The demand for aluminium products in Zimbabwe has been growing lately. Aluminium products are becoming most people’s favourite in the Zimbabwean construction industry. From 2019 to 2020 aluminium imports into Zimbabwe surged by 70 percent. You can even attest to how it is getting commonplace to see aluminium products used in houses, office buildings, and so on. This is not that surprising given the superior qualities of aluminium. Aluminium is ubiquitous i.e. it is everywhere (readily available). It is durable and most preferably it is light weight. This spike in local demand is opening up business opportunities in Zimbabwe. Starting an aluminium fabrication business in Zimbabwe right now can be rewarding. By the way, you might wonder if there is a difference between aluminium and aluminum. Well, they refer to one and the same thing; aluminium is the British English version and aluminum is the US English version.

Approaches

Do not be unsettled by the term aluminium fabrication. Fabrication simply refers to the act of framing, constructing, or manufacturing. There are a couple of approaches you can choose in this line of business. I would recommend that you amalgamate the fabrication aspect with sourcing and selling. For the fabrication part, you can reserve it for client-specific orders. Alternatively, you can fabricate aluminium products that are basic and sought after. Examples can be windows, doors, partitions, and the like. That is the matrix of how you can package your services.

Your pricing models can broadly be items-based or project-based. For the former, it can be when people are buying aluminium products for use somewhere. Here is it simply putting a mark-up that recoups costs incurred in sourcing the items, fabrication (where applicable) and leaves room for profit. Here you would have to consider what general market prices are and work around that. For the latter, this entails charging per project depending on whatever nature it is. This one is for whole projects that will need fabrications and even fittings or installations. If you have sophisticated machinery and expertise you have vast room for price determination here.

Key Requirements

Registering the business is an imperative starting point. An aluminium fabrication business will inevitably require you to import some things. That is why you must be properly registered as a business. Getting a vendor number is also pertinent here as it broadens your market opportunities. You will need machinery for fabrication and the relevant expertise is essential. Building your online presence is a no-brainer and getting a workspace e.g. a workshop. Substantial financial capital might be needed especially if you are starting from scratch. Machinery, workspace, and other inputs mostly contribute to that. It is not particularly sustainable to start or run it alone. You can start saying, as two or three people to produce more work per unit time. Thus human resources will most likely be a focal point from the onset.

Important Considerations

There is not much to talk about regarding any licensing or regulations specific to aluminium fabrication. There is still literally a void when it comes to any specific regulation that governs aluminium businesses or companies in Zimbabwe. There is nothing clear and definitive yet. As it turns out there is an aluminium consultancy firm, AluConsult that is rallying together aluminium fabricators in Zimbabwe so that they can start an association. The thrust of that association will be to engage and lobby the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ). The desired outcome will be to come up with recognized standards that all aluminium fabricators will adhere to.

In terms of import duty, I will not delve much into that as it is a lengthy subject. What you should know is that there is no aluminium component you can import into Zimbabwe duty-free. In summary, expect import duty rates spanning from 5 percent to 40 percent depending on what the component is. You might also want to know that the top 3 countries where aluminium components in Zimbabwe are imported from are South Africa, China, and Denmark (in that order). South Africa and China account for 90 percent of all aluminium imports into Zimbabwe.

Market

The market is there and it is growing, no doubt. One of the ways you can beat the competition is by offering a superior value proposition. Just like for the solar business, low quality or imitation aluminium products are also flooding the market. Providing good quality products will boost your brand image and value proposition. You can also invest in having the means to use cutting edge tech e.g. computer-aided design (CAD). This will significantly streamline the accuracy of your designs and installations. Competition is relatively not yet as stiff since the industry is still growing. Some notable competitors to note are Almin Metal Industries, Architectural Aluminium, and Aluminium Design and Works. You can check them out to see what you will be up against.

If an aluminium fabrication business is your passion, interest and expertise, go for it. The prospects are even bigger when you look at other possible diversifications for this aluminium fabrication business. Almin Metal Industries recently introduced Alusol, a system for solar panel mounting using aluminium. They also manufacture irrigation pipes, couplings, bends, reducers, and valves from aluminium. All these are areas with limitless potential in Zimbabwe. You can also venture into aluminium fabrication training services, consultancy, project management, aluminium fabrication costing (things like quotations, cutting lists, bill of materials, and so on) and designs (for fabrications and installations).