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The management of Kumasi Shoe Factory says the 10,000 pairs of school sandals to be distributed to pupils in selected deprived districts of the country will be ready before the end of this month.

Mr Kingsley Asiedu Koranteng, Finance Manager, who also doubles as the acting General Manager of Defence Industries Holding Company Limited (DIHOC), operators of the Kumasi Shoe Factory, disclosed this to The Finder.

According to him, production of the sandals is progressing smoothly.

On the general operations of the company, Mr Koranteng told The Finder that the target for 2015 is to produce 350,000 pairs of different types of footwear.

The company produces steel-toe cup oil-resistant and safety footwear for security agencies, mining companies, construction companies and breweries. 

It also produces sandals for schools, as well as shoes and sandals for other interested institutions.  

Mr Koranteng said already the company has received orders for about 70,000 shoes from various security agencies.

According to him, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has ordered for 33,000 pairs of boots, of which 20,000 is for GAF personnel on peacekeeping mission in South Sudan and 13,000 for personnel at home.

He said out of the 13,000 pairs of boots for personnel at home, the company has completed 10,000.

Mr Koranteng explained that the Ghana Police Service has also placed order for 30,000; Ghana Immigration Service, 4,000; and the Ghana Air force has also ordered for 2,000 pairs of shoes.

He disclosed that a company has been contracted to market the company in Ghana and West Africa to secure contracts for the company.

He said the only challenge facing the company now is the rolling power cuts, for which reason they have to buy GH₵700 fuel to run the company’s generator for every 16 hours during power cuts.

Touching on the performance of the company in 2014, he said it produced about 28,000 pairs of different types of footwear as against the projected 40,000. 

The Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), and the Electricity Company of Ghana were among companies that ordered for footwear last year.

Mr Koranteng told The Finder that the company has 100 permanent staff with 11 National Service personnel.

He explained that the company has just completed the installation of new machines, saying that more machines would be added next year.

Mr Koranteng said the company uses quality leather imported from India and Argentina, which are some of the best in the world.  

He emphasised that the company has staff with the requisite skills and state-of-the-art machines to produce some of the best security footwear, saying the quality assurance department also ensures that the finished products are of international standards.  

 Established in 1960, the shoe fac¬tory, located on a 35.75-acre land, pro¬duced footwear and rubber sheets under an agreement signed by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and Czechoslovakia in 1961. It col¬lapsed in the late 1970s.

It has been resuscitated following a joint partnership between a Czech Republic-based company, Knights, acting through its subsidiary Knight Ghana Limited, and the Defence In¬dustries Holding Company Limited (DIHOC), owned by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).