In as much as the contemporary society puts less regard in anyone whose education background is not beyond form four, Maxwell Collins, a Kisumu Boys form four leaver has managed to trounce the field of innovation and now manufactures hydraulic brick making machines.
After completing his secondary education in 2010, Maxwell was not able to further his studies due to economic constraints.His zeal to create a hallmark in the field of innovation kept burning in him and this gave him the thrust to surge on.This saw him enroll in menial jobs in the brick-making industry, a move he says sharpened his focus to make a brick making machine.“I had a chance to interact with a concrete brick making machine but I didn’t like the experience. The machine was disappointing, slow and not specially designed for high-quality performance,” said the youthful innovator.The 27-year-old then embarked on a brick making excursion. Being a beneficiary of the Chandaria Innovation Hub, Maxwell says he spent sleepless nights and a lot of his meagre resources in failing experiments and research to develop the machine.“I have no training in engineering, the only knowledge I have is Mathematics and Physics which I amassed in school,” he said.Finally, he managed to come up with a design able to produce about 7,000 bricks per day of which he intimates was far better than the model he first met which hardly produced more than half of what his new machine does.He invested to a tune of Sh70,000 to finance the project. Currently, Maxwell has furthered his research and he has made five bigger and better hydraulic machines with a capacity of producing up to 40,000 bricks per day.
A brick making machine made by Maxwell. [Photo/Maxwell Collins]
“A single unit goes for about Sh3 million. However, this is not a very nice price, as similar models from China in the market sell at between Sh5-8million,” says Maxwell.It costs nearly Sh2.2 million to produce the brick maker, with Maxwell making over Sh500,000 in profit.To make the machines, the innovator says that he starts by drawing the sketch of what he wants, approximate costs and then embarks on purchasing metal roads, iron plates, special tubes, hydraulic fluids, pipes among other necessary equipment.“From the metals, I use my welding machines, iron cutters drills and rollers to designs other equipment for instance bolts, nuts, rivets, and screws,” adds Maxwell.He buys all the equipment from Kisumu city apart from the seamless hydraulic pipes which are only available in Nairobi.Maxwell has already designed and sold four brick makers two of which are located in Kisumu and the remaining two have been sold to investors in Yala and Sabatia.He expresses optimism that their speed, accuracy, and effectiveness have made a great impact in the construction industry.The business, he says, is not a walk in the park. He adds that due to the current capping of interest rates and surging inflation, most of his clients don’t pay him in good time while others pay in very small bits, making it difficult see the impact of the money.Maxwell says he currently doesn’t have a workshop and acquisition of capital to finance his venture is not easy.“The Youth Development Fund has also given me a hard time and I am yet to get financial support. They asked me to have a registered company to be able to get a loan. I jointly formed a company with a partner but unfortunately they demanded that the company must wholly be owned by myself,” the innovator laments.He further brings to the fore that he has tried bringing on board senior government officials known to him but most of them just praise him for his work but never get back to him while others ignore him.He reveals that he only makes the machine after a client approaches him and makes a down payment to facilitate the purchase of equipment.“Financial constraints are rife. They have even prompted me to fire some labourers whom I had employed. I can only manage to pay one whom I am currently working with," says Maxwell.Maxwell works with Levis Musembi whom apart from the job is also charged with identifying prospective partners and investors with whom they can work with.
Maxwell Collins and Levis Musembi at their workshop in Kisumu. [Photo/ Washington Odhiambo]
They are currently working on the fifth model which is on its last facets of production.It takes him between 3-5 months to make one.“I am only left with test running it and then give it a nice glossy paint before I transport it to my client,” he discloses.The hydraulic machine makes concrete bricks of all types and this is dependent on the type of mould being used.In future, the youthful innovator envisages making a bigger model and being an employer of dozens.He urges the youth to embrace innovation stating that it is a shame that the country still depends on imported products from China despite having thousands of engineering graduates who sadly can’t even design a simple machine.
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