Product Description: Writing pads, notes books and ring books are made from paper sheets. The pads are commonly ruled, stiched, or made with rings. The pads are used by students, merchants, office workers and by the general public. The main purpose of writing pads is to write notes, draft reports, take minutes, document court cases, etc
.
Market Potential: most of the domestic demand for writing pads is meet by imports. There is one factory (Yekatit Paper Processing Factory) which produces writing pads and the factory has a capacity of producing 500,000 writing pads and note books. According a study conducted in 1996, the domestic demand of writing demand was estimated to be 7.7 million in 1997. Growing at annual rate of 7.6 percent per year, the demand for writing pads was projected to reach 17.7 million by 200g. If we assume that the share of the Amhara Region will be about 26 percent (similar to the population share), demand for writing pads in the Region 2009 will be 4.6 million. This will justify the establishment of at least one medium size writing pads making plant in the Region. There is no reason why the Region should import products from abroad or from other parts of the country if these products can produced in the Region economically i.e with financial viability.
Source of raw Material: The main “raw material” are wood free writing paper, printing ink, cover sheets, stitching or wring wire (metal or plastic) and corrugated boxes. Most of these inputs can be obtained from domestic sources.
Process and technology: The production process begins by conveying long ribbon of paper size unwinding unit into a printing and ruling machine. The paper is lined. Then the ribbon crosses cutter cuts according to the width of the writing pad intended to be produced. The eat sheets of paper are contend and stacked. They are also perforated at one end if ring books are to be produced. The covers of the writing pads are automatically conveyed to the production flow. Then the paper sheets and the covers are stiched with coiled or staple wire.
Machinery needed include unwinding unit, printing and ruling machine, rotary cross cutter, perforator, counting and collecting unit, stack sheet feeder, glve applicator, wire stiching unit, separation unit, collecting and discharge unit.
Estimated Investment: For a plant that will produce about one million writing pads, the investment requirement will be:
§ Buildings 300m2 at Br. 2000/m2= 600,00
§ Machinery 900,000
§ Working Capital 500,000
2,000,000
Benefits: Promotes regional self-sufficiency, saves regional financial resources, and saves national foreign exchange.
Location: Bahir Dar