How little-known NMC turns KPLC’s old transformers, scrap into new products
The Numerical Machining Complex (NMC), a little-known state corporation, is making a remarkable comeback. Once envisioned as Kenya’s leading producer of automobile parts, the company struggled for decades to fulfil its mandate. However, a deal with Kenya Power & Lighting Company (KPLC) is breathing life into the corporation.
Established in 1984 and located in the Railways area of Nairobi, NMC was originally tasked with producing spare parts for automobiles. It gained national attention for assembling Kenya’s first locally made car, the ‘Nyayo Pioneer.’
“NMC was originally a motor vehicle manufacturing company, and we developed a prototype of the Nyayo Pioneer. However, due to challenges at the time, we couldn’t proceed to mass production,” said NMC Acting Managing Director George Makatetu.
The five prototypes of the Nyayo Pioneer, which were designed to achieve speeds of up to 120 km/h, never reached mass production. To survive, NMC diversified into manufacturing industrial spare parts for sectors such as sugar, cement, and agriculture. However, the company continued to struggle financially, recording losses for over a decade.
A Turning Point with Kenya Power
In 2024, NMC reported a profit of Ksh 960,280—its first in years. The turnaround can be attributed to a strategic partnership with Kenya Power, which supplies NMC with used transformers and scrap materials for recycling into spare parts.
“We have a deal with Kenya Power, where they provide us with used transformers. We turn them into billets, which are later used to manufacture products for Kenya Power and other customers. They also supply us with copper and aluminum, which we aim to convert into cables and earth rods,” Makatetu explained.
Beyond supporting a struggling state corporation, Kenya Power Managing Director Joseph Siror believes the partnership will help curb vandalism of power infrastructure.
“When you consider the cost of maintenance and the loss of revenue due to vandalism, the impact is immense. In some cases, it even results in loss of lives,” Siror said.
The collaboration also reduces Kenya Power’s reliance on costly imports, cutting expenses and saving time in acquiring essential components.
Despite its past struggles, NMC is steadily regaining its footing. The company now manufactures a variety of industrial products, including hydraulic presses, automotive components, bevel gears for Kenya Airways, brake pads, water pumps, and cement grinding media balls.
Kenya Power is currently NMC’s largest client, accounting for 80% of its business.
“We gave them orders worth Sh800 million, and that brought a major change in NMC, a company that was so silent with little activity with all the capacity to do good, were unable to do it,” Siror said.
“We chose to work with NMC because of its transparency. We supply them with scrap materials, which they convert into useful products. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement,” Siror added.
With an increasing workload from Kenya Power, Makatetu is optimistic about the company’s future.
“This year, we might make better profit because there is additional engagement with used copper, aluminum and transformers, they are also giving us more work on transmission parts. We are hoping in the course of time we shall have more collaboration with them and also other players who will come on board,” he said.
Could the Nyayo Pioneer, Kenya’s first homegrown vehicle, ever return to the roads?
“Maybe not immediately, may be medium term plans to long term because we have to develop it differently. Things have now changed you know it has been 30 years. 30 years ago there was no push to electric vehicles and hybrid but now we have to think towards those lines,” Makatetu remarked.
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