David Whitehead to resume operations

By Tatenda Macheka

Troubled lint-processor and textile manufacturer, David Whitehead Textiles, which recently escaped from the gallows of liquidation, will start phased production in September.

Chief operating officer Edwin Chimanye revealed  in an  interview in Harare that the textile company required between $10 and $12 million for resuscitation.

“In an ideal situation, David Whitehead requires $10 to $12 million to resuscitate. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world, so we will we try to operate in phases. The first phase will start on 1 September, that is next month and that that will need $1m to $1,5 million for refurbishments. Once the refurbishments are all done, we will employ those workers whom we previously employed because there are the ones with experience,” he said.

Chimanye said the company’s maintenance team did a great job maintaining some of the machinery as it is running well.

In the first phase, the company projects to manufacture four hundred thousand meters of fabric per month in Kadoma and Chegutu.

Chimanye said David Whitehead was ready to compete in a market infiltrated with a huge influx from imports.

“We are not going to make head to head competition with the imported products if we do that we will lose the competition, so we will not focus on the fashion type of material,” he added.

David Whitehead Holdings was in April saved from liquidation after the High Court granted a final judicial management order for the company.

The company nearly closed when provisional judicial manager Winsley Militala recommended that the textiles form be liquidated following frustrating attempts to raise working capital.

The company has three plants in Chegutu, Kadoma and Gweru. It was placed under a series of judicial management in 2005, 2008 and 2010. The Zimbabwe Mail