Company Announcement - The Chryso Southern Africa Group has entered into an agreement with the Luanda-based company, Lunapa, for the distribution of the Chryso range of admixtures and ancillary concrete performance enhancing products in Angola. The Chryso Southern Africa Group includes a.b.e. Construction Chemicals, and Luis Ferreira, Business Development Manager of Chryso SA, says the new agreement includes the option to extend the distribution agreement also to a.b.e. products. Lunapa, based in Benfica, Luanda’s industrial zone, has been operating for the past five years as a supplier of imported concrete admixtures for the construction industry. “Lunapa has extensive technical knowledge of formulations and specific Angolan requirements, and also has a strong network of existing clients,” Ferreira states.
He says the construction industry in Luanda has been extremely active in the last few years and the growth is expected to expand further into Angolan cities and rural areas as the need for new infrastructure is being addressed by the government.
“Chryso’s first shipment of products will take place in March this year. Chryso technical personnel will also travel to Luanda to provide product training and assistance to Lunapa to maximise our sales presence in Angola,” Ferreira adds.
The appointment of Angolan distributors is the latest development in a concerted effort by Chryso Southern Africa to boost exports to the rest of Africa. Chryso and a.b.e. products are currently being used on several major African infrastructural development projects, particularly Zambian mining, commercial, industrial and fuel industry projects; and in Mocambique where the Nacala Rail Corridor and other industrial and commercial developments have, for example, led to major orders.
Ferreira has in the past few years established an expanded distributor network across the African continent and Indian Ocean islands. There are distributors for Chryso/a.b.e. operating in several African countries including Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Ghana, and now also Angola. Chryso SA is also planning to establish distribution outlets in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and the southern part of the DRC in future.
Ferreira adds: “Chryso SA has for many years been a market leader in Southern Africa for concrete and cement admixtures and ancillary products, while a.b.e. has since as far back as the 1930s been a major supplier of high performance products to the building, civil engineering, maintenance, and manufacturing sectors as well as builders’ merchants and hardware stores. As a combined force, the two companies have an enormous advantage when entering the African market as we are virtually a one-stop shop for an unrivalled range of complementary products and systems,” he stated.
Norman Seymore, vice-president of the Chryso Group globally, recently said the Group had decided to concentrate more on exports to the sub-Saharan African market about three years ago, when a special Business Development division, concentrating mainly on African and Indian Ocean islands sales and distribution, was established. “Our quest to boost exports is now showing the results we sought with the growth in exports to Africa, particularly to neighbouring states, growing by 25% in total last year. The growth showed that the Chryso SA Group must continue to seek increased representation in sub-Saharan Africa. We are also planning to establish production facilities in east and west Africa,” he stated.