Rust free iron sheets hit market

By John Semakula

RUST resistant iron sheets have hit the local market in Uganda.

The iron sheets, Dumuzas, can take 30-to 40 years before beginning to rust compared to the old existing types which could rust after 8 to 10 years.

Currently in Uganda, the iron sheets are produced by Uganda Baati. Dipi Mohanty the business head of Uganda Baati said the new iron sheets are both in white and colour.

Whereas, the ordinary iron sheets are coated with 99.1% Zinc to protect them against rusting, the Dumuzas are coated with a mixture of Aluminum and Zinc. 

Mohanty said Aluminum Zinc coating gives the iron sheets more service life.

“The coating is done by continuously dipping steel in a formulation of Aluminum (55%), Zinc (43.5%) and Silicon (1.5%),” he said. 

Amon Aruho the human resource officer at Uganda Baati said despite being of high quality, Dumuzas cost the same amount of money like other iron sheets of the same gauge.

The factory price for the 30 meter gauge white Dumuzas is sh23,500 and sh29,500 for the 28 gauge.

“We want the public to buy the new product cheaply to appreciate it. That is why we have not hiked the cost,” Aruho said.

The Dumuzas are distinguished from other types of iron sheets by their brand name. They also possess a very nice whitish look.

Aruho revealed that besides taking long to rust, Dumuzas make the inside of the house cooler as they repel heat.

Mohanty said the Dumuzas first hit the markets in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa long before they are now unveiled in Uganda.

“It took us time to produce these iron sheets because we had to build capacity in terms of technology,” he revealed.

Mohanty said Dumuzas are not very expensive because the new technology used in manufacturing them does not require a lot of extra raw material.