In the last two weeks we shifted our focus from the new product to the new building. The reason was the departure of the Mechanic to Nairobi to work on our mould for the clock in the workshop of a friend of his.
Together with Wilson we focussed on the design of the new building. In the final design we decided to place the whole production inside the new building with extraction hoods at every machine. The assembly of the products that are being made with the injection moulding technique will take place in the outside veranda’s on both ends of the new building. We also decided to implement more windows and doors which will create even more natural ventilation.
After finetuning the design, we searched for building materials for the new factory. This quest went really fast, partly because Wilson recently build a building himself so he knew where to get materials. Because of this, we were able to place the new stone of the building only one week after we finished the design of the building, which was a real milestone.
The setback we had was about the mould for the clock. Shortly after the Mechanic went to Nairobi, he became ill which resulted in no progress. After he recovered from his illness, he received the wrong material which gave even extra delay. This lasted a week, the week in which the Mechanic was supposed to finish our mould. After this week the Mechanic decided, without letting us know, to go back to Mumias and to give the job of making the mould to his friend. Because we didn’t know this guy and his professionality we felt the urge to give him a visit in Nairobi and to discuss the details. After meeting him we concluded that he was a trustworthy man who works very precisely so we could continue. Unfortunately he told us it would take him a minimum of two weeks before he will be finished… Business in Africa: not always easy, but we will get there!
