Willdale plans to lease out Tenerife factory

Published: 13 November 2013

ZSE-listed brick maker Willdale is reportedly contemplating leasing out its Tenerife factory to an unnamed Chinese firm in a development will see the firm virtually surrender production at the Mount Hampden site.

According to sources, the company is planning to lease out the factory for five years as the company mulls suspending production due to mounting competition in the brick making industry.

The company has recently been weighed down by competition amid choking funding challenges. Willdale management could not be reached for comment as the firm is under cautionary statement.

Current output at Willdale stands at around 17,5 million bricks a year while maximum capacity is between 40 million and 50 million bricks. The firm needs $8 million to return to viability.

About $5 million is required for construction of an all-weather drying facility to reduce the time for drying green bricks in 45 hours from 21 days while $1 million is needed for working capital.

An additional $2 million was being sought for the acquisition of heavy machinery as Willdale currently has to pay contractors twice the rate of South African contractors to hire equipment.

A recent visit by the brick making firm's directors is said to have revealed glaring inefficiencies in the firm's manufacturing processes compared to similar producers in South Africa.

The company could only produce 20 000 bricks an hour from a TN90 machine while manufacturers in South Africa made twice as many in the same period with half the staff.

Consulting chief executive officer Mr Clifford Mushambadzi was recently quoted in the media as saying no maintenance or upgrades had taken place at the factory in the last five years.

The cost inefficiencies mean 1 000 bricks produced at Willdale cost over $100 while the same volume costs $60 in South with the firms' raw brick to burnt bricks at 23 percent against 12 percent.
- herald