Tinashe Makichi
Chegutu Canners (Private) Limited has resumed production after a four-year care and maintenance , following a capital injection from parent company Olivine Industries. Chegutu Canners manufactures products like Green Valley, Holbrooks and Cartwrights products that include baked beans, canned fruits, curries, mustard, vinegar, sauces, marmalade and jam among others.
Olivine Industries director Sylvester Mangani, said the Chegutu based firm had resumed production and is now targeting to reach 80 percent capacity utilisation.
“Chegutu Canners has started production and they are now producing canned baked beans. Right now, we are still utilising 50 percent of the plant and hopefully by the time we increase capacity to above 80 percent, then we should start to invest in new equipment,” he said. The company has been battling to offset mounting debts, which were estimated at about $20 million. However, the coming of a new shareholder has managed to ease the situation after restructuring the balance sheet.
Olivine has decided to shut down its Willowvale cooking oil plant but will keep it for the future as it will now outsource its cooking oil production from Chitungwiza based sister company, Surface Wilmar Investments. The Willowvale factory used to produce cooking oil and has a refinery and silos which hold maize and soya beans.
“The refinery was now old and the losses were high and that’s why we folded the operations. We still have our silos there and we think once the Birmingham site is fully developed, which will look at things like toiletries then, some products by the company will be developed at Willowvale,” said Mr Mangani.