Ohorongo cement, acting now to leave a lasting legacy

Taking giant steps in boosting the Namibian manufacturing sector, and with a strong focus on customer service excellence, continuous innovation and sustainable operations, Ohorongo Cement has grown from strength to strength over the years. Today it has a production capacity of one million tonnes per year. The company is engaged in the full value-adding chain of manufacturing, from mining to packaging of the final product, distribution, selling and marketing of cement in Namibia and neighbouring countries, operating from its factory near Otavi in Namibia.Ohorongo Cement operates a state-of-the-art plant which is one of the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly on the African continent, with significant improvements in energy efficiency, quality and environmental management and innovation.The goal remains to strengthen, uplift and develop the company with all stakeholders, mindful of the operational impact on the environment. Various projects, initiatives and strategies of continuous improvements have significantly reduced the carbon footprint to support Namibia’s efforts to fight climate change.Among other things, the utilisation of rail services provided by TransNamib, as well as return loads of empty trucks for the transportation of cement, is minimising the traffic on national roads and therefore reducing carbon emissions. Having no local fuels such as coal or oil available in Namibia, global climate change and multiple other environmental benefits have been motivation for the company’s introduction of alternative fuels to fire the kiln. Already in the first year of production in 2011 the company partially substituted imported coal with wood chips derived from invader bush in the Otjozondjupa Region. Since 2016 charcoal fines have been procured from farmers in the Otjiwarongo, Otavi, Grootfontein and Tsumeb areas. Charcoal fines are a waste product in the charcoal industry which cannot be utilised for export charcoal.In a partnership with Rent-A-Drum, with the main objective to reduce waste sent to landfills, the company has also been using non-recyclable refuse to fire its kiln since early 2017. The usage of refuse-derived fuel in the cement manufacturing process is state of the art in many European countries and is seen as the best possible way for waste treatment because the high flame temperature (2000° Celsius) in the kiln guarantees that harmful pollutants are completely destroyed. Using non-recyclable material does not affect the cement quality, as only selected suitable material is utilised in this process.As a responsible corporate, Ohorongo Cement this year is set to become one of the first companies in Namibia to utilise green and clean electricity for industrial purposes. This is the result of a power purchase agreement with an independent power producer that will be supplying the cement plant with 5 megawatts of electricity generated from a photovoltaic solar plant next to the factory. With a proud history of over eight years in cement manufacturing in Namibia, Ohorongo Cement is sustainable in each and every aspect, starting from the lifespan of the quarry, which spans over 300 years. The production process fully utilises all resources that are taken out of the ground, as everything is turned into cement and as a result there are no leaching piles or waste material. To ensure a safe and healthy workplace and surrounding environment, Ohorongo Cement is committed to the principle of zero harm, which is carried out within the entire company and extended to all stakeholders.Ohorongo Cement takes pride in the fact that its operations are internationally certified by the Verein Deutscher Zementwerke (VDZ) in ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 9001:2015, an environmental management and quality standard, making it one of the very few companies in Southern Africa that received its environmental certification according to the revised 2015 standards.Furthermore, the company is compliant with Namibia’s Environmental Management Act of 2007 and environmental impact assessments were completed for all its projects.Ohorongo Cement is becoming constantly more innovative to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for quality service delivery. This consistent quality service delivery to customers has led to the company winning the Large Enterprises (LE) Service of the Year 2018 Edition at the prestigious Annual National Quality Awards. The company was also the runner-up for the Large Enterprise Products Company of the Year award.The company’s managing director, Hans-Wilhelm Schütte, says: “Ohorongo has Namibia’s interest at heart and that is why there has been a strong focus on customer service excellence and continuous innovation of our operations.”“The company pledges to continue assisting the country to achieve its sustainable development goals and ultimately ensuring that the current and future generations enjoy a clean natural environment though continuous investigation of new technologies that will support its short-, medium- and long-term capacity expansion, product differentiation, increased flexibility, reduced risks and the supply of all cementation products.”STAFF REPORTER

Ohorongo cement, acting now to leave a lasting legacy

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-08

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Ohorongo cement, acting now to leave a lasting legacy

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-08

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