The Tononoka Group is a privately-owned established manufacturing company that specializes in steel products for construction purposes. Over the years, the Tononoka Group has earned an enviable and reputable position in terms of quality, cost-effectiveness and customer service.
Tononoka now sits as one of the best steel manufacturers in the East African region. The company is headed by Group Chief Executive Officer, Dharmesh Savla.
The Tononoka Group started in the mid-1980s as a hardware shop. It then gradually grew, and later became a major supplier of steel products in the Kenyan market.
The initial growth of the trading business opened an opportunity for the commencement of a small manufacturing facility and the idea blossomed into the formation of Tononoka Steels Limited in March 1991.
“We recently acquired shareholding in a metal fabrication company, David Engineering, so we have been growing steadily for the last 36 years. Presently, we are one of the leading steel manufacturers in Kenya, and in fact, in the region of East Africa,” Savla told Marcopolis during an interview in February 2022.
Tononoka Steels Limited is now a major producer and supplier of Black and Galvanized Pipes, Hollow Sections (Round, Square and Rectangular), Channels, Beams, Profiles, M.S. Sheets, Z-Purlins, Flats and Angles.
The Plant and Corporate Offices are based at North Airport Road in Embakasi and employ around 200 personnel.
The aspiration to expand in concurrence with the market and environmental needs led to the formation of Tononoka Rolling Mills Limited in the year 2005. Tononoka Rolling Mills Limited plays a major role in the environment by converting waste metal scrap into valuable reusable construction materials such as Reinforcement Steel (Round, twisted and square bars), Mild Steel Flat Bars and Angle Irons.
Tononoka Rolling Mills Limited is located along Komarock Road in Dandora Phase 5. According to the company website, the plant has around 150 employees who are well trained to maintain its quality standards.
With a vibrant steel market in the country, Tononoka has managed to stay ahead of the competition by maintaining high quality standards.
“The competitive advantage that we have is due to our focus on customer care, quality products and services, efficiencies in deliveries, after sales support and value-added services, as well as a customer centric theme.
“We have invested in technology as well with some state-of-the-art equipment that is helping us to achieve what the customer requires. Quality is one of the main focuses that we have,” Savla stated.
Tononoka Group has undertaken multiple projects in the country and beyond, primarily, through the supply of steel construction materials. Some of these projects include dams, roads, buildings, power supply among others. They have also supplied to several projects outside the country e.g the Bugesera International Airport in Rwanda.
Some steel products in the region are reportedly produced by three companies and Tononoka is said to be one of them.
The company has supplied to various other projects such as the Dahab Tower in Somalia where the government is constructing affordable housing for their residents in Mogadishu. In the past, Tononoka has supplied to the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project, various electrical projects in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, among others.
“We have always been focused on quality. Any time there is a major project going on, Tononoka is one of the names that is picked up first and is at the top of everyone’s mast,” Savla states.
The company’s most recent success story was when they upgraded their manufacturing facility for rebars, the hot rolling mill. They were on a semi-automatic mill up to about 2019 and later decided to upgrade their manufacturing process and installed a new fully automated hot rolling mill with state-of-the-art equipment and electronics.
Awards
Tononoka Group is ISO certified. It is also certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). The company was also voted Superbrands East Africa’s Choice 2019-2020.
