Petronella Sibeene
27 September 2007
Windhoek — An Israeli-owned diamond cutting and polishing company Schachter-Namdar opened its doors in the capital yesterday.
Schachter-Namdar started operating in July and employs 30 Namibians who cut and polish the precious stones.
Yesterday, Schachter-Namdar Director, Mark Friedmann, said the company had invested over U.S.$1 million in the state-of-the-art factory.
The company also announced its intention to invest in training of local people.
Friedman said so far, the factory has secured the expertise of a South African who will train Namibians in polishing stones to ensure the delivery of high-quality polished diamonds.
He said the staff complement stands at 60 and is likely to double in the next 18 months.
Schachter-Namdar is the first cutting facility to open since the Namibian Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) and the Government signed a joint venture.
The company manufactures diamonds in New York, Bangkok, Tel Aviv, Botswana, China and South Africa. Schachter-Namdar is also known for its jewellery trade show in the United States, Hong Kong and the Basel Show in Switzerland.
In South Africa, the company is a pioneer in branding African diamonds with the Proudly South African brand. Its diamonds are sold under the Proudly South African, the Brilliant Rose, and the Forevermark brands.
During the opening ceremony, Schachter-Namdar received a membership certificate from Team Namibia.
Friedman said by using its experience and knowledge gained through the success of Proudly South African diamonds, the company has a large investment in launching a Namibian brand.
Currently, the company sources rough diamonds from foreign suppliers.
However, Schachter-Namdar is one of the companies awaiting NDTC's announcement, early next month, on which few exclusive clients will buy diamonds for a period of three-and-a-half years.
The NDTC will sell 10 percent of the total Namdeb diamond production per year to local cutting and polishing factories.
NDTC was formed at the beginning of the year and is owned by De Beers' owned Diamond Trading Company (DTC) International, and the Namibian Government in a 50/50 venture.
Schachter-Namdar has cutting and polishing capacity of between 2000 and 4000 carats per month.
Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Henock ya Kasita, speaking on behalf of the Minister, Erkki Nghimtina, said the partnership between the Government and the private sector will ensure that the local people benefit from the country's natural resources.
He, however, warned of stiff competition in the near future.
Recently, the Diamond Commissioner Kennedy Hamutenya warned that Namibia could see an upsurge in the opening of diamond cutting and polishing factories in the next few months.
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