As the construction phase of our plant is growing to an end, it is time for Ohorongo to look towards the future, towards production, towards the excitement of establishing a new industry in this country, and towards building a name for ourselves amongst our customers and competition.

But before we do that, I would like to reflect a bit on the years passed since the founding of Ohorongo Cement. In particular, I would like to return to the past 19 months of construction.

Then a handful of people from different backgrounds and cultures, languages and experiences were thrown together to achieve the immense task of building a N$2.5 billion cement plant in Namibia, this country’s only cement plant and the most modern in the whole of Africa.

I think I speak for all of us if I say that we were attracted by the excitement of setting up something big right from scratch, of leaving our mark in this country. I was intrigued by the challenge of building such a big plant, to contribute to the development of my home-country, not to speak of establishing a new industry in Namibia.

We had to work hard. But we worked with good colleagues driven by the same ambition to make a success of the project. Things were not always easy, working in a state of constant flux, with every minute bringing on another challenge which needed to be overcome immediately. I am sure that I am not the only one who sometimes longed for a routine workday, with no surprises and with less work on the table in the evening than there was in the morning.

But now we are almost there. Thanks to the hard work, extreme commitment of my people and support from suppliers, stakeholders and partners, our families who just had to accept that we could not be at home that often we are only a couple of weeks short of the completed plant.

Although our whole being is geared towards completing the plant, we have to remember that this is actually only the beginning! I therefore invite you all to forget about the toll of the past months, and start to focus on the next exciting challenge – the perfection of our core business - the production and distribution of world-class cement.

I am sure that together we will make as much a success of this as we have with the construction of our plant.

Kind Regards,

Hans-Wilhelm Schütte