Cement maker, Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Limited has introduced its new trading name, Khayah Cement Limited. This follows the conclusion of the acquisition of the major shareholding by a local investment consortium. The company’s trading brand was revealed to the company’s internal stakeholders at an event held at the company premises today.
Speaking at the launch event, the company’s Board Chairman Mr. Kumbirayi Katsande said that this historic event marked the turn of an era as this is the first time the company’s major shareholding was being taken over by locals. He emphasized that though the company has gone through previous phases of mergers and acquisitions, what has remained constant is the delivery of high-quality products and integrity of doing business.
Khayah is a vernacular Ndebele word which means home. “We will now be trading as Khayah which means home. Through our products, we have been part of thousands of homes for generations, and we will continue to be so into the future. We are therefore home to the products that build our home Zimbabwe”, he said.
During the new brand launch event, employees who have served the company for more than twenty years were recognized and conferred with the Khayah Legends Award. The longest serving employee at Khaya Cement has been with the business since 1976 and has served for 46 years. Twenty employees were conferred with this coveted award.
In a letter to shareholders announcing the new brand, the company’s Acting CEO, Mr. innocent Chikwata restated the company’s commitment to delivering quality, strong and durable products in a business model that ensures mutual benefit for all stakeholders. “Because we are Khayah, the home for everyone, we go the extra mile to ensure that our value chain partners, both upstream and downstream, enjoy a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship,” he said.
The company was established in 1956 as Salisbury Portland Cement before a take over by Blue Circle Industries in 1980 and in 1982 it became Circle Cement. Nineteen years later, the parent company Blue Circle, was acquired by the French based Lafarge Group and continued to trade as Circle Cement for about seven more years. In 2008, the company officially rebranded to Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe Limited and subsequently relisted on the Zimbabwe Stock exchange under this name.
In July 2015, the Lafarge Group merged with Swiss-based Holcim creating LafargeHolcim which later rebranded to Holcim in 2021. The local trading name remained unchanged until the acquisition of majority shareholding to now trading as Khayah Cement Limited.
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