EAPCC to tap Tanzanian market

East African Portland Cement Co (EAPCC) plans to enter the Tanzanian market, senior management has revealed.

"We are looking at Northern Tanzania and have already identified a partner situated in Arusha," Kepha Tande, managing director of the Kenya-based cement producer, said on Friday.

Tande said that stiffer competition in the company’s domestic market has led it to seek new markets to improve sales. EAPCC's market share has dropped by close to 12 per cent from 33 per cent three years ago to the current 21 per cent.

EAPCC’s new chairman Bill Lay, whose appointment was cleared by the court on Thursday, will hold his first meeting with the company's directors next week as he seeks to steer the company from wrangles and into improved business. Speaking at a media briefing last Friday, Lay said it is unfortunate that the company had been "distracted by sideshows" at the expense of its core business of cement manufacturing and distribution. Controversies culminated in the ousting of immediate former chairman Mark Ole Karbolo and infighting among directors has been ongoing for the last three years.

During the scheduled board meeting next week, the directors are expected to discuss the company's five year business improvement strategy, which also includes plans to modernise its Athi River factory in Kenya.