Sanitary napkin and baby diaper maker Lilac has restarted operations after years of inactivity.
The company invested 100 million birr in machines.
Lilac, began manufacturing personal care and hygienic products 20 years ago. They make Maclean diapers and Lilac sanitary napkins. They are the first to produce these products locally.
The factory imported its raw materials from four countries: USA, Japan, Hong Kong.
The price of Maclean diapers fails between 450-750 birr depending on the number of pieces, which makes the cost of the product competitive according to the representatives of the company.
Currently, Lilac has the capacity of producing 74 million pieces of Maclean Diapers and 86 million pieces of sanitary napkins per year. If they increased shifts they could produce half of what the country needs.
“Lack of hard currency comes at the top of our challenge to manufacture in full capacity,” said Mohammed Yusuf manager and owner of the factory.
He says they are saving some foreign currency and substituting imports but it is not enough.
“The incentives given to local and international manufacturers are not the same, local manufacturers also need more support and attention as we create job opportunities,” Mohammed adds.
The factory employs 50 people, 40 of which are women.
As part of discharging corporate social responsibilities, the company has been supporting local non – governmental organizations by providing sanitary napkins and diapers.
Last Tuesday at the factory, the owners delivered products worth over 2 million birr to Abebech Gobena Children’s Care and Development Association, Gergesenon Association for supporting people with mental disorders, Sile Enat, and Abadir Schools.
According to Mohammed, the company has a plan to export its product to the international market if they can get enough foreign currency to work in three shifts.
Studies show a demand for more than one billion pieces of sanitary napkins and diapers in Ethiopia.