Manufacture Zaïroise du Disque: pressing plant in Limite, Kinshasa (Congo/Zaïre).
Originally founded as Macodis (Manufacture Congolaise du Disque) by Eugène Willy Pelgrims de Bigard (head of Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngwendu Wa Zabanga, the company was nationalized around that period. At the time the plant, the only one in Congo, produced around 1 million records yearly.
In 1974 ownership was transferred to popular singer and close Mobutu associate Franco, who soon experienced severe difficulties in running the company and had to re-engage Pelgrims de Bigard in a 60-40% ownership deal. Mazadis maintained the monopoly of phonographic production but due to rapid inflation and a general economic malaise it was not able to re-equip . It used obsolete techniques, it was not equipped with photoengraving equipment or materials to produce good stereo discs. The factory, no longer operating at full capacity was experiencing stocks of raw materials to the point where the producers-publishers paid the price. If they could not supply the product for the engraving or pay the money for the purchase, they put old disks destined to be pressed for the pressing of new phonogram. Far from trying to solve any of the underlying issues, Franco actually used the under-capacity to his own benefit, ensuring that the pressing of his own recordings were prioritized over those of his competitors. In the meantime, cassette tapes steadily came to dominate the Congolese market. Eventually, in 1986 the factory closed and Franco moved to Europe.
