ENTREPRENEURIAL twins who made headlines with their chalk making business last year have ventured into metal sheet bending in Gwanda, much to the relief of the community who had to travel to Bulawayo to get the service.
The twin brothers, Bekithemba and Bhekimpilo Dube working in partnership with welding technician, Bulelani Nzuzo, opened their business early this month.
They also recently added welding technology to their line of work where they manufacture window frames, door frames and gutters among other products.
Bent metal sheets are used to manufacture products such as door frames, kitchen units, roofing, trunks, sliding gates and scotch cart bodies among others.
The trio purchased a metal bending machine worth US$3 500 which they set up at their workshop.
With this new business, manufacturers of these products can now access bent metal sheets locally.
For many years, people in Gwanda had to travel to Bulawayo to buy bent metal sheets or have their sheets bent to a desired design.
The trio is also running a sign writing business. They have three branches, one in Plumtree, another in Filabusi and the third in Gwanda. Their operations run under the companies, Track Back Media and Flowing Media.
Bekithemba said as entrepreneurs, it is their desire to utilise every business opportunity in order to offer solutions to the people.
“We mainly started off by offering printing services where we focused on branding which includes signpost branding, graphic designing and corporate wear branding then we added chalk making. We’ve now partnered with welding technician Bulelani Nzuzo to incorporate welding technology. Now we’ve extended to metal engineering. Metal sheets are used by a lot of people to make various products but in Gwanda there were no metal bending services.
“People may have their metal sheets and desire to use them for various purposes but would then have to go to Bulawayo for the sheets to be bent into a desired style. We’re saying with our service, people can bring their sheets for bending and at the same time buy bent sheets from us. We can bend sheets for door frames, window frames, sliding gates, roofing sheets and gutters among other products,” he said.
Bekithemba said their new line of business was part of efforts to develop the manufacturing industry in the small town. He said in the near future, their clients would be able to buy finished metal products from them.
He said while they continue to expand their line of work, they will be sure to upgrade their products to match modern trends.
Bekithemba said under sign post branding, they have incorporated electronic signs which illuminate at night. He said they have mounted these in Plumtree and Gwanda. Bekithemba said they have also incorporated bill board branding. He said they were also incorporating new trends when designing.
His partner, Nzuzo said metal engineering is a viable business which is slowly gaining momentum in the mining town of Gwanda. He however, said raw materials were not readily available locally, which presented a challenge to them.
“There’s a lot of money and business opportunities in metal engineering. What we need are different players who will come in to offer diverse services and products so that our clients can get all services within the same area. We can’t be losing clients to Bulawayo when we have skilled people in town. If people get their services here and spend their money locally, then that will develop the town,” he said.
A welder based in Gwanda, George Moyo, said the availability of bent metal sheets in the mining town will lighten the load for him as he had to travel to Bulawayo to buy bent metal for his products. He said this was costly for him as he had to pay for transportation.
“I can manufacture almost anything out of metal sheets but the challenge is accessing the bent sheets. This makes it difficult as a welder because a lot of money is spent in transporting the sheets. Now that I can get the sheets locally, it will help me cut on costs and I won’t lose time travelling to Bulawayo to get my products. I’ll be able to get raw materials at a cheaper cost,”.
“At times, a client can come with their own sheets which are straight but then I may fail to offer the desired service because I don’t have a bending machine. Instead of going to Bulawayo, clients can now come to me and I’ll get their sheets bent then manufacture the product. We’re trying to develop the town’s industry but there’s still a lot of work to be done,” he said
Last year, the Dube twins made headlines during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair after following displays of the chalk which they manufacture.
In 2018, Bekithemba and Bhekimpilo decided to leave their jobs and venture into chalk making to cover the gap they had noted while teaching computers in the rural areas. Bhekimpilo was at Filabusi High School while his brother was at Bulu High School in Plumtree, both in Matabeleland South province.
Although the twins taught at different schools, they had a common challenge – the unavailability printing services –which saw them struggling to provide visuals for their pupils. This prompted them to start the business of printing educational materials for pupils thereby easing the burden for teachers and parents who used to travel as far as Bulawayo for printing services. – The Chronicle
