Gweru Correspondent
Gweru - The country's biggest shoe manufacturer, Bata Shoe Company, is to increase output in the next six months after importing new shoe manufacturing equipment.
The company is currently operating at 60 percent capacity utilisation and is producing 200 000 pairs of shoes per year.
At peak production at the turn of the millennium, Bata was Gweru's biggest employer with 6 000 employees and producing over a million pair of shoes per year.
Currently, the company has a workforce of just over 1 500 workers.
At the height of the meltdown in 2008, the shoe manufacturer operated at below 30 percent capacity.
Managing director, Luis Pinto, said with assistance from the Ministry of Industry and International Trade, the company had managed to purchase shoe manufacturing equipment which will see it improving its production capacity.
Pinto was not in a position to divulge how much the new machinery had cost.
"We appreciate the efforts by government through the Ministry of Industry and International Trade for helping us to import (the) equipment duty free and this will go a long way in the company increasing its capacity utilisation in the six or so months," Pinto said.
He added that the liquidity constraints in the economy had affected the company's quest to rehabilitate its rubber mixer plant which is currently operating at 40 percent capacity.
Pinto said once finance was available, the plant would be recommissioned and will see Bata subsidiary, Jit, which deals in manufacturing rubber soles, relocating back to Kwekwe.
Jit was moved to Gweru in February last year when Bata streamlined operations, leaving hundreds of workers stranded.
On the issue of indigenisation, Pinto said his company's proposal to government had been rejected.
Zimbabwe has put in place the Indigenisation and Economic Empo-werment Act which compels foreign companies with a market capitalisation of US$500 000 and above to cede 51 percent shareholding to locals.
"We presented our proposal to the Ministry (of Youth, Indegenisation and Empowe-rment) and unfortunately, it was rejected.
"I cannot comment further because the board is looking into the issue," said Pintos.
Government has set a target to resuscitate industry to operate at 70 percent capacity utilisation by year end and recently the industry ministry led by Professor Welshman Ncube came up with a list of distressed companies in Bulawayo which are set to benefit from the US$40 million DMAF facility.
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