2merkato

The Ethiopian manufacturing sector failed to meet the projected earnings with the various sub sectors bringing in between 63% and 49.4% of anticipated earnings.

The textile and garment sub sector earned 84.6 million US dollars which falls short of the 171.4 million US dollars projected for the past fiscal year. The earnings from the sector where however 36% more than what was earned by the sector in the previous year according to information obtained from the Ministry of Industry.

Ayka Addis Textile and Investment Group is responsible for 71% of the earnings from the textile sector.

Tecno Telecom has inaugurated its second assembly plant in Ethiopia this year. The second plant launched by the Hong Kong based company has the capacity to assemble 200 thousand handsets a month in addition to the 60 thousand units being produced by the first plant.

Techno has introduced 13 brands on the Ethiopian market including a smart phone with the demand for the product increasing said Levi Girma, a partner of Tecno Telecom Ethiopia Ltd.

The company is able to sell all it produces because demand exceeds the available supply which is why Tecno implemented the second phase of the project he added.

The first Ethiopian briquette factory, the African Briquette Factory, was inaugurated. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Wondemu Tekle, State Minister for Water and Energy and Dr. Tewoldeberhan Geberegziabher, Director General of the Federal Environmental Protection Authority as well as other guests.

The factory is producing 120 quintals of briquette, in one work shift, and is marketing the product in 10 and 50 kilogram packages according to Gerd Ladstatter, General Manager of the factory.

The briquettes are an important alternative to firewood in light of urbanization and population growth he said. It helps combat deforestation and environmental pollution by using recycled material explained Ladstatter.

Salasar Compounds plc, Indian owned manufacturer of plumbing fittings is to launch products. The company will be manufacturing cover faucets for bathrooms and kitchens under the Abay brand.

The plumbing fittings will be manufactured in three styles all with anti-rust qualities for use in all types of bathroom and kitchen faucets. The three styles have been labeled Classic, Diamond and Eco.

Salasar expects to have 20 products on the market within six months according to the company.

Toner Assembly and Manufacturing plc launched its toner assembly and re-manufacturing plant in Ethiopia last week. The company is aiming to market its products on the domestic and regional markets.

The plant is geared towards the assembly and re-manufacture of toner cartridges, inkjet cartridges, and ribbon cartridges for Hewlett Packard, Epson, Cannon, Xerox, , Dell, Brother Lexmark, and Samsung products said Jazir Teja, Managing Director of the Company.

The products will all be branded as Cartridge King.