Messebo Cement Factory buys 200 German made MAN transport trucks

Tigrai Online, April 25, 2017

According to Ethiopian Reporter news article the board and management of Messebo Cement Factory PLC decided to buy 200 German made MAN transport trucks to reduce transportation cost of the company and better compete in the Ethiopian cement market. The German truck manufacturer, MAN Truck & Bus AG won an international tender to supply the 200 trucks to Messebo at a cost of 700 million Ethiopian birr.

Deputy General Manager of Messebo, Kidane Tekelehaimanot indicated the location of the factory from the central market in central Ethiopia and where the major construction is taking place puts it in a slight disadvantage to be competitive in price in the Ethiopian cement market. “Though Messebo Cement is known for producing high-quality cement, the cost of transporting the product all the way from Mekelle to Addis Ababa is a big challenge” said the DGM of Messebo.

The transport trucks parts are shipped in containers to Ethiopia and they are assembled in Mesfin Industrial Engineering – MIE a sister company located in Mekelle city.

According to the Deputy General Manager of Messebo Cement Factory, 150 of the trucks are already in service and the rest are being assembled.

In March 2016 Mesfin Industrial Engineering inaugurated a heavy truck assembly plant in Mekelle city, Tigrai state in a partnership with MAN Truck & Bus AG Company of Germany.

Messebo Cement Factor PLC and Mesfin Industrial Engineering PLC are member companies or the the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT). Bothe companies are located in the city of Mikelle in northern Ethiopia.