History

On completion of secondary education in 1956, Himat D Shah, managing director of Shah industries, first ran a maize and rice milling business with his father. They did not like to throw away by-products. Bran from the mill was given to dairy farmers who in turn sold milk to Express Dairies, Bakery and Minerals, a company owned by the same family. Himat also studied pig rearing and poultry keeping with the aim of developing an animal feeds industry serving the Kilimanjaro region.

In 1967, the Shah family's businesses suffered greatly under the nationwide takeover of private enterprises by the state. Their newly-equiped milk pasteurization plant was made useless, and a block of eight flats built to accommodate the families of the company's workers were nationalized. The family's animal feed business was also taken over by the National Milling Corporation.

Himat remained loyal to his country and developed a leathercraft industry highly efficient in its use of  locally obtainable raw materials.

In 1982 Shah Industries had 302 workers on its payroll, 55 of them with disabilities.  Business has not been so good recently because of heavy government taxes:  Shah still employs 26, of whom 15 are disabled.
His contributions to the local community were recognised in 1995 by the award of the Order of the Arusha Declaration First Class, presented in person by President Mwinyi.