Flexible Deal Benefits Entreprenurial DN Products
Our new customer DN Products has a business model that reflects the agile and entrepreneurial character that the growing Tanzanian timber treatment market has become known for.
This approach has led to changes in and growth of the business over time, with prospects for fresh growth brought by its recent CCA supply agreement with Dolphin Bay.
“In the early days we manufactured chemicals, including liquid soap, disinfectants, bleaches and the like,” said DN Products owner Dr Richard Toba, who is also a retired Professor in Chemical Engineering at Dar Es Salaam University. “Around 2012, we shifted to wooden poles and treated timber. This is our core business for now.”
That “for now” speaks volumes.
“To be honest, we used to struggle to get good CCA from local suppliers who are importing from India, Kenya, Malaysia and even South Africa.
DN Products has what Dr Toba calls “an environmental conservation first philosophy,” which has seen the company pursue initiatives in afforestation, charcoal briquettes as a clean cooking alternative, and turning pole harvest waste into furniture.
Rather than own their own plantations, DN Products “buys its forests” from small private farmers and government plantations, explained Dolphin Bay Business Development Manager Darren Marillier. “They’ll buy a block of mature eucalyptus trees and send in a team to harvest them.”
The company’s key clients include Tanzanian power parastatal TANESCO and REA (the Rural Energy Agency). “However, we don’t work with them directly, but through a pool of about 12 contractors who purchase wooden poles from our factory,” Dr Toba explained.
The family business would typically have purchased CCA on a piecemeal basis from the local market in the past, said Darren. “But as their business has grown and their contracts have improved, they are now able to import container loads of chemicals from Dolphin Bay.”
Dr Toba added that while the flexibility of the arrangement is beneficial to DN Products, what’s even more important is the quality of the products they receive from Dolphin Bay. “To be honest, we used to struggle to get good CCA from local suppliers who are importing from India, Kenya, Malaysia and even South Africa,” he said. “But since we settled with Dolphin Bay, we have been able to maintain the quality of our products – both our treated poles and our treated timber. We are happy.”
Quality is of utmost importance in the treated timber industry. It’s a particular focus for DN Products as they look to grow their business, and as they await confirmation of their certification from TANESCO.
“We find Dolphin Bay to be serious and reliable,” Dr Toba concluded. “We see Dolphin Bay as a partner in our business, and we are happy with the business model that they came up with for us.
“It set us up to expand our business in a short while.”
We are delighted to have welcomed DN Products as a Dolphin Bay customer. It is satisfying to us when we see a customer realising the value of what we offer and seeing that it makes an immediate difference in their business.
We often say, ‘Knowing we can make a difference.’ This is truly one of those moments.
Source: Dolphin Bay
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