Shem Oriere, Africa Correspondent01.04.23
A government-backed harmonized regulatory framework on coding and marking of roofing sheets is being enforced in Eastern Africa thus creating opportunity for increased consumption of labelling inks in the region.
The stringent harmonized regulations were drafted to govern the manufacture and trade in galvanized and corrugated roofing iron sheets by the East African Community (EAC), an intergovernmental organization composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa.
The common rules, now enforceable in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi, could also see many roofing material manufacturers install coding and marking systems, hence driving up the use of the inks for ease of visibility of their products’ traceability tags and regulatory certifications.
Although no precise data is available on current market status of Eastern Africa’s coding and marking inks, the harmonized legislation and associated industry compliance requirements would substantially shape the consumption of permanent, waterproof, fast-drying inks in the long term.
EAC member-countries, through their respective state-owned standards’ regulating agencies, including Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kenya), Bureau Burundais de Normalisation et Contrôle de la Qualité (Burundi), Rwanda Standards Board (Rwanda), South Sudan Bureau of Standards (South Sudan), Tanzania Bureau of Standards (Tanzania), and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (Uganda), have made the use of indelible coding and markings on galvanized and corrugated roofing sheets mandatory to ensure quality and eliminate counterfeits, a trend likely to trigger increased utilization of relevant inks.
There is now, in the region, the East African Standard (EAS) 11:2018, which specifies requirements, test methods and sampling for galvanized plain and corrugated steel sheets for roofing, cladding, fencing, fabrication as well as for general use.
Manufacturers of hot-dip galvanized plain and corrugated steel sheets are required to print traceability information on the top or underside of the products to prevent counterfeits within the EAC market, which has lightly more than 280 million people.
Each roofing sheet shall be legibly marked with required information such as the “the manufacturer’s name or trademark or both, the batch identification, thickness in millimetres (mm), coating designation, and manufacturer’s standardization mark (SM) permit number.”
In case of a vendor with pre-painted and granulated accessories, “the marking shall be on the reverse side whereas for galvanized or galvalume accessories, marking shall be on either side.”
“Each galvanized plain or corrugated steel sheet conforming to this East Africa Draft Standard shall be permanently and indelibly marked with the manufacturer’s name and/or trademark,” the regulations say.
Other ink consuming markings on the corrugated iron sheet include details about base metal thickness expressed in gauge with word “Gauge” in full and millimetre, the coating class of sheet, the batch identification and markings on Gauge 32 sheets that are clearly marked “not for roofing” font size 12mm width in every 1m along the product’s length.
“It is also equally important to mark/code the sheets with long-lasting coding inks,” the regulations say.
Printing the specified details on the roofing sheets would also help in elimination of piracy of the roofing products.
A rigorous enforcement of the regulations has recently flushed out some non-compliant vendors as well as triggering fierce market competition among top roofing sheet manufacturers in East Africa.
For example, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) recently published a list of roofing sheet manufacturers that are not using indelible markings on their products, a trend blamed for the circulation of counterfeits in the market.
KEBS managing director Bernard Njiraini said in a recent statement some of roofing iron sheets manufacturers in the country “are not labelling at all or not properly labelling some of these roofing products.”
“This is a major non-conformity because in the absence of adequate marking, consumers are not able to make informed decisions when purchasing the product,” he added.
Currently, KEBS conducts a product certification scheme that certifies and issues a Standardization Mark permit or Diamond Mark of Quality “once the product complies with the relevant Kenya Standard.”
More ink is to be used during the marking the non-conforming sheets.
“All non-complying sheets shall be identified by cutting off all four corners at least by 75 mm along the edges diagonally and shall be marked “Rejected” with indelible ink,” the regulations say.
Early this year, KEBS, after a countrywide market surveillance on galvanized roofing sheets, issued a statement saying the standards agency is concerned about the presence of substandard roofing sheets in the market that do not comply with the requirements of the country’s standards of KS EAS 11: 2019 on Hot-dip Galvanized plain and corrugated steel sheets – specification and KS EAS 410: 2021 on Hot-dip Aluminium-Zinc coated plain and corrugated steel sheets – specification.
Three galvanized roofing sheets manufacturers, Haut International, Mwananchi Mabati Company Limited and Obor technology Kenya Limited that produce HAUT INTL, Mwananchi and Panda brands respectively,
“Standardization Mark Permits for the non-complying brands shall be suspended until corrective action is undertaken under supervision of KEBS,” the regulator said.
Leading roofing sheet manufacturers in Eastern Africa include Alfa Mabati Factory, Boma Mabati Factory, Heritage Mabati Mills, Imarisha Mabati Limited, Mabati Rolling Mills Limited, Maisha Mabati Mills Limited , Rafiki Roofing Mabati, Rhino Mabati Factory, Royal Mabati Company, Mabati Rolling Mills, Devki Steel Mills Ltd, Rhino Mabati Factory Ltd and Super mabati.
Although there are not market data on suppliers of indelible coding and marking ink to these vendors, there are several global companies active in the African market such as Hitachi Ltd, Markem-Imaje Group, Leibinger Group and REA Elektronik GmbH, although the presence of some of them is through partners.
In fact, the distribution of the inks has been made easier with the recent embracing of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a free trade area encompassing a large section of Africa combining more than 43 countries in the continent.
AfCFTA would not only eased the manufacture and distribution of the galvanized and corrugated roofing sheets but also the distribution of associated products such as Ink Jet Printers as well as sharing of related technology such as the Continuous Ink Jet (CIJ), that is commonly used in the coding and marking of galvanized or corrugated iron sheets.
Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania are the key ink markets in Eastern Africa having exported an estimated 77,944 kg according to World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS), a World Bank website that brings together several international, trade, and protection databases.
The value of ink exports, according to the data by WITS, was approximately US$480,630, with Kenya’s share being approximately 89% of the total foreign sales by the four countries.
The WITS statistics indicate that in 2019, Kenya exported 69,989 kgs of printing inks “black whether or not concentrated or solid.”
Uganda and Tanzania ranked second and third having exported 6,590 kgs and 295 kgs respectively.
With the East Africa’s housing sector expected to substantially grow, driven by huge government-driven investments such as Kenya’s Affordable Housing project of adding an additional 500,000 homes 2025, demand for coding and marking inks that ensure durable labels is likely to grow as would quality printers.
The stringent harmonized regulations were drafted to govern the manufacture and trade in galvanized and corrugated roofing iron sheets by the East African Community (EAC), an intergovernmental organization composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa.
The common rules, now enforceable in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi, could also see many roofing material manufacturers install coding and marking systems, hence driving up the use of the inks for ease of visibility of their products’ traceability tags and regulatory certifications.
Although no precise data is available on current market status of Eastern Africa’s coding and marking inks, the harmonized legislation and associated industry compliance requirements would substantially shape the consumption of permanent, waterproof, fast-drying inks in the long term.
EAC member-countries, through their respective state-owned standards’ regulating agencies, including Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kenya), Bureau Burundais de Normalisation et Contrôle de la Qualité (Burundi), Rwanda Standards Board (Rwanda), South Sudan Bureau of Standards (South Sudan), Tanzania Bureau of Standards (Tanzania), and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (Uganda), have made the use of indelible coding and markings on galvanized and corrugated roofing sheets mandatory to ensure quality and eliminate counterfeits, a trend likely to trigger increased utilization of relevant inks.
There is now, in the region, the East African Standard (EAS) 11:2018, which specifies requirements, test methods and sampling for galvanized plain and corrugated steel sheets for roofing, cladding, fencing, fabrication as well as for general use.
Manufacturers of hot-dip galvanized plain and corrugated steel sheets are required to print traceability information on the top or underside of the products to prevent counterfeits within the EAC market, which has lightly more than 280 million people.
Each roofing sheet shall be legibly marked with required information such as the “the manufacturer’s name or trademark or both, the batch identification, thickness in millimetres (mm), coating designation, and manufacturer’s standardization mark (SM) permit number.”
In case of a vendor with pre-painted and granulated accessories, “the marking shall be on the reverse side whereas for galvanized or galvalume accessories, marking shall be on either side.”
“Each galvanized plain or corrugated steel sheet conforming to this East Africa Draft Standard shall be permanently and indelibly marked with the manufacturer’s name and/or trademark,” the regulations say.
Other ink consuming markings on the corrugated iron sheet include details about base metal thickness expressed in gauge with word “Gauge” in full and millimetre, the coating class of sheet, the batch identification and markings on Gauge 32 sheets that are clearly marked “not for roofing” font size 12mm width in every 1m along the product’s length.
“It is also equally important to mark/code the sheets with long-lasting coding inks,” the regulations say.
Printing the specified details on the roofing sheets would also help in elimination of piracy of the roofing products.
A rigorous enforcement of the regulations has recently flushed out some non-compliant vendors as well as triggering fierce market competition among top roofing sheet manufacturers in East Africa.
For example, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) recently published a list of roofing sheet manufacturers that are not using indelible markings on their products, a trend blamed for the circulation of counterfeits in the market.
KEBS managing director Bernard Njiraini said in a recent statement some of roofing iron sheets manufacturers in the country “are not labelling at all or not properly labelling some of these roofing products.”
“This is a major non-conformity because in the absence of adequate marking, consumers are not able to make informed decisions when purchasing the product,” he added.
Currently, KEBS conducts a product certification scheme that certifies and issues a Standardization Mark permit or Diamond Mark of Quality “once the product complies with the relevant Kenya Standard.”
More ink is to be used during the marking the non-conforming sheets.
“All non-complying sheets shall be identified by cutting off all four corners at least by 75 mm along the edges diagonally and shall be marked “Rejected” with indelible ink,” the regulations say.
Early this year, KEBS, after a countrywide market surveillance on galvanized roofing sheets, issued a statement saying the standards agency is concerned about the presence of substandard roofing sheets in the market that do not comply with the requirements of the country’s standards of KS EAS 11: 2019 on Hot-dip Galvanized plain and corrugated steel sheets – specification and KS EAS 410: 2021 on Hot-dip Aluminium-Zinc coated plain and corrugated steel sheets – specification.
Three galvanized roofing sheets manufacturers, Haut International, Mwananchi Mabati Company Limited and Obor technology Kenya Limited that produce HAUT INTL, Mwananchi and Panda brands respectively,
“Standardization Mark Permits for the non-complying brands shall be suspended until corrective action is undertaken under supervision of KEBS,” the regulator said.
Leading roofing sheet manufacturers in Eastern Africa include Alfa Mabati Factory, Boma Mabati Factory, Heritage Mabati Mills, Imarisha Mabati Limited, Mabati Rolling Mills Limited, Maisha Mabati Mills Limited , Rafiki Roofing Mabati, Rhino Mabati Factory, Royal Mabati Company, Mabati Rolling Mills, Devki Steel Mills Ltd, Rhino Mabati Factory Ltd and Super mabati.
Although there are not market data on suppliers of indelible coding and marking ink to these vendors, there are several global companies active in the African market such as Hitachi Ltd, Markem-Imaje Group, Leibinger Group and REA Elektronik GmbH, although the presence of some of them is through partners.
In fact, the distribution of the inks has been made easier with the recent embracing of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a free trade area encompassing a large section of Africa combining more than 43 countries in the continent.
AfCFTA would not only eased the manufacture and distribution of the galvanized and corrugated roofing sheets but also the distribution of associated products such as Ink Jet Printers as well as sharing of related technology such as the Continuous Ink Jet (CIJ), that is commonly used in the coding and marking of galvanized or corrugated iron sheets.
Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania are the key ink markets in Eastern Africa having exported an estimated 77,944 kg according to World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS), a World Bank website that brings together several international, trade, and protection databases.
The value of ink exports, according to the data by WITS, was approximately US$480,630, with Kenya’s share being approximately 89% of the total foreign sales by the four countries.
The WITS statistics indicate that in 2019, Kenya exported 69,989 kgs of printing inks “black whether or not concentrated or solid.”
Uganda and Tanzania ranked second and third having exported 6,590 kgs and 295 kgs respectively.
With the East Africa’s housing sector expected to substantially grow, driven by huge government-driven investments such as Kenya’s Affordable Housing project of adding an additional 500,000 homes 2025, demand for coding and marking inks that ensure durable labels is likely to grow as would quality printers.
