Nyanza Ceramics Company (Cooperative Potterie Locale de Gatagara) will produce better quality products after getting new equipment worth Rwf110m, according to its members.

The equipment, which is also expected to boost the quantity of ceramics produced, was donated to the cooperative by the National Industrial Research and Development Agency (NIRDA).

The cooperative is located in Nyanza district and engaged in the production of different modern ceramic products it sells to local and regional clients.

Members of the cooperative are upbeat saying that the equipment will help them boost the production in both quality and quantity.

The equipment, which is in different forms including electronic and manual and their accessories, will complement or replace old equipment members were using, which will double their production.

"This is a boost to our cooperative as we used to perform the bigger part of our daily work manually and we had a few machines and used more energy while the production was not good enough,” said the president of the cooperative.

"The equipment will complement what we had and help us use less energy and produce more products. Besides we will be able to produce well designed and uniform products, we believe the market will get more products and will like them,” he added.

The donated equipment include electrical potter’s wheels, rolling machines, banding wheels, two chamber kilns, pug mills and glazing booths among others.

Speaking to cooperative members during the handover of the equipment  Olivier Kamana, head of Applied Research and Development and Foresight Incubation at NIRDA said the equipment were donated to help members improve what they do by producing quality products to put on the market.

He assured them of NIRDA’s full support to ensure that acquired equipment benefit the cooperative.

"I assure you of full support as we normally work with industries through our programs such as research and provision of upgraded equipment among other ways,” Kamana said.

The cooperative whose eleven members can make products worth Rwf2million per month and hopes the production would increase to more than double once it uses the newly acquired equipment.

It started in 1977 as an association and was accredited as a cooperative in 2012 according to members.