EA Cables completes key production plant refurbishment

NAIROBI, KENYA: Regional Cables and Conductors Manufacturer, East African Cables, fortunes are all set for good tidings following the commissioning of its flagship Copper production facility in Nairobi.

As part of the firm’s corporate growth strategy, East African Cables, has completed refurbishment and upgrade works at its Kitui Road Copper Production plant.

The refurbishment and upgrade works, at more than Sh1billion, involved the construction of a new factory building and installation of modern cable and conductors manufacturing equipment.

Speaking, when he confirmed the works completion for the factory- scheduled to be officially opened later this September- outgoing East African Cables, Group Managing Director, Mr. George Mwangi, said the commissioning of the plant is a critical development for the firm, as Copper cables and conductors remain the firm’s mainstay.

The new East African Cables Copper factory, Mwangi explained, affords the company an opportunity and capacity to supply the East and Central African region, with Safe and Reliable Electrical Cables.

The refurbishment of the EAC Kitui Road plant, Mwangi, disclosed, has almost tripled the firm’s Copper cables and conductors’ manufacturing capacity.

With a 5.5 per cent growth in the building and construction sector as noted in the 2014 economic survey, East African Cables, Mwangi noted is now well positioned to service the local and regional market demand for electrical cables.

“Until last year, the Copper plant has had capacity constraints” said Mr. Mwangi “although we had invested in a higher capacity for the drawing machine (the first step in cable making), the rest of the processes had bottlenecks that limited our potential to engage in efficient production. However, with the recent upgrade works that commenced in December 2013, we have now managed to significantly address the production bottlenecks and inefficiencies to meet regional demand,” He added.

The installation of the new equipment will also boost the firm’s capacity to rollout a range of new products to meet specific customer needs.

“The refurbishment of this Factory is a key project for East African Cables, seeing that increased volumes will see EAC become more competitive both on the production and price front, while maintaining high quality standards,” he assured. “The new factory is now at par with the best cable factories in the world, and will have the largest capacity in East and Central Africa”. Added Mr. Mwangi.