroft.
He said it was going to take about two years to bring back Wet Blue Industries into life.
@DNsingo
