eBusiness Weekly
Fradreck Gorwe
Turnall Holdings Limited’s protracted history stretches back to 1943 when Porters Cement Industries’ Harare Works produced its first Asbestos Cement (AC) sheets.
The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange counter is reputed for being a regional market leader in the production and supply of fibre cement roofing material, concrete tiles, pavers and water and sewerage conveyance pipes.
Personality behind its formation, Alfred Porter, an Australian engineer and entrepreneur-cum-specialist in Asbestos Cement (AC), exploited an opportunity presented in the 1940s by The Second World War, which afflicted the importation of building materials from beyond borders.
This was seldom a barricade given that the local terrain was blessed with asbestos deposits and all basic materials for the purpose.
Concrete pipes characterised early Harare productions and their manufacture commenced in 1945.
The Mutare Concrete Pipe plant that was commissioned in 1947 was subsequently closed to rationalise operations.
Diversification began with sheets production via the Bulawayo Sheeting plant in 1949. Mutare works followed suit in 1952.
A major turnaround obtained in the 1950s when Turnall embraced avant-garde tools of technology and expertise to conquer the regional market. New offices and laboratories were constructed following the acquisition of Porter by Turnall & Newall in 1953.
Federal 1960s presented vast growth opportunities via an obsession with infrastructure development.
Demand for AC roofing and plumbing materials rose in juxtaposition with a boost in the building industry. To cope with high demand, cement silos were installed in Harare and Bulawayo in 1962.
The period post UDI saw further market expansion.
Over the period to 1980s, the company had embarked on sustainability strategies; enhancing staff facilities as well as installing new sheeting plants.
The production face was ornamented in 1992 when a new sheeting line from Lamort, (France) was incorporated via a $25 million investment. This brought sheeting lines to three. Factories had environmentally friendly fibre treatment facilities installed to ensure product quality and health safety.
For the same reasons, a Bitumen coating facility for pipes was installed at the Bulawayo factory in 1997.
In 2004 and 2005, Turnall embarked on an automation and computerisation drive for enhanced machinery. Automation of machines 3 and 5 was completed in 2005 alongside the introduction of a computerised manufacturing system.
It was in 2013 that the production of concrete tiles and pavers commenced after the plant purchase in 2012.
Numerous awards graced the company’s
history over the years. Certification in 2002 to an integrated Quality and Environmental Management System (ISO 9001:2000 QMS and ISO 14001:1996 EMS by SABS ignited a series of many such milestones.
In 2003 Turnall Holdings was the first company in Zimbabwe to be certified to an Occupational Health and Safety Management System, OHSAS 18001:1999, again by SABS.
More recognitions over the years include the company’s acceptance as a member of the European Foundation for Quality Management System in 2010, the first and only Zimbabwean company to be considered then.
In 2011 Turnall won the Best Overall Quoted Company on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Of late it scooped the Overall winner 2018 on Energy Management CZI Award supported by ZETDC.
Trading as Turnall Fibre Cement, the holdings company has two major subsidiaries of Turnall Building Products and Turnall Piping Products.
