Race for slice of lucrative roofing market

Manual workers pouring cement through pipe on roof.

The real estate sector has posted mixed fortunes in a year that developers, contractors and landlords faced a tumultuous period.

Citizens battered by Covid-19 defaulted on rents, with others moving out of their houses. In a struggling economy, some potential landlords who had plans to construct more facilities shelved the plans altogether.

On the flip side, some made a fortune. Some constructed their own houses, seeking to avoid tenancies in houses where they would be harassed during tough economic times as well as seek privacy.

And in so doing, they created businesses for some construction practitioners, with those providing roofing materials among the key beneficiaries.

Among them is Andrew Muriungi, the owner of Rhino Mabati, which started less than half a decade ago.

The firm offers local roofing solutions in a country where over 80 per cent citizens use iron sheets for their roofs, and some for their walls.

Muriungi was looking to establish an efficacy that was missing in the roofing industry - making materials affordable and eliminating middlemen

Major companies providing roofing materials in the country include Royal Mabati, Ruiru Mabati, Safal Group, Jinyuan Roofing and Roofing Tiles Kenya.

Others are Ngao Roofing Systems, Dura Roofing, Rexe Roofing Products Ltd, Mabati Rolling Mills and Decra Roofing Systems.

Muriungi’s factory was premised on offering customised roofing material, giving free delivery and perfecting the customer experience. “Customers could take measurements of their roof sizes and choose colour, texture and design. The firm offers different specifications and a variety to choose from. This means that the roof measurements will differ,” he said.

Other firms such as Royal Mabati deliver materials to customers - offering an option of paying in instalments.

A worker replacing roofing of the former Kimorori primary school that Maragua CDF has facilitated for renovation to security offices to serve residents at the fast growing Kenol market.  [Boniface Gikandi, Standard]

Muriungi, like other local entrepreneurs who started offering roofing solutions, was trying to give as many options as possible. Conventional roofs mainly come in limited colours and shapes and are slowly losing allure.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ Economic Survey data showed that the proportion of households with iron sheets as the main roofing material increased from 73.2 per cent in 2009 to 80.3 per cent in 2019, while those with grass declined from 13.7 per cent in 2009 to 5.1 per cent in 2019.

Seeing opportunities where money was, Erick Obuom also started InfoAfrica Group, an architectural company that offers design solutions to clients in need of housing projects.

He realised that customers were complaining due to poor roofing. “During my meetings with the clients, they would raise concerns over the same things,” says Obuom.

“A client would either complain about leakages a few months after a roof was installed or they would complain about poor set-up and design of the roof.”

It was at this invitation that he launched Mighty Roofing in 2017, to supply and install roofing materials. He had to invest in a venture he had previously no experience in.

With only a start-up capital of Sh15,000, Obuom launched a roofing business.

This year, Obuom says that Mighty Roofing Company boasts of a valuation of Sh15 million - supplying and installing roofing materials to major projects across the country.

“Our first contract was to provide labour only. The client supplied the material. It was a small residential house and our job was just to install. Now, we can afford to bring in our materials through partners such as Timber and Steel Mabati, as we plan to start manufacturing our sheets,” he says.

The firm also specialises in other services such as roof cleaning, redesigning, repair, roof maintenance and installation of gutters.

They have so far managed 40 commercial and residential projects in Langata, Ongata Rongai, Athi River, Kiambu, Murang’a, Thika, Muthaiga and Karen - creating 300 part- and full-time jobs.

“Upon receiving the specifications of the roof from a client, we partner with architects to check the design and advice on how to proceed,” said Obuom.

“We also have technicians to ensure we do the correct thing onsite so that no leakage is left after the job.”

He says they take between one and two weeks to install simple roofs, and between three to four weeks to install more complex ones

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s launch of the Buy Kenya Build Kenya initiative in 2017 has also helped to boost local manufacturers through the promotion of locally made goods.

“Kenyans love local brands. They stand with them even when they are not performing well. These local companies import aluminum coils which they process into roofing material of various designs and colours, as per the customers’ wishes,” says Muriungi.

By February, Muriungi expects that Rhino Mabati will be doing trusses.