Pula Steel looks to double production
Ivy Matlho | Wednesday March 23, 2016 18:00
In an interview Pula Steel official, Brian Mosenene said they have been operating with only one shift that was able to produce about 1,000 tonnes of billets per month before they ramped up output to 3,000 tonnes.
He said as a way of increasing production, the company intends to add a second shift in the next three months which will see output rising from 3,000 tonnes per month to 6,000 tonnes.
“In a few months, we are going to add a second shift so that we increase our production.
“The shift will increase the capacity of production from 3,000 tonnes per month to 6,000 tonnes per month,” he said. He said the shift will not only benefit Pula Steel, but will also create more employment opportunities.
“When Pula Steel was started the intention was to employ more people and the addition of a second shift will be an advantage to the community as it increases employment opportunities,” he said.
He also stated that the market looks lucrative as they are having more companies from countries such as Zambia and Zimbabwe that are interested in their products.
Pula Steel is the first integrated steel plant in Botswana which processes scrap metal into an intermediate product called billet and will further process billet into different types of steel products.
According to Mosenene, the company has been getting positive response from their customers as they have not received any complaints.
“We are impressed with the response we are getting from our customers. We have enquiries from companies in countries like Zambia that are willing to buy our steel,” he said.
Mosenene also said that Pula Steel also intends to reduce steel imports and generate foreign exchange for the country’s economy.
Pula Steel, which was commissioned in 2014, emerged from the BCL’s Polaris II strategy that aims to develop the iron production circuit.
Its existence has increased the BCL’s value chain to affirm the mine’s position as a diversified mineral resources and related products enterprise.
Pula Steel phase one project has created 250 jobs and is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs in the second phase.
The establishment of Pula Steel was also expected to create an opportunity for other investors to consider investing in potential downstream projects such as production of nuts, bolts, screws and nails.
Botswana’s steel import bill stands at P775 million annually.