Zinox El Zenouki Invests EGP 350 Million in a New Stainless Steel Tableware Factory
Zinox El Zenouki, the stainless steel arm of the Zenouki Group, is launching a dedicated tableware factory with an investment of EGP 350 million. The facility will produce stainless steel cutlery — spoons, forks, knives, and serving sets — at an annual capacity of 5 million pieces, with production expected to begin in the first half of 2026.
A Factory Built for Domestic Demand First, Export Second
The new factory occupies 10,000 square meters and is designed in three expansion phases — each activated by market demand, not by a fixed schedule. The first phase targets the Egyptian domestic market, where tableware remains heavily import-dependent. Phases two and three will be triggered as export volumes grow, with the company aiming to raise its export share to 25% of total production within five years.
Zinox El Zenouki already exports to 10 countries. The new facility is a step toward building the scale needed to compete meaningfully in the US and European markets — the company's primary international targets.
| Factory at a Glance | |
| Investment | EGP 350,000,000 |
| Floor area | 10,000 square meters |
| Annual capacity | 5,000,000 pieces |
| Products | Spoons, forks, knives, serving sets |
| Phase 1 launch | H1 2026 |
| Export target (5 years) | 25% of total production |
Three Phases, One Clear Strategy
The factory's physical layout accommodates all three phases without relocation. What changes between phases is output volume and market mix — not infrastructure. Mahmoud El Zenouki described the logic directly:
"The expansion phases will be executed over five years, driven by growth rates in both the domestic and export markets."
— Mahmoud El Zenouki, CEO, Zinox El Zenouki
Phase 1: Serve the Egyptian domestic market. Replace imports with a locally manufactured, competitively priced alternative.
Phase 2: Scale production as export orders grow. Primary targets: United States and European Union.
Phase 3: Reach full annual capacity of 5 million pieces, driven by a 25% export share.
Performance in 2024 and What It Signals
In 2024, Zinox El Zenouki's existing factories produced approximately 780,000 stainless steel cookware pieces. The group's MASTER brand added around 720,000 pieces. Both brands recorded growth of 28–30% in production and sales — a result the company attributes to improved operational efficiency and wider distribution, despite inflation softening consumer purchasing power across the broader home goods category.
The contrast between the two brands provides relevant context for the new factory. MASTER's local content exceeds 90% — aluminum and accessories are locally sourced — which insulates it from foreign exchange pressure. Zinox stainless products, by contrast, rely on 100% imported stainless coil (no regional production exists in the Middle East), making raw material cost a key variable in the investment case for the new tableware facility.
- MASTER El Zenouki: >90% local content, FX-insulated, strong domestic growth
- Zinox El Zenouki: stainless coil 100% imported, FX exposure managed by absorbing into margins rather than raising prices
Technology That Makes the Numbers Real
The investment figure alone doesn't explain the factory's competitive positioning — two specific technology decisions do:
- First: laser cutting machines have reduced material waste from 24% to 18%, a 6-percentage-point reduction that directly lowers per-unit cost on every piece produced.
- Second: the company has adopted the latest version of the Odoo ERP platform, centralizing operations, governance, and compliance documentation across all facilities.
Together, these choices signal a factory built not just for volume, but for the operational discipline that international buyers — especially in the US and European markets — require from a supplier at scale.