Afdis commissions US$5m cider plant

By Tinashe Mushakavanhu

AFRICAN Distillers Limited (Afdis) has commissioned a new US$5million cider plant at their Mt Hampden factory.

The investment is expected to increase the company’s annual production capacity by 59 percent. While the old line produced 1 300 litres per hour, this will now increase to 4 200 litres per hour.

The company also expects prices of some its product lines to go down by between 22 and 25 percent making them affordable on the local market.

Afdis managing director, Cecil Gombera, acknowledged that planning for the project required meticulous attention to detail. He further highlighted that the new plant will not only save the company from excessive import costs but will help localise production.

Gombera also highlighted that in the next 12 months they expect to grow their market regionally while growing their export sales.

Minister of Industry and Commerce Mike Bimha pointed out that, “Afdis has made significant capital and capacity development investments which have had a direct socio-economic impact on the Zimbabwean economy.”

Albert Chitapi, who is the Sales and Distribution director added that commissioning the new plant was “a big milestone and historic. It will definitely be a game changer for us as Afdis, the manufacturing business sector and for Zimbabwe as a country.”

The new plant is expected to create more employment and reduce the company’s dependence on imports.

Afdis has been in operations in Zimbabwe since 1944 and currently operates nationwide with six depots situated in Harare, Bulawayo, Kwekwe, Masvingo, Mutare and Victoria Falls.

Other companies in the beverages sector that include Mutare Bottling, Schweppes Zimbabwe and Delta Beverages have all acquired state of the art machinery and technology in the past 18 months to improve their production efficiencies. Financial Gazette