Granite plant joins Walvis EPZ

US-BASED G & L Marble on Monday inaugurated its granite processing plant, Roach Investments, in Walvis Bay’s Export Processing Zone (EPZ).

G & L Marble owns and operates nine granite quarries in Africa, including Namibia, and also has a processing plant in South Africa. The quarries produce approximately 23 colour selections of granite that are processed into slabs and tiles at various factories and distributed throughout the US and Europe.Roach Investments is a first for Namibia, and although the granite is not being traded locally, the company says Namibia will share in the N$60 million a year that will come from international buyers.According to Roach Investments Managing Director Jaco Mulder, there has been a steady growth of about 20 per cent in international demand for granite over the past two decades.Because of the rich quality granite formations in Namibia, G & L Marble invested N$30 million in a granite quarry called Stone Africa, about 50 km outside Swakopmund, five years ago.With the growth in the industry, it decided to establish a processing plant in Walvis Bay for another N$20 million, from where granite slabs will be exported directly to buyers.Until recently, the raw material has had to go to South Africa to be processed.Mulder said for the next year, Roach Investments intends to export 10 000 m² of granite per month, which will generate revenue of N$5 million a month or N$60 million a year.The majority of the stone is exported to G & L Marble in the USA.It is believed that the stone is quite popular in the layout of large American buildings such as airport terminals.Mulder said more markets in Europe and the Far East are being explored and he is confident that these nations too will buy granite from Namibia in within the next year.Mulder said depending on the sustainable growth of the company, another plant similar to Roach Investments might be in the pipeline to increase the local export capacity.Trade and Industry Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko, who inaugurated the plant, said Walvis Bay was strategically located for export-oriented investments, while reliable business support services and infrastructure were readily available.Ngatjizeko said investments such as this granite processing plant increased Namibia’s industrial and manufacturing base, as well as the volume and value of exports.They also increase workers’ skills through training, hence creating competitiveness and increased productivity.Forty Namibians have been employed at the plant.The Minister said Government has given special attention to the promotion of investment, economic growth and the transformation of the character of the economy since Independence, focusing on increased value addition to natural resources and exports of manufactured goods.He said Government also introduced special incentives for manufacturers and exporters to allow faster growth of enterprise.According to him, the EPZ incentive was an attractive, cost-effective regime, especially for companies such as Roach Investments which have markets beyond the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu).The quarries produce approximately 23 colour selections of granite that are processed into slabs and tiles at various factories and distributed throughout the US and Europe.Roach Investments is a first for Namibia, and although the granite is not being traded locally, the company says Namibia will share in the N$60 million a year that will come from international buyers.According to Roach Investments Managing Director Jaco Mulder, there has been a steady growth of about 20 per cent in international demand for granite over the past two decades.Because of the rich quality granite formations in Namibia, G & L Marble invested N$30 million in a granite quarry called Stone Africa, about 50 km outside Swakopmund, five years ago.With the growth in the industry, it decided to establish a processing plant in Walvis Bay for another N$20 million, from where granite slabs will be exported directly to buyers.Until recently, the raw material has had to go to South Africa to be processed.Mulder said for the next year, Roach Investments intends to export 10 000 m² of granite per month, which will generate revenue of N$5 million a month or N$60 million a year.The majority of the stone is exported to G & L Marble in the USA.It is believed that the stone is quite popular in the layout of large American buildings such as airport terminals.Mulder said more markets in Europe and the Far East are being explored and he is confident that these nations too will buy granite from Namibia in within the next year.Mulder said depending on the sustainable growth of the company, another plant similar to Roach Investments might be in the pipeline to increase the local export capacity.Trade and Industry Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko, who inaugurated the plant, said Walvis Bay was strategically located for export-oriented investments, while reliable business support services and infrastructure were readily available.Ngatjizeko said investments such as this granite processing plant increased Namibia’s industrial and manufacturing base, as well as the volume and value of exports.They also increase workers’ skills through training, hence creating competitiveness and increased productivity.Forty Namibians have been employed at the plant.The Minister said Government has given special attention to the promotion of investment, economic growth and the transformation of the character of the economy since Independence, focusing on increased value addition to natural resources and exports of manufactured goods.He said Government also introduced special incentives for manufacturers and exporters to allow faster growth of enterprise.According to him, the EPZ incentive was an attractive, cost-effective regime, especially for companies such as Roach Investments which have markets beyond the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu).