Materials & Supplies

Bamburi Cement Gets Packaging Makeover

The new-look bags with purple, green and red colours have already hit the market.

Updated on

February 20, 2020

New-look Bamburi Cement bags. — The new-look bags. PHOTO/COURTESY

Bamburi Cement Limited has changed the look of its cement bags in a huge makeover that seeks to battle competition from other manufacturers vying to dominate the marketplace.

The new bags with purple, green and red colours have already hit the market, with packaging that helps users to match a specific brand with their application.

“The cement you love has a fresh new look…Same premium quality in every bag with packaging that lends to the application of each brand,” Bamburi said in a statement.

Tembo is marketed as general-purpose cement; Nguvu is ideal for structural applications and precast concrete, while Powermax promises superior strength for construction.

Bamburi, which is controlled by Lafarge Holcim, has in recent years ceded market share to privately-owned National Cement and Savannah Cement, following hard-hitting price battles that have seen prices of the commodity dropping to record lows.

To counter the rivalry, Bamburi has now unveiled a new low-cost cement brand targeting builders of single-storey structures. Dubbed Fundi, the new product – an idea for masonry and plaster work – is retailing for Sh540 per 50kg bag in Nairobi, and Sh600 in Mombasa, in what appears set to spark a new round of price battle.

“The newest product will meet the emerging needs of customers in having affordable cement in construction. The launch is driven by clear demand for masonry-only cement,” Bamburi managing director Saddiq Hassani said during the launch of Fundi on Wednesday.

Mr Hassani added that the new product, which will mainly be used for block laying, repair works as well as internal and external plastering, will “meet some of our customer needs and more importantly at a more affordable cost for masonry and plaster works”.

This comes at a time when Bamburi is fighting to grow its sales amid declining cement consumption that has forced manufacturers to cut their production to a four-year low.

Official data shows that cement companies produced 5.37 million tonnes in the 11 months to November 2019, a 3pc drop from 5.54 million tonnes in 2018.

Despite the tough market conditions, some manufacturers – notably National Cement – have embarked on an expansion spree as part of their plans to dominate the local cement market.

Last month, National Cement opened a new cement factory at Salgaa in Nakuru, with an installed processing capacity of 750,000 metric tonnes annually.

The factory is selling its product at Sh530 per 50kg bag in Nakuru and its environs, down from upwards of Sh650, in line with the company’s strategy of building factories near catchment areas to shorten the distances covered by trucks transporting materials to sites.