See How To Start Block Industry In Nigeria Below….

1. Acquire A Land – A 60 x 120 plot of land preferably in a new and developing site is very good, that will be able to accommodate your blocks and other materials. If you can get something bigger, that will be better but a plot is just very OK. You can either buy or rent one, but buying is better!

Make sure the land is not a swampy area because, that will be affecting your block’s dryness as the humidity wouldn’t allow the block dry properly. Besides, vehicle may be sinking in a swampy land thereby making your work more difficult. A dry land is my type of recommended property for setting up a Block Industry.

2. Buy Diesel Lister – That will be used to power your block molding machine. There are single and double cylinders, go for the single cylinder because the single one consume laser diesel and can power all your equipment effectively. You can use it to power your molding machine, your pumping machine and your generating set.

Make sure you get the original, if you don’t know how to identify the original, take someone that knows the original along with you while going. Original ones work better, consume less,diesel, make lesser noise, and last longer.

3. Sink A Borehole – You need plenty of water in a Block Industry; apart from the water for mixing the sand and cements, you will need water to water the molded block too. Blocks need to be watered a day after it were been molded to increase it’s hardness.

Buying water will not be cost effective in doing all these, so the best choice that I recommend is to dig your own well or borehole. But if you can’t, then make do with buying water for the main-time.

4. Get A Block Molder – The molder is different from the Diesel Lister, the molder is the actual machine where the block is molded from; they call it Vibrating Machine, that is the machine that make those noises you hear from block industry.

It is constructed locally by local welders who specialized in doing that. I have once accompanied my boss to buy the block molder in Ibadan during those days when I used to work in a block industry. I am not sure of what the price is now but I think together with the Lister wouldn’t cost more that N250,000. Don’t take my words for it, please, ask the price from block industry owners who are really up to date in the game to avoid being short changed.

5. Construct the Wooden Block Carriers – That is the name I gave it, the wooden flat object used to carry the block from the molder to the drying point. It is constructed by The Carpenters, usually one thousand or more in number.

Without it, nothing can be done, you need a very durable wood for it . They are very important, you can’t mold the block on ordinary ground, it need to be seated on something and that is where the wooden block carrier comes in handy.

6. Employ Workers – Five workers are needed for one machine, One operator (the person who will be handling the machine) two mixers who would be responsible to mix all the cements and sands that goes into the molders, two boys who would be carrying the block (as it is being molded) from the molder to the drying point. You may need additional hands such as the cashier and supervisor or you can handle that sensitive part.

Then, a Driver and two Loaders. This will depend on whether you own your own loading truck or it is rented. If you own your truck, the driver and the two loaders will be your direct employees. But if you rent truck for your supply, in that case, you wont need to hire the driver and the loaders as they comes with the truck hire.

7. Set Up A Small Shed – A roofed shed where you will have the Lister and Molding machine set up and operated from. To avoid the machine being beaten by rain, you will need a roof over it. There will be no wall, just four strong beam and roof, that is all that is required.

8. Get A Good Supply of Cement – Cement is your number one raw material, you will need it in good quantity as it is not advisable to buy everyday. Your supply should be able to last for a week before going for another one. And not all types of cement are good for commercial block production, you need the type that drys quickly such as Elephant Cements.

Build a shop that you will be used as store house for your cement and possibly sell to others from there. Most of the cement block industry owners do sell cements, if you can afford enough supply you can sell too. Most times, you may get the cement suppliers who will supply you cement for credit and collect the money later if you are a reliable person.

9. Sand Supply – You need that too on a stand by! Three types of sand are needed: The sharp sand, the stone dust which is residues from granite, and ordinary mud sand. Three of them are mixed together with cement to come up with the commercial block that is sold out there.

10. Diesel Supply – You will need about 25 to 30 liters of diesel to fire  up your Lister machine almost everyday depending on how long your machine work and what it is used to power. In which ever case, you would need a good and stand by supply of diesel as part of your raw materials.