SA Mag Issue 27 by TNT Multimedia Limited

PEOPLE CULTURE TRAVEL PROPERTY BUSINESS WINE SPORT ENTERTAINMENT

ISSUE 27 R40.00

Masana Petroleum Solutions is the first black-owned and managed energy company of its kind Staying ahead of the pack

Lapack has been a ‘leader of the pack’ for over 30 years

The tea maker

Inside Tanganda Tea Company, Zimbabwe’s biggest tea grower and producer

Shoal me the money

uShaka Marine World has become a fixture of Durban’s Golden Mile

The Cradle of Humankind South Africa Magazine learns more about the origins of the human race

THE WORLD BELONGS TO THOSE WHO DARE Every healthy society needs some people who think out of the box - people who bring fresh ideas; people who generate added value, make the world a better place for us all and dare to persevere when not everyone can see the point. Masana Petroleum Solutions has plenty of those. It was the first black-economic empowerment (BEE) company to be formed from a significant sale by a global petrochemical company (BP) and enables previously disadvantaged South Africans, particularly in rural areas, to benefit from the wealth of the local petroleum industry. Masana has had its problems and for a while was mocked, used as an example of why, in the view of some, the approach doesn’t work. But it has really gotten its affairs in order and times have been so good that it has even managed to pay off all its long-term debt obligations. The whole business has been given a new lease of life and shows that you can run a successful enterprise and empower at the same time. Read more about it on page 34. What makes Masana stand out is perseverance and perseverance is a common theme this month, from Lapack (page 86) to Namibia Quality Beverages (page 80). There are several positive examples of how to grow a business even in challenging economic environment. We look at how many local businesses are diversifying or developing strategies to tap into Africa’s growth. Away from business, we delve into the world of science and have a fascinating chat with Lindsay Marshall, curator and human resources manager of the Cradle of Humankind. Enjoy the magazine!

Ian Armitage Editor

eDItorIAL

editor – Ian Armitage sub editor – Marie Toms editorial Assistant – Clare Durrant writer – Susan Miller

BUsIness

Advertising sales Manager – Andy Williams researchers – Elle Watson Sandra Parr Thomas Aras Stuart Platt Tom Lloyd sales administrator – Daniel George

ACCoUnts

Financial Administrator – Suzanne Welsh

ProDUCtIon & DesIGn

Magazine design – Optic Juice Production manager - Jon Cooke Images: Getty, Thinkstock news: NZPA, AAP, SAPA

DIGItAL & It

head of digital marketing & development – Syed Ahmad

tnt PUBLIshInG

Ceo - kevin Ellis Chairman - ken Hurst Commercial - David Alstin Publisher - TNT Multimedia Ltd TNT Multimedia Limited, Unit 209, 16 Brune Place, London E1 7NJ tntmagazine.com

enQUIrIes

Telephone: +44 (0) 1603 343902 Fax: +44 (0) 1603 283602 andy.williams@tntmultimedia.com

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Call: +44 (0) 1603 343902 andy.williams@tntmultimedia.com

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34 40

86 58 18

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94 122

Contents 06 14

news All the latest news from South Africa Interview Dr Rolf Becker South Africa Magazine talks to Dr Rolf Becker, Executive Director of SACNASP

history The cradle of Humankind Susan Miller learns more about the origins of the human race

22 cover

30 34

FOCUS TRAVEL uShaka Marine World In just a few years uShaka Marine World has become a fixture of Durban’s Golden Mile International Airport Lanseria Lanseria is an airport on the up and up – thanks to a multibillion rand facelift

58 66

FOCUS ENERGY Masana Petroleum Solutions The first black-owned and managed energy company of its kind in South Africa FOCUS TELECOMS NetOne As NetOne continues to rollout broadband services across Zimbabwe, South Africa Magazine talks to managing director Reward Kangai FOCUS RETAIL John Craig John Craig is a specialist in men’s clothing and footwear. It has over 60 shops throughout South Africa and it caters for a mainstream market

Cash & Carry Devland Embarking on an exciting new expansion having acquired several Metcash stores FOCUS MANUFACTURING Mahindra South Africa CEO Ashok Thakur’s take on the company’s competitive advantage, its new bakkie and plans for the group to grow across the continent

72 76 80 86 94 98 104 108 112

118

122 128 132 138

National Cables General Cables has ambitious plans to tap into Africa’s growth BASF Polyurethanes SA BASF strengthens Polyurethanes businesses in SA and sub-Saharan Africa Namibia Quality Beverages Charl Coetzee, CEO of NQB, believes in promoting local products Lapack Manufacturing plastic packaging for the personal care industry for over 30 years DFM The widest range of egg packing in South Africa Izaka Plastics A specialist in the manufacture and distribution of refuse bags Rotolabel A product’s label is one of the most important but often least-valued elements Fima South Africa’s leading flexible packaging producer FOCUS SUPPLY CHAIN Rollex A specialist, seamlessly integrated, international logistics provider with its core expertise in the air and road freight of perishable produce FOCUS FOOD & AGRI Ovenstone Agencies Business success requires a combination of knowing what you are doing and capitalising on a good opportunity Tanganda Tea Company Zimbabwe’s biggest tea grower and producer Ocean Basket South Africa’s most popular seafood restaurant chain Border Timbers Zimbabwe’s leading timber producer Zambeef Zambeef continues to expand its reach, taking full advantage of the growth in Zambia’s economy www.southafricamag.com

All the latest news from South Africa Business

Toyota begins

assembling

Vodacom

popular minibus chief resigns,

taxi in Durban replacement

named

Toyota SA has begun assembling the popular Ses’fikile minibus taxi following a R70 million investment in its Prospecton plant. CEO Dr Johan van Zyl said that the operation was set up in half the usual time and followed an adjustment to the Department of Trade & Industry’s incentive programme for the motor industry aimed specifically at local production of minibus taxis. Toyota will have the ability to deliver up to 15,000 Ses’fikile units to the Southern African market each year after the first phase. Initial production volumes were estimated at 10,000 units. Dr van Zyl said a total of 300 new jobs would be created – 90 at Toyota South Africa and 210 at its suppliers. 6

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Telecoms giant Vodacom, which is the biggest provider of mobile-phone services in South Africa, has announced that CEO Pieter Uys had resigned after four years. He will be succeeded by Shameel Joosub, the current CEO of Vodafone Spain. Joosub will become co-CEO in September, with Uys leaving Vodacom in March 2013, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement published on the Stock Exchange News Service. Mr Uys has worked at Vodacom since the company started in 1993 and became CEO in October 2008. Mr Joosub was managing director of Vodacom’s South African unit at that time and was named as CEO of Vodafone’s Spanish unit in December 2010.

Money

Economic

outlook

‘deteriorating’ says Reserve Bank

The South Africa Reserve Bank has released its annual report and it makes pretty grim reading. It warns that South Africa’s economic outlook has “deteriorated” and inflation will probably remain within the bank’s target range through 2014 as the debt crisis in Europe persists. The inflation rate probably peaked in the first quarter Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus said in the central bank’s annual report adding that, “The domestic growth outlook has also deteriorated mainly due to the global uncertainties.” Marcus said inflation would “remain within the target range on a sustained basis over the forecast period.” Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has warned that the outlook for Africa’s biggest economy is worsening, with manufacturing and consumer spending data slowing more than forecast. The debt crisis in Europe is eroding export demand from a region that buys about a third of South Africa’s manufactured goods.

London Olympics

Semenya to carry SA flag in London Former 800m world champion Caster Semenya will be team South Africa’s flag bearer at the Olympics in London. “Caster is an absolute role model for all sportsmen and women in South Africa,” said Gideon Sam, the president of the local Olympic Committee in a statement. “She’s proved herself to be an absolute inspiration in the face of adversity and we are sure that this inspiration will rub off on each and every member of the Olympic squad.” We’re all hoping the 21-year-old can bring back the gold!

Pistorius to run in London Oscar Pistorius will become the first amputee to compete in track and field at this summer’s London Olympics, running in the individual 400 and the 4x400 relay after being selected for South Africa’s team for the upcoming Games. The 25-year-old, nicknamed “The Blade Runner” for his carbon fibre, artificial legs, won a silver medal at the African Championships in Benin, where he clocked 45.52 seconds in the 400 meters. His time was just outside the official Olympic “A” qualification standard of 45.30 seconds. However, Pistorius met the Olympic qualifying standard in March and South African Olympic officials decided to waive their requirement of meeting the qualifying mark twice in international competition. “Today is truly one of the proudest days of my life,” Pistorius said.

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Business

Massmart sales top R61m Discount retailer Massmart has reported a 16 percent rise in full-year sales. The firm said in a trading statement that sales totalled R61.2 billion in the 52-weeks to June 24. The good performance was down to the inclusion recently acquired stores –

May motor

trade sales up 16,7% Motor trade sales rose by 16.7 percent year on year in May, figures from Statistics SA show. The highest annual growth rate was recorded for new vehicle sales (27.7 percent), followed by sales of accessories (15.0 percent), fuel sales (13.9 percent) and workshop income (13.7 percent) In May 2012, seasonally adjusted motor trade sales increased by 3.2 percent month on month, following month on month changes of 2.6 percent in April and -1.2 percent in March.

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Massmart finalised the purchase of 14 Rhino Cash & Carry outlets in March to help it challenge dominant food retailers such as Shoprite Holdings and Pick n Pay. Massmart, which is majority owned by US retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc, will release its full year-end result on August 22.

Eskom set to raise prices Eskom plans to increase electricity tariffs by between 14.6 percent and 19 percent annually over the next five years according to reports. The proposal would help fund the utility’s R340 billion power station build programme. Eskom said it had yet to finalise the application that it would submit to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for tariff increases for the period from April 1. It said it would do so in the next few weeks after it had received input from local government and the Treasury. “This is a document for consultation, it is not a final application,” said Eskom spokeswoman Hilary Joffe. “These are really not final figures; we have to respect the consultation processes and consider the feedback.” Opponents say the move would erode the competitiveness of the manufacturing and mining sectors, stunt job creation and add to inflationary pressures. In 2010 Eskom was granted an annual average 25 percent increase in tariffs over three years, however the tariff hike for this year was reduced to 16 percent after the government intervened. Eskom generates about 95 percent of South Africa’s power.

Money

Reserve

Sport

Igesund named

new South interest Africa coach Bank cuts

rates

The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) has unexpectedly decided to drop the interest rate at which banks lend and borrow among each other and the Bank by 0.5 percent to a record low five percent. Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus delivered the statement in Pretoria following the committee’s fourth three-day meeting of the year. The decision went against the expectations of most leading economists, most of which failed to predict a rate cut.

Gordon Igesund has been named new coach of Bafana Bafana, six months before South Africa hosts the 2013 African Nations Cup finals. 55-year-old Igesund, the 17th coach in 20 years for South Africa, replaces Pitso Mosimane who was sacked this month after a poor start to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. He has been offered a two-year contract.

Lifestyle

Winnie praises Malema Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has praised expelled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema for his effort to bring about economic freedom. The Sowetan newspaper reported that the former wife of Nelson Mandela told Malema in Nqgeleni in the Eastern Cape that his efforts to economically liberate the country had been noticed. She was accompanied by Malema,

suspended ANCYL spokesman Floyd Shivambu, the league’s suspended secretary general Sandiso Magaqa, as well as her daughter Zinzdi. They were at the official opening of a block of rooms at the Mzontsha Child Care Centre as part of celebrations for former president Nelson Mandela’s birthday. The home was donated by the Mandela family. Madikizela-Mandela referred to Malema as her grandson. www.southafricamag.com

Sport

PSL facing

ref crisis

Just when you think things can’t get any worse for South African soccer something new happens. That “something new” happened when all but one of South Africa’s top referees failed their pre-season fitness tests, plunging the new Premier Soccer League season into a crisis before a ball has even been kicked. A total of 14 of the 25 referees who underwent the test failed and, by rights, are now ineligible to blow the whistle in PSL or the National First Division matches for the next six months. Respected and experienced referees like Jerome Damon, Lwandile Mfiki, Victor Hlungwani, Buyile Gqubule and Charl Theron all failed. “It was carnage on the track,” one official said. Authorities can bend the rules and allow the tests to be taken again, so as to get more experienced referees onto the panel before the start of the new season, but that is likely to ruffle a few feathers with a row erupting between the PSL and Safa. It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out. 10

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Lifestyle

Happy Birthday

Madiba South Africa has celebratied the 94th birthday of Nelson Mandela. The celebrations started in style with nearly 12 million school children singing ‘happy birthday’ to the country’s most famous statesman and former President. Across the country, people marked the occasion by doing good deeds - pledging some time in recognition of his 67 years of service. The ‘Mandela Day Pledge’ received international backing and support from the likes of Desmond Tutu, One Direction, Eddie Izzard, Jamie Oliver and Lewis Hamilton, with hundreds more stars set to join them, along with their millions of fans. Achmat Dangor, the Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, said: “Each one of us can do something to make this world a better place.” “We celebrate Nelson Mandela’s legacy best and we honour him best by taking action and becoming part of this global movement of good.” Eddie Izzard, comedian and Nelson Mandela supporter signed his pledge: “Nelson Mandela is my greatest inspiration and on July 18th, his 94th birthday, is still a shining example to the world of what is possible. That is why I am joining millions building his legacy Nelson Mandela’s global movement for good at www.MandelaDayPledge. I urge you to do likewise.”

Business

Record rail volumes

lift Transnet State-owned freight and logistics firm Transnet has reported record rail volumes of more than 200m tons for financial year to the end of March. It also reported an increase of 20 percent in revenue to R45.9 billion. “For the first time we have broken the 200m-ton volume ceiling, which has eluded us for years,” CEO Brian Molefe said. “This is the biggest jump in volumes in the past five years.” Net income fell 1.5 percent

to R4.1 billion in the year as a result of higher operating, material and energy costs,

along with an increase in staff numbers. Transnet spent R22.3 billion under its capital expenditure programmes, which is the most the logistics monopoly had invested in a single year, Molefe said. Cash generated from operations rose 24.3 percent to R22.7 billion. Transnet is currently investing R300 billion, spread over the next seven years, in infrastructure and capacity upgrades.

Lifestyle

Mpumalanga train crashes into farm truck killing 19 At least 19 people were killed and 24 others injured when a truck collided with a train at a level crossing in Malelane, Mpumalanga. According to the News24 website, the truck had been carrying farm workers on the N4 when it collided with the train at the Tulluh level crossing. Thulani Sibuyi, head of eastern Mpumalanga province’s community safety

department, told the AFP news agency that at least 30 people had been killed. “It would appear as if the truck driver may have crossed the railway line without having a proper look-out and as a result the train hit him and then pulled him for a kilometre to two kilometres,” Sibuyi said. “The bodies are lying all over the scene, people torn apart.” www.southafricamag.com 11

Lifestyle

Business

Realise Mandela’s iGoogle

dream: Zuma shake-up gets axed in

Former president Nelson Mandela’s dream of an economically free South Africa still needs to be realised, President Jacob Zuma says. “From the 1940s until the dawn of freedom, he inspired millions of our people to fight relentlessly to bring about freedom, democracy, peace and stability,” he wrote in an open letter to Mandela ahead of his 94th birthday. “We are proud to have achieved democracy, peace and security, but

we are still confronted by the persistent challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.” Zuma said South Africa had “done very well” in transforming the country, but had not achieved the “dream” of economic freedom Mandela described in his first state of the nation address in 1994. The African National Congress’s policy conference had pointed out a path to achieving Mandela’s dream, Zuma said.

South Africans flocking to buy Fifty Shades

Thousands of South Africans - mostly women - have been flocking to bookshops around the country to buy copies of the Fifty Shades trilogy of erotic novels. Since its launch, Fifty Shades of Grey, the first in the trilogy, has sold 17603 copies locally. The second, Fifty Shades Darker, and third, Fifty Shades Freed, have together sold 13406 copies. In the week ending July 7, the trilogy had 11.5 percent of the market share of the top 1000 book titles sold locally. E L James’ erotic novels have become global bestsellers, shifting 31 million copies worldwide since March.

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Google says it is discontinuing its iGoogle page designed as a web “portal”, saying it had become less relevant in the age of the mobile internet. The portal, which allowed users to personalise their start page, will be cut in November 2013 and was among a handful of products axed by the California tech giant. “Technology creates tremendous opportunities to improve people’s lives. But to make the most of them, we need to focus - or we end up doing too much and not having the impact we strive for,” Google’s Matt Eichner said in a blog post. “So last fall we started a spring clean, and since then we’ve closed or combined more than 30 products. Today we’re announcing a few more closures.” Among other products being eliminated are the Google Mini search service for businesses, Google Talk Chatback and Google Video.

Travel

Lifestyle

Tourism SA man claims

boom:

SA visitor numbers rise

Overall tourist arrivals to South Africa grew by 10.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, it has emerged. Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk praised “strong growth” across all regions January, February and March saw a total of 2,267,807 tourist arrivals to South Africa, 216,031 more than in the corresponding period in last year. Mr van Schalkwyk added, “Emerging markets continued their robust, positive growth of 2011, while traditional markets recovered the lost ground of the period 200811 and bounced back to reach positive growth in the early part of the year.” Tourist arrivals from Europe grew by 11.9 percent or 394,716 tourists in the first three months of the year. The UK, which is South Africa’s biggest overseas source market, recovered from an overall decline last year to post positive returns of 9.5 percent — an impressive 133,729 tourists in the first three months of the year.

to have found

Madeleine

McCann’s ‘grave’

British detectives are examining an extraordinary claim made by a South African man that Madeleine McCann’s body is buried near the holiday apartment from where she vanished five years ago. Self-styled investigator Stephen Birch said he took radar scans in Praia da Luz, the Portuguese holiday resort where three-year-old Madeleine disappeared, according to a report on news.sky.com. He had given the scans to Scotland Yard detectives and Portuguese police, the report said. “I’ve had the scans analysed and they show digging, a void and what could be human bones,” he told Sky News. Birch is a commercial property developer in South Africa and is obsessed with the Madeleine McCann case. He claimed he spent R507,100 on the scanner and being trained to use it. “All I want to do is solve the mystery and bring closure to Madeleine’s family. I am convinced she lies where I have scanned,” he said.

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I N t ERV I EW:

DR ROLF BECkER South Africa Magazine talks to Dr rolf Becker, Executive Director of the South African Council of Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP). By Susan Miller

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Dr rolf Becker IntervIew

reen issues are paramount and the subject of heated debates. However to my arts-orientated brain, they are also hard to grasp, so chatting to Dr Rolf Becker, Executive Director of the South African Council of Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) since April 2011, was a bonus. What would a layperson understand about natural scientific professions? Scientists working in what we would call the natural sciences: physics, chemistry, biology, geology – anything that has got to do with nature.

country in bringing more scientists onboard and making sciences more accessible.

Does their work affect ordinary people? Virtually the whole of the modern economy is connected to science.

How do you think science is currently seen? Political and social issues make the headlines more readily than science does.

On your website you say a ‘new-look’ organisation was unveiled in March? We reinvented ourselves to focus on the needs of South Africa.

How important is scientific thought for a country? Essential. If you look at successful economies and societies they are all based on very strong science.

How will that happen? We will work to actively protect the public from rogue practioners and fly-by-night environmental groups. We also have to look at how we register people that come from outside the mainstream and how we can assist the

You’re a legislative regulatory body. Has that always been the case? In 2003 it became legislated that anybody working in the natural sciences must register and it’s on that basis that SACNASP functions now.

We will work to actively protect the public from rogue practioners and fly-by-night environmental groups

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What can the Council do if people aren’t registered and are still operating? It’s a criminal offence. Have you carried out criminal proceedings? Yes, there is a court case in the Gauteng High Court. We are extremely short-staffed so we rely heavily on the scientific communities regulating themselves. What numbers of membership do you have? We have just over 5000 registered natural scientists. We grew by about 18 percent since April last year. About 40 percent of the registered scientists are geologists because they have been promoting membership of SACNASP. So the membership leapt by 18 percent since you joined? It’s my good looks (laughs). No, it really started with the new Council that was appointed about three years ago. So legally you shouldn’t be practising as a natural scientist in South Africa if you don’t belong to SACNASP That’s right. It’s like the medics or the pharmacists. They all belong to something. What damage can people do if they are not regulated? Let’s say a geologist assesses an ore body and maliciously inflates the minerals that might be in that body. The company lists on the stock exchange, people invest money and you’ve got a fraudulent scheme. One can carry on ... nuclear physics – if people are not doing their jobs properly you could have major disasters. Would the body take sides on an issue like fracking? We promote open debate. We would have registered scientists who would argue on both sides of many debates and arrange forums for that. 16

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Are you funded by Government? We are totally funded by the annual funds of our registered members. So you are totally independent of any political links? Absolutely, we are able to judge matters on scientific merit and nothing else. What is your relationship with Government? I think we have got a very, very good working relationship with the State. So what Ministries would you work most closely with? Our mother Ministry is the Department of Science and Technology – we also have natural scientists in the fields of agriculture and mining and minerals because of our geologists – so we’re spread across a vast number of ministries.

Dr rolf Becker IntervIew

Our mother Ministry is the Department of Science and Technology – we also have natural scientists in the fields of agriculture and mining and minerals because of our geologists – so we’re spread across a vast number of ministries

And academically is there a strong relationship with the research universities? Yes, we interact at two levels. We interact with the Council on Higher Education which accredits all the university degrees in South Africa and have negotiated that the CHE will not approve new degrees or any major changes to existing degrees unless there is first an interaction between the tertiary institution and the Council. From time to time we interact and engage with the universities. By law we have the right to intervene right up to syllabus level but we prefer to keep their academic freedom and at the same time advise. What is your background? I was a Professor of bio-chemistry for some 15, 16 years and then I ‘sold out’ and

went into management – the first school of Molecular and Life Sciences at the University of Limpopo for some six, seven years and I retired in 2008. I realised I retired too early and I felt I still had a lot to give back. What are your hopes for the organisation? That the SACNASP over the next 10 years is going to grow and the experts that form part of our various sciences will make more meaningful contributions. How far do we have to go to demystify science? There are several agencies in SA working on that – in conjunction with the Department of Science and Technology. They have science weeks and science centres and we are looking at making a contribution there. enD www.southafricamag.com 17

Inside the Cradle of ins of

orig arns more about the le e in az ag M a ic fr A South the human race. By Susan Miller

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Inside the Cradle of humankind hIstory

ove over Prometheus - just an hour’s drive away from Johannesburg or Pretoria is The Cradle of Humankind, which includes Maropeng, the visitors centre and the Sterkfontein Caves, famous home to ‘Mrs Ples’, the skull of an Australipethecus africanus that is more than two million years old. Maropeng means ‘returning to the place of origin’ in Setswana and visitors get to return to the birthplace of humanity where our ancestors have lived for more than three million years. We chatted to Lindsay Marshall, curator and human resources manager of the Cradle of Humankind from 2007. How do you define your job? Maropeng is unique. It’s not an academic

institution but a visitor’s centre that provides the public with access to scientific information that is both fun and informative. My role is not academic in nature but rather a liaison and marketing role. I work closely with Wits University and other academic institutions to put on temporary fossil displays at Maropeng. I oversee the main exhibition at both Maropeng and Sterkfontein Caves. I also do a lot of marketing that involves scientific content. Having both a scientific and business background I can act as a conduit between the two. By building relationships with academia I can ensure that we provide exciting offerings to our customers at Maropeng and a platform for young South African and international scientists to showcase their work

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Do you still do both jobs? Yes. My career background was HR and my academic background Archaeology. In a way they complement each other. And through my work with our amazing staff I am able to teach them about the incredible place they work and why it is so important. Part of staff induction is to go on a tour through the Maropeng exhibition and the Sterkfontein caves.

studies and HR experience (PHEW!) Do you use the degrees and would you recommend youngsters still study those subjects? My background has proved critical in working with the academic community. They need to know that the science is understood and can be disseminated to others. Part of my personal mandate is to make sure that more youngsters study these subjects. We sit on a wealth of ancient history yet the number of people coming into the field is abysmal. My wish is that world-renowned scientists of the future got their inspiration from visiting Maropeng.

How have things changed since May 2007 to the present? There is more interest from the public in human evolution and our palaeo heritage so the search is on to provide new offerings. I have got more scientists involved in doing tours which the public appreciates.

Is the SA scientific community and the work being done recognised by peers worldwide? Very much so, our palaeoanthropologists are at the forefront. Of course Professor Phillip Tobias who passed away recently was a pioneer.

What does Maropeng offer South Africans? South Africa has a poor museum culture, people get easily put off by too much dry science but this is a wonderful day out and offers the opportunity to learn about key aspects of human evolution in a way that is fun and informative. What kind of visitor numbers do you get there? We average around 200,000 a year, a large proportion are school groups. As curator what do you see your contribution as being? Instilling in the public and staff a sense of wonder and pride in our heritage. You have a BA in archaeology and social anthropology, an honours degree in archaeology, a postgraduate diploma in heritage 20

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What are the best and worst aspects about marketing SAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paleontological and archaeological heritage? The best is that after 10 years I am doing what I love and getting the chance to give a platform to South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing scientists. The worst is not having enough time to do all that I want. I would love to see money coming in to fund youngsters in the field

Inside the Cradle of humankind hIstory

It is internationally recognised for its contribution to the scientific understanding of our human ancestry

What does being declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site mean? It is internationally recognised for its contribution to the scientific understanding of our human ancestry. This allows for a degree of protection of the site that local government has subscribed to. How supportive is the national and Gauteng government? It is a critical site for the country and the world both in terms of science and tourism. This is well understood by government. What next for you and for Maropeng? Hopefully an upgrade of the main exhibition, getting our tour guides well qualified

and putting on awesome displays. I hope to publish this year and speak at conferences on the positive impact Maropeng has played in sharing our incredible and rich heritage with the country and the world. You are a mom – how do you cope with such a big job and being a mom? It is a wonderful combination because both my “jobs” are absolute passions of mine. And my son loves that I talk about fossils at my job. I commute each day against traffic and the views a mere 45 minutes from our home are breathtaking. I consider myself very fortunate indeed. www.maropeng.co.za

enD

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Shoal me THE MONEY

South Africa Magazine talks life aquatic, fun, theme parks and how to increase footfalls and revenue with Shawn Thompson, the chief executive officer of ushaka Marine world. By Ian Armitage

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ushaka Marine world FoCUs TRAVEL

n just a few years uShaka Marine World has become a fixture of Durban’s Golden Mile, allowing visitors to not just view but also get among sea creatures. But there’s nothing fishy about this success story. “uShaka Marine World has certainly positioned itself as a key attraction,” says Shawn Thompson, the chief executive officer of uShaka Marine World, which opened in 2004. The park comprises four sections: uShaka Sea World, uShaka Wet ‘n Wild, uShaka Kids World, and uShaka Village Walk. These four components are adjacent to the uShaka beach, which is Durban’s number one rated swimming beach. It is hugely successful, attracting over 500,000 visitors during the festive season alone.

You might say Mr Thompson is having a whale of a time – revenues and visitor numbers are up and the future is looking bright. “I think there are a few factors behind it,” he says. “Certainly our marketing strategy has played a part. We’ve become a more focused in terms of the market segments we’ve targeted and we’ve worked on ways of penetrating those. We tailor our campaigns to ensure we get the results we want and have had some very good recent successes - there’s been a lot of time and effort put into segmenting the market into various demographics, by race, age, income and then targeting those. We use various media to get people to come to Ushaka Marine World. We also have a huge digital presence - our website is visited by 45,000 new visitors every month and our Facebook page has over 35,000 followers.” www.southafricamag.com 23

uShaka Marine World focus TRAVEL

The introduction of new attractions has helped too.In the last year uShaka Marine World has introduced the Splish Splash Sprinkler Island, the New Seal Show, Anaconda Photo Shop, Dragons, Popup Tank, New Mascot Show and Animal Encounters. “We’ve put in a significant investment with Ushaka Kids World and then just recently we introduced the Splish Splash Sprinkler Island for under 12 year olds - an interactive play area that’s proved very popular. Inside Kids World is the Duzi River Lounge. Adding this coffee shop means that when mums and dads want a little bit of time out they can actually sit within Kids World

and have a coffee or watch a bit of sport and let the kids run amuck outside! So I think that whole component has taken off very well.” The Dangerous Creatures exhibit inside Village Walk has proved tremendously popular too. “Oh it has, very much so. And we keep adding new things to it. Just two months ago we brought in two Komodo dragons from Indonesia. They have been put in an enclosure directly outside the entrance so it really stops people in their tracks and that’s been quite exciting. “We experiment all the time with temporary exhibits and we’re always looking at creating more fun. Over the

Much loved seafood brand to sponsor popular Snorkel Lagoon and Ocean Walk I&J is a long standing supporter of marine education initiatives and so it comes as no surprise that it has entered into a sponsorship agreement with uShaka Marine World, one of the key tourist attractions in Durban and a strong supporter of marine education and conservation programs. I&J will be sponsoring the Snorkel Lagoon as well as the Ocean Walk attractions. The soon to be re-named I&J Snorkel Lagoon and Ocean Walk offers visitors to uShaka Marine World an opportunity to experience the awe and wonder of the marine environment up close. And, by seeing and experiencing the colour and splendor of a coral reef, visitors are likely to leave uShaka Marine World with a new understanding of the marine environment, and the need to manage and conserve it into the future. Having fished successfully in South African waters for more than a century, I&J is equally aware of the responsibility it has to manage fish stocks carefully and harvest them with a long term vision and commitment. That is why “respect, care and concern for the environment” is one of the core values of the I&J brand. To find out more about I&J’s commitment to sustainable fishing, please visit www.ij.co.za.

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I&J SIGNS LANDMARK AGREEMENT WITH WWF-SASSI I&J, a leading South African fishing company, has further demonstrated its commitment to the environment by signing a landmark participation agreement with the WWF-SA Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (WWF-SASSI). This enhances I&J’s long history of responsible fishing where it has provided clear leadership through, amongst others, its commitment to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), its active role in the Responsible Fisheries Alliance (RFA) and its continued support of the Responsible Fisheries Training Programme. I&J’s participation agreement represents a formal commitment to sustainable seafood by the company to work with WWF-SASSI towards the goal of ensuring that, by December 2015, I&J will only sell seafood products that are: • Certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for wild capture species (the world’s leading eco-label for wild caught seafood) or; • Certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) for species originating from aquaculture operations (the newly launched eco-label for responsible aquaculture production) or; • Green-listed by WWF-SASSI; or • The subject of a time-bound fishery improvement project or by catch management plan as approved by WWF-SA. In making this public announcement, I&J becomes the first fishing company in South Africa to make such a strong commitment to sustainable seafood. In what WWF-SA believes to be an industry leading initiative, the scope of the commitment extends beyond the seafood species that I&J procure to incorporate all of the species from their fishing operations as well. As an active participant in the WWF-SASSI Retailer/Supplier Participation Scheme, the company will actively engage with its own fishing operations and suppliers to make this vision a reality. “These sustainability goals are a clear statement of intent by I&J to drive positive change by formalising the company’s commitment to sustainable fishing practices and meeting hard and fast targets,“ says Ronald Fasol, Chief Executive Officer of I&J, who, together with WWF-SA CEO Dr Morné du Plessis, signed the agreement.

Proud to be associated with uShaka

Du Plessis says, “This is a leading and positive step in achieving sustainability in the seafood industry. WWF believes that corporate engagement is key to transforming markets and for adopting and promoting sector-wide shifts to sustainable development and corporate best practice. The transformational nature of this partnership is highlighted by the commitments to sustainable seafood that I&J have made. We congratulate I&J for leading the way in setting these tangible conservation goals for the fishing sector.” I&J is a major stakeholder in the South African fishing industry. The company is the largest right-holder in the commercially important hake fisheries and trades in both whole fish and value added seafood products. I&J played an integral part in the MSC certification of the South African hake trawl industry. Furthermore, since 2004, I&J have held an MSC Chain-of-Custody certification resulting in the MSC ‘eco label’ appearing on I&J’s South African trawl hake products. This gives consumers an on-product assurance that these products comply with the MSC’s principles for sustainable seafood production. “I&J have an important contribution to make towards the sustainable management of fisheries, not only in South Africa, but in every country where we do business,” said Fasol. While the WWF-SASSI agreement captures I&J’s commitment to sustainable fishing and the trade in sustainable seafood products, the company also has an internal Sustainable Seafood Policy (SSP) that guides its staff in the procurement and sale of seafood products. The SSP was developed in consultation with WWF-SASSI and is available for scrutiny at www.ij.co.za It sets out clear guidelines with respect to product quality, safety, traceability, labelling and the education and training of I&J staff. The WWF-SASSI Participation Scheme is an initiative that engages key role players in the seafood supply chain with the aim of transforming the landscape of the seafood industry in South Africa. The Scheme has been running since 2008 and currently engages with a number of South African retailers and suppliers.

Tel: 0800 210 279 I&J Consumer Services Email: talk2us@ij.co.za Private Bag X1 Web: www.ij.co.za Lyndhurst 2106

ushaka Marine world FoCUs TRAVEL

Rare-Pix Our passion for fun drives our photography, and isn’t that what it’s all about? We have one of the most creative studios in Kwa-Zulu Natal region, being based within uShaka Marine World. Being part of an underwater world and being able to incorporate it into our photography is an incredible blessing. The people that we shoot and whom choose to do their portfolio with us get to share in this experience and we photograph many animals including dolphins, sharks, seals and penguins.

holiday period we had The House of Fear, a spinoff on Halloween and our teenage and young adult market absolutely loved it.” Fortunately for Durban’s residents and visitors alike there’s more to come. Thompson says it is uShaka Marine World’s business to lead the way when it comes to thrills. “We have to keep surprising our guests to keep them coming back for more. We pride ourselves on going all out to add new elements to our offering, to create new attractions and re-invest in the park. So in addition to adding fascinating attractions such as animal encounters, shark dives, the Ocean Walker and Meet a Dolphin, we created our Dangerous Creatures exhibit, which I’ve mentioned, and installed Africa’s largest jungle gym at uShaka Kids World. “And pretty soon we’ll be installing the scintillating body tornado water slide which will be the first of its kind in South Africa and an attraction that will put us on a par with the best in the world.” The Tornado slide will join uShaka’s Plunge Freefall Slide, Kamikaze ride and the Drop Zone Africa’s highest water slide. 26

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This makes the perfect backdrop to an awesome shoot. Let us show you to a magical place that allows us both as client and photographer to share in what others only dream of being part of. Our equipment ranges from underwater camera gear to professional lighting and studio facilities that allow you to express your look and feel and state of the art video and editing facilities allows us the opportunity to produce and create whatever your needs may be. Join us for the challenge and create your own commercial shoot, video, music video, portfolio or just your family shoot. Various packages allow us to be versatile and travel wherever you may need us.

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ushaka Marine world FoCUs TRAVEL

“This is at the heart of why uShaka Marine World is Durban’s major attraction, especially in the allimportant youth market.” He says the aim of uShaka Marine World is to deliver an unmatched, fun experience to all its visitors. The park has been rated “the Coolest, Fun Destination” in KZN over the past five years by The Sunday Times Generation Next Survey. “I think the park has now reached maturity in terms of phase 1,” Thompson says. “We’ve spent R50 million on upgrades over the last three years. Now, we have to look at a phase 2 and look at the next ten years. What’s exciting for me is the chance to look at a hard ride component - it could be a cable car, a giant Ferris wheel like the London Eye, an expansive zip line or a roller coaster. There are a couple of ideas I’ve been exploring over the last year

in terms of going into our upcoming strategy session and talking about the next phase in the park’s life cycle. “Theme parks work on what’s called a recapitalization model which means that periodically you have incremental investments and smaller things to keep it fresh and maintained and then every major phase you have a significant addition. Certainly in this next phase, the next ten-year cycle, we would look for a significant addition. “One significant addition that’s under consideration is a crocodile enclosure including interacting with crocodiles and diving with them. That could be a very, very exciting addition from the Sea World side of things. “The people of Durban have a lot to look forward to!” The success at uShaka Marine World shows no sign of clamming up and it really is one of South Africa’s best days out. enD

Vusa-Isizwe Security Services (Pty) Ltd Vusa-Isizwe Security Services (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Intuthuko Holdings (Pty) Ltd, has been in operation since 2002. Our company is 100% black owned and managed with its directors having a combined experience of over 35 years in the security industry. Currently operating in both Gauteng Province and Kwazulu-Natal, we employ over 1200 security personnel. We are a quality driven organization and are working towards achieving both ISO 9001-2000 quality standards in conjunction with an empowered rating and is a National Key Point service provider. The main benefit to our clients is a comprehensive and competitively priced service, delivered to you and ensured by our dedicated management team and also a personalized customer care program to accommodate all your security needs and requirements. Without losing focus on our service delivery, we strive to create job opportunities, therefore effectively contributing to our country’s economy.

To learn more visit www.ushakamarineworld. co.za.

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KwaZulu Natal 399 Mahatma Gandhi Road Durban, 4001 T: +27 031 3687414, F: +27 031 3685064 E: services@intuthukoholdings.co.za Gauteng Munpen Building 78 Howard Avenue Benoni 1501 T: +27 011 8452749, F: +27 011 8452750 E: viss@intuthukoholdings.co.za Current Services Provided by Vusa-Isizwe Security include, but are not limited to: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::: :::: : ::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::: : :::::::::::: : :::::::::: : :::: ::::::::::: : :::::::: ::::::::

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Flying h ig h ! Lanseria International Airport continues to expand. Next up, a new 45m wide and 3km long runway. By Ian Armitage

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Lanseria International Airport focus travel

verall tourist arrivals to South Africa grew by 10.5 percent in the first quarter of this year. Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk praised “strong growth” across all regions January, February and March saw a total of 2,267,807 tourist arrivals to South Africa, 216,031 more than in the corresponding period in last year. Emerging markets continued their robust, positive growth of 2011, while traditional markets recovered the lost ground of the period 2008-11 and bounced back to reach positive growth in the early part of the year. Tourist arrivals from Europe grew by 11.9 percent. It was fantastic news for airports like Lanseria International Airport, located near Johannesburg. But it wasn’t exactly new news - it has known for some time things have been going well, with passenger numbers increasing annually in the lead up to, and following, the 2010 World Cup. The billions of rand invested in its drastic facelift stand testiment to that. What’s clear is that Lanseria is an airport on the up and up – thanks to that facelift and the corresponding expansion.

Gavin Sayce, Lanseria’s manager, says the expansion underlines the significance of the airport in the South African domestic and regional air traffic arena.   “Lanseria is in close proximity to the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, to Pretoria and to the West Rand. The ease of use makes it the preferred airport for many.” Another benefit to using the airport, Sayce says, is the fact that infrastructure around it, particularly the roads, have been upgraded. It is an attractive option; a fantastic alternative to OR Tambo. “We are privately owned and have experienced significant growth over the past five years. “This year will see the implementation of a series of development projects,

including the construction of a new runway at a cost of R160 million to improve the airport’s capacity. “It is a 12-month project.” Sayce says the new runway will be 45m wide and 3km long runway. It will “enhance” airport operations and increase efficiencies. “It is all down to the increase in passengers. More people requires greater capacity and greater efficiency. We want them to enjoy the ultimate travel experience.” At one time Comair held exclusive rights to fly from Lanseria. Six years ago, domestic airline Kulula started at the airport with a daily return flight to Cape Town, which was extended to include Durban. In July 2011, Mango also introduced a scheduled service to serve Cape Town. www.southafricamag.com 31

Lanseria International Airport focus travel

“We had 1time here for a while but they elected to withdraw from the market. They’ve indicated that they’re going to come back.” It continues to grow. “We have grown significantly, hugely, in terms of the domestic market,” says Sayce, who says the regional market is next. That will obviously involve yet more investment. And Lanseria is obliging – several expansion projects are underway. “In addition to the new runway we’re also expanding the airport’s domestic departure lounge with a new 200m pier to accommodate increasing passenger numbers. “We have had an exponential increase in passenger numbers and airline schedules during the last few years. Today, the airport hosts close to 1.8 million passengers a year. That requires improvement and investment.” The airport, which started off with one passenger lounge, now features five lounges and departure gates. The construction of a multi-storey parkade, close to the main terminal building, is on the cards. Lanseria’s car park has been extended on a number of occasions to cater for the growing demand. It is never ending. “We also recently completed the commissioning of a common use self-service kiosk check-in system to speed up the check-in process. That is something we are very proud of. “Manual check-ins were becoming time consuming and the new automated systems make the whole check-in process a lot more user friendly and convenient.” END To learn more visit www.lanseria.co.za. 32

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Serving our customers and ensuring efficiencies in safe skies

The Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company of South Africa (ATNS) was incorporated in terms of the ATNS Act, Act 45 of 1993, and is mandated by the State to provide safe, expeditious and efficient air traffic management solutions and associated services within the South African airspace in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices and the South African Civil Aviation (SACAA) Regulations and Technical Standards. Standing proud with over 950 dedicated and professional employees, ATNS safely manages more than half a million aircraft arrival and departure movements per year. ATNS operates at 22 aerodromes across South Africa and is responsible for 10% of the world’s airspace. The ATNS service offering extends further than air traffic control services into the provision of vitally important aeronautical information used for all flight planning purposes as well as search and rescue coordination activities and the maintenance of a reliable navigation infrastructure. ATNS’ Central Airspace Management Unit (CAMU) is responsible for the management of the flexible use of airspace and also provides support for special air events and special requirements such as test flights and demonstration flights. The Aviation Training Academy actively trains licensed air traffic controllers and technical staff for both ATNS and international delegates.

South Africa Magazine profiles Masana Petroleum Solutions, the first black-owned and managed energy company of its kind in South Africa. By Ian Armitage

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Masana Petroleum Solutions FOCUS ENERGY

lack empowerment joint venture company Masana Petroleum Solutions is a unique symbol of transformation and growth. It was born out of the belief that BEE is about “creating a sustainable, diverse and competitive economic climate that reflects the cultural constitution of South Africa.” That was 2005. By 2008 it looked impossible - the dream shattered. But Masana wasn’t about to roll over. Today this wholesaler of petroleum products supplies the bulk needs of large corporate clients, chiefly meeting their diesel requirements, though its portfolio extends to other fuels - bitumen and gases. It supplies more than 800Ml of petroleum products per annum. What it has achieved is remarkable. “Masana was born through the acquisition of the business-to-business division of BP South Africa and has been operating in this space for the past seven years, since May 2005,” says Head of Sales Trevor Elie. “Our customers include strategic partners like Imperial, BHP Billiton, De Beers, Transnet, Unitrans and Eskom and we market and sell BP branded oils

Our customers include strategic partners like Imperial, BHP Billiton, De Beers, Transnet, Unitrans and Eskom

and fuels to the businessto-business commercial, industrial, mining and construction sector.” That deal was the first time a major oil company had taken a minority share in an empowerment venture. It was a real milestone. A true partnership was born. “The business is a partnership between BP Southern Africa, the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC), the Women’s Development Business Investment Holdings (WDB) and staff,” says Elie. “We boast a level 2 BBBEE rating and is constantly working towards achieving level 1 status.” The company is 45 percent owned by BP and

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35 percent co-owned by the MIC and WDB Investment Holdings. Management and staff own the remaining 20 percent.Masana is a real phoenix from the flames story. “In 2008/2009 the business went through absolute turmoil and the write down of R120 million bad debts almost caused the demise of the Masana business – it is due to the tenacity and resilience of the Masana people that a successful turnaround has been achieved in a such a short period of time. “2010 and 2011 were hugely successful years,” Elie says. Masana has really gotten its affairs in order and times have been so good that it has even managed to pay off all its long-term debt obligations. The whole business has been given a new lease of life. 36

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“It was about greater rigour around risk management, a focussed approach on quality customers, clear plans on significant cash flow improvements and the optimisation of resources,” says Elie. “We don’t have refineries or service stations or boast of a prominent brand. We are a people’s organisation. Our key competency lies in how we manage the relationships with our clients.” He says that becoming best in class in managing customer relationships is a strategic priority for Masana. “There are specific behaviours that contribute to success in business-to-business relationships,” Elie explains. “”It is therefore critical to establish a relationship advantage which has a solid relationship foundation necessary for success. Customers see value from suppliers who demonstrate specific competencies in their relationships in the

Masana Petroleum Solutions FOCUS ENERGY

Customers see value from suppliers who demonstrate specific competencies in their relationships in the businessto-business world. It is these customers that reward their high competency suppliers with their business. And it is for this reason why Masana is striving to operate in the rare air of best in class suppliers

business-to-business world. It is these customers that reward their high competency suppliers with their business. And it is for this reason why Masana is striving to operate in the rare air of best in class suppliers.” Growth is a key strategic priority. During 2011 Masana pursued its growth strategy by identifying the sectors with the greatest opportunities and by conducting a comprehensive customer needs analysis. “We completed a Market Development Plan which outlined the South African petroleum market in terms of geography, product mix and target industries and this supported well in setting realistic growth targets,” Elie says. “Furthermore, a pipeline of potential clients, ranked by propensity to switch to Masana has been developed to provide the necessary traction in 2012 and beyond. The new business volume target that has been set for 2012 is tracking very well at just over 50 percent during the first half of the year and with the current plans in place it is clear that the target will be achieved at year end.” I’m sure we’re all watching Masana with interest. END To learn more visit www.masana.biz. www.southafricamag.com 37

NetOne FOR ALL As netone continues to rollout broadband services across Zimbabwe, South Africa Magazine talks to managing director Reward kangai. By Ian Armitage

overnment-owned mobile telecommunications company NetOne is on a voyage of transformation. It claimed around 16 percent of Zimbabweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 9.8 million mobile users at the end of March 2012, according to TeleGeographyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GlobalComms Database, and has the largest network coverage nationally, but has suffered from poor infrastructure investment and maintenance. It has had a hard time. But it is determined to improve. And it has started with its broadband services says NetOne managing director Reward Kangai. Its services are currently available in all Matabeleland provinces, Midlands, Masvingo and parts of Harare. Efforts are underway to expand coverage and improve 3G services using a $45 million 40

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NetOne focus TELECOMS

loan secured from the China Export and Import bank. “The 3G expansion is countrywide,” says Kangai. “We are trying to get as many customers as possible to connect to the web through both our 3G and GPRS/EDGE networks. That’s the current effort. We started in the west and are moving east, connecting people as we go. A substantial portion has already been connected to the 3G networks. It is part of our exercise to provide internet access across the whole country and to support the programme we have leased very high capacity bandwidth from the six network providers accessing the EASSy cable system and we are also hoping to hook up to the WACS cable.” He says improved Internet access is vital to Zimbabwe’s future. “It is fundamental for the economy, for social mobility, for growth,” Kangai explains. “That’s why we’re making sure this is countrywide and not just in populated areas or tourist hotspots. This is about the rural communities too.” NetOne is certainly heading down the right path. But this isn’t the only improvement. Work too has centred on improving the customer experience and an investment has been made into a new billing system. “We do have a new billing system we are rolling out and it comes from a Finish IT firm called Tecnotree. Why have we made the investment? To improve billing. To improve the customer experience. To ultimately win back market share that we have lost in recent years. “We have to have a fair way of charging our customers. We’re not just providing voice and SMS services but Internet content and we have to change with the times and reflect that fact. Those services require a different billing architecture, a solid architecture and so we purchased a convergent customer care and billing system for our pre-paid and post-paid operations. The new system is expected to be installed by year-end. It is a transparent 42

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It is fundamental for the economy, for social mobility, for growth

and appropriate billing system and certainly an upgrade on existing systems that are no longer adequate in terms of our expansion.” The Tecnotree solution has been tailored to NetOne’s unique requirements. “As we look to cover more of the country and offer services to more people, we have to improve and this is an important step forward in that respect,” Kangai says. “We have no doubt that it’ll help improve our competitive advantage as we reach out to every Zimbabwean and enrich their lives.” In a bid to improve further still Kangai says the firm is looking for investment from abroad. “We are on the hunt for a strategic partner to help turn around our fortunes. We have had quite a lot of interest from various companies who

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want to partner with us and have worked to resolve several issues to make us a more attractive proposition. “That said I think there is also a realisation of the strategic importance of NetOne and Zimbabwe will certainly benefit.” NetOne has been an actively engaging with financial institutions to come up with a debt clearance strategy. According to Kangai, the company has defaulted on some loans since 2002. “It was inherited from first unbundling of the then Posts and Telecommunications Company, which NetOne was part of, and then to aid the company in its development soon after inception.” He says NetOne is in talks with the foreign lenders to find ways to retire or at least reduce the debt. 46

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netone FoCUs TELECOMS

We are on the hunt for a strategic partner to help turn around our fortunes. We have had quite a lot of interest from various companies who want to partner with us and have worked to resolve several issues to make us a more attractive proposition

“We are negotiating. And not only that - we are trying in all we do to maximise all possible economies of scale to strengthen our business. Remember the telecoms industry is capital intensive and we need a strategic partner in order to get the funding to gain the necessary economies of scale. “From a user perspective, the kind of partnership that we are contemplating will give them a much broader reach in terms of services, not just within Zimbabwe but across the African continent and beyond. Those services can only be obtained from the kind of strategic partnership we are looking for.” NetOne has an estimated 1.6 million subscribers and is Zimbabwe’s third largest mobile operator behind Econet Wireless and Telecel. NetOne, formed in 1996, is the country’s first mobile operator. enD To learn more visit www.netone.co.zw. www.southafricamag.com 47

Driving customer loyalty across Africa By Ed De Clercq, Regional Director, Convergys The African mobile phone market remains fiercely competitive. Retaining customers has never been more crucial for African operators. This means that wireless operator price wars across Africa are becoming increasingly common—a battle that, according to the GSMA, has seen prices decrease by 18% between 2010 and 2011. Prices can’t get much lower. Wireless operators are therefore looking for innovative ways to build market share. This includes trying to find ways to build loyalty in an increasingly impulsive consumer market.

service revenues in spite of such strong competition, African operators need the ability to not only implement their own real time loyalty generating offers, but also react to competitive offers from rivals in real-time to minimise their impact on their existing customer base and prevent churn. These offers can vary according to the subscriber in question but can often include making additional new services available to specific subscribers, reductions in tariffs, additional credit, enhanced voice and SMS packages or discretionary below-the-line offers.

No such thing as customer loyalty in Africa, a prepaid market

A valuable inevitability

According to a report released by industry analysts, Strategy Analytics in April 2012, globally, the average mobile customer switches service provider every 27 months, more than twice as frequently as a decade ago. The same analyst firm also revealed that global mobile customer churn reached a staggering 44% at the end of 2011—its highest ever level. While this appears to be a worrying trend facing wireless operators, it gets a great deal worse for African service providers. Prepaid has been key to the growth of mobile telephony in Africa, with approximately 96% of all subscriptions sold. Wireless operators realise that retaining these customers is more important than ever. According to Strategy Analytics, average prepaid customer lifetimes have halved over the last five years to just 17 months. Customer loyalty solutions—automating the process There has been a surge in demand across Africa for technology solutions that can provide loyalty-enhancing capabilities, and more recently in real-time. This technology enables service providers to translate customer information into action and create targeted interactions with subscribers. This empowers operators to build meaningful, ongoing relationships that are personalised with timely communication regarding relevant offers, rewards and service activations. In the battle for increased market share and

Customer loyalty solutions will be instrumental in putting the brakes on customer churn, and on increasing operators’ average wallet share with existing customers. The technology gives mobile operators the flexibility to react in real time to changing market conditions with targeted offers aimed at specific groups of users, or down to the individual user based on real time usage. On an outbound basis, it also enables operators to reach millions of customers per campaign and monitor user trends in terms of their propensity to accept or decline these offers. This includes any subsequent follow-up promotions to specific customers. Customer loyalty solutions are a cost-effective, measurable means to actively reduce churn and grow incremental revenues worth hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Given the current market climate and competitive trends in Africa, mobile operators will surely deem this technology to be a valuable inevitability. As a leader in customer management for over 30 years, Convergys is uniquely focused on helping companies find new ways to enhance the value of their customer relationships and deliver consistent customer experiences across all channels and geographies. Every day, our nearly 75,000 employees help our clients balance the demands of increasing revenue, improving customer satisfaction, and reducing overall cost using an optimal mix of agent, technology, and analytics solutions. Our actionable insight stems from handling billions of customer interactions annually for our clients. Visit www.convergys.com to learn more.

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John Craig FoCUs RETAIL

Dressed to

t h RI LL If you care about how you look you’ll know John Craig, a retail chain that truly puts the customer first. By Ian Armitage

t has been an exciting 12 months for John Craig. Founded 70 years ago, and with its origins as a Jewish, familyrun men’s outfitter, it is a niche player but it’s a large and significant niche – and it is growing steadily. John Craig is a specialist in men’s clothing and footwear. It has over 60 shops throughout South Africa and it caters for a mainstream market. It competes neither with the cheap clothing sheds at the bottom end of the market nor the high fashion boutiques favoured by the wealthy.

“We’ve had a good year and things are getting better – we intend to continue opening new stores as we ramp up our expansion,” says marketing manager Nicole Van Doninck. A typical customer would be a mature male, over 30, with a good career and all the aspirations that go with the expanding South African middle class, among whom incomes have trebled in the last decade. He will probably have a growing family and the responsibility of a house, but he needs to maintain his image socially and at work.

These customers are comfortable with John Craig. The plan is to get the word out, cater for a wider audience, and get into provinces it hasn’t reached yet. “We are looking at a few locations in the Cape area, and when we find out where our target market does its shopping we will be setting up there,” says Van Doninck. “There is a lot of potential to expand and we are carefully selecting the best locations.” Several key words sum up John Craig: trust, loyalty, integrity, sincerity, style, quality, and exclusivity. www.southafricamag.com 51

John Craig focus retail

Soviet SOVIET has been a trusted brand within the fashion industry, following suit after its strong descent from Mother Russia. SOVIET represents urban expressionism; a lifestyle that inspires SOVIET to rise beyond expectations of a fashion forward society and honour the every-day, trendy people whose voices are expressed through their clothing accessories and footwear. This season SOVIET is honouring urban culture with their incredible collection for winter 2012. Let SOVIET be the brand that is a part of your freedom, thrill and lifestyle. SOVIET only has one wish for you; for the freedom to express your individuality in SOVIET wear.

We should add ‘personal service’ to that list. “Personal service of a practical nature is what typifies a visit to a John Craig branch,” says Van Doninck. Appreciating that no two men are the same shape as each other if any suit or formal trousers bought at John Craig needs to be altered to make a perfect fit, those alterations will be carried out at no charge, very often on the same day. Most of the clothes John Craig sells are international brands that have proved popular over the years. This range is updated but only 52

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Personal service of a practical nature is what typifies a visit to a John Craig branch

Tel: 0027 11 061 0500 Email: info@sovietclothing.co.za www.sovietclothing.co.za

John Craig FoCUs RETAIL

very selectively: even so, there are occasions when lines that sell well abroad aren’t quite right for South Africa. When a gap is spotted it is filled with one of John Craig’s own brands like Muratti or Carano. “We are always looking to improve and so have altered the layout of some stores,” Van Doninck adds. “The store fittings used to be a lot more fixed – one area was dedicated to formal products, another to footwear and another for causal, for instance. We’ve mixed that up a bit, depending on the location. “In terms of customers we are still very much catering for the sophisticated gent, who wants to be smart and is aspirational. “One trend we’ve noticed in recent months is that men are going out and buying footwear that is a bit more fashionable, especially in terms of colour. There’s been a big change there. It’s not a huge drift, but there is a slightly more fashionable element that has come into play.” Van Doninck says the goal is to have 100 John Craig stores across the country. 54

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“We can’t open as many as we’d like because the property isn’t there! Eventually we’ll get there – there are a number of mall developments springing up around the country. “From Johannesburg’s financial district, Sandton – the richest square mile in Africa – to dusty mining towns in remote provinces, there is nowhere South Africans would rather work, eat or unwind than a sparkling new shopping mall. “New complexes are currently planned for every corner of the country so there is a lot of potential for the business.” enD To learn more visit www.johncraig.co.za.

Company name FoCUs ???????

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FMCG THE NEW kINGS OF

After 44 years of trading Metcash has been forced by creditors to sell off its stores. Rivals have been cashing in. Indeed, several stores were brought by one of South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastest growing FMCG distributors, Devland Cash and Carry. Managing director Yoosuf Gathoo tells us more. By Marie Toms

www.southafricamag.com

Devland Cash and Carry FoCUs RETAIL

evland Cash and Carry is one of South Africa’s fastest growing distributors of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). It is benefiting from higher disposable incomes and a middle class that is growing to the next level. Within that context, consumer goods companies can make huge profit – they’re selling products on large scale quickly and at relatively low cost. Family man and renowned businessman S. Gathoo runs the firm. He knows this all too well. Devland Cash and Carry is his family’s business, started by himself and his brother in Devland, Soweto. It started small, modest. But now it is embarking on an exciting new expansion having acquired several Metcash stores. “We’ve been around for the last 20 years and we’ve had a little small cash and carry which has grown organically over time,” managing director Yoosuf Gathoo says, taking up the story. “We did a little acquisition of some of Metcash’s Trading Africa PTY retail and whole stores in April of this year. Eight stores to be precise. www.southafricamag.com 59

Devland Cash and Carry FoCUs RETAIL

New Clover long-life milk packaging way better than before Long-life milk is set to receive an elegant new makeover thanks to the recent launch of Clover’s new long-life milk packaging. Designed with improved functionality in mind, Clover long-life milk will not only continue to taste great, but will offer enhanced opening, pourability and resealability features making it way better to handle than the previous pack too. Packaging Perfect “At Clover, we consider our products from our customer’s point of view, which is why we decided to address the spillage that sometimes occurred with the current Clover long-life milk packs. We conducted research in various countries around the world to evaluate the functionality of different packaging. The new packaging which will be found on-shelves soon was deemed to be the best option for our long-life milk,” explains senior brand manager at Clover, Sherian King.

“It is a big forward step. The catalyst for the growth I think has been the grace of god for the most part. But we’ve also been ambitious and wanted to grow.” Local retailers’ expansion into under-serviced areas such as townships led to the collapse of Metcash. It was once the biggest wholesale business in Africa. But after 44 years Metcash is no more. It leaves a gap for astute players to step into, Gathoo says. Indeed, from 59 stores earlier this year, Metcash now has only about 12 stores left to sell as years of poor trading conditions and sales declines led to its financial backers refusing to extend further credit. In 2005, the company boasted sales of about R16 billion, but as more and more retailers such as Shoprite and Pick n Pay set up in wholesalers’ traditional markets, sales growth stalled. As these retailers gained momentum, street vendors and spaza shops that purchased mainly from cash-and-carry-type stores were forced to close. “It is now an opportunity for us to grow,” Gathoo admits. “Metcash has been selling off a lot of 60

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Easy to Open, Easy to Pour and Easy to Store The unique and elegant shape of the new pack is simpler to hold and weighs less than our current long-life milk packaging. The larger cap is another innovation that is more comfortable to grip, it also cuts the inner foil seal as you twist it and tucks the foil neatly under the lid, negating the need for a ring pull opening. The seal is also tamper proof and features a tamper proof evidence ring. With a 30-percent larger pouring area, less gulping occurs allowing for smoother product flow. In short, Clover’s new packaging is easy to open, easy to pour and easy to store. Clover, Way Better Clover’s full cream, 2% low fat and fat free variants will soon be found on shelf in the new and improved packaging. While Clover has the wellbeing of your family at heart, convenience, ease of use, quality and hygiene are also top of mind for the dairy brand that cares. So give the new long-life packaging a try; it’s way better than before.

Devland Cash and Carry FoCUs RETAIL

stores. We saw an opportunity there to procure some of those. We acquired some of their smaller stores and we did so because we needed to get a footprint into regions. What has happened is that because the chain stores in SA have grown so huge they’ve essentially grown too big and have put some smaller stores up for sale. “Before the Metcash store purchases we had two retail stores, which obviously wasn’t a lot, so when we saw they were shedding their stores and selling off their businesses we saw it as a great opportunity to expand across the country. It was a big investment and we’ve been doing everything that was needed to turn these into our own shops. “We needed to get a foothold in the townships and this was a perfect opportunity. This industry is so competitive so we and to expand to accommodate our margins “We’re poised for big things going forward,” he says. “There is huge growth in the wholesale market model. Metash didn’t realise that.” According to Gathoo, Devland Cash and Carry also operates internationally and “Zimbabwe is a growing market”. “Zimbabwe is one of our big markets, a huge market,” he says. “We’ve also got our own operations in the country. The challenge we see here is that there is a huge credit risk. But we are able to pursue opportunities like this because we are a family business, we’ve got strong management and we know how to grow a business. We have a strong team of people behind us.” 62

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The catalyst for the growth I think has been the grace of god for the most part. But we’ve also been ambitious and wanted to grow

Tiger Brands is proud to be associated with Devland Cash & Carry, and wishes to thank them for their continued support.

Tiger Brands is the proud manufacturer of leading brands in a wide range of food, home care, personal care, baby and stationery categories in Africa

Tiger Brands Limited 3010 William Nicol Drive Bryanston Tel: 011 840 4000 Email: tigercsd@tigerbrands.com Web: www.tigerbrands.co.za

Devland Cash and Carry focus RETAIL

He is very happy with how things are turning out. “We’re very happy with where we are at the moment. Obviously we’ve invested a lot of capital into the new stores and it’s about maximising what we have there and maybe we’ll look at adding more in the future.” What’s the secret? “We’ve put in a good culture that allows us to communicate efficiently and make efficient moves. Our structure, being familyowned and operated, enables us to work very well and make decisions. That has played a significant part in our growth. It is not like with a multinational corporation with several management layers and many shareholders to please. We’re small and able to adapt.” 64

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We’re very happy with where we are at the moment. Obviously we’ve invested a lot of capital into the new stores and it’s about maximising what we have there

You wont find Devland Cash and Carry on the web. The reason for that is simple Gathoo says. “People understand what we do and we’ve never really had to market it. Every now and again we do something to raise the profile. Basically we try to be as efficient as possible and get the job done and customers recognise that. We work with many big names like Tiger Brands and Clover Industries.” Devland Cash and Carry has also been involved in several charitable initiatives in the past, helping those beleaguered with poverty. We wish it every success and look forward to bringing you an update on the expansion. END

Your is the strength of our

pick up A

for S A â&#x20AC;&#x2122; s auto

industry

Mahindra South Africa CEO Ashok Thakur tells us more about the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitive advantage, its new bakkie and plans for the group to grow across the continent. By Ian Armitage

www.southafricamag.com

Mahindra focus manufacturing

n May Mahindra South Africa added its lowest-priced Scorpio offering to the range of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) available in South Africa. The rearwheel-drive, seven-seater derivative, with a 2.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine, was priced at R209,900 – R20,000 less than the lowest-priced diesel-engine variant. It brought the firm’s local Scorpio SUV line-up to five models. It was a watershed moment. “The turbocharged 2.2 litre mHawk petrol engine was developed from the CRDe turbo-diesel engine of the same capacity in a joint venture involving our own engineers and those from global powertrain specialist AVL, of Austria,” the company says. “The introduction of the mHawk petrol engine, in addition to the recently upgraded mHawk CRDe diesel engines on the Scorpio range, is in line with Mahindra South Africa’s policy of ongoing improvement to its vehicles based on customer feedback.” Mahindra SA is a fullyowned subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra of India, which was established in 1945. Apart from vehicles, it also sells a range of tractors on the local market. The company has more than 50 dealers spread across the country and has sold around 16,000 vehicles since its inception in 2004. It has dealers in all nine provinces and has also expanded into other Sub-Saharan countries, exporting to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Swaziland and Namibia. Further growth is on the cards. “We have a growing national footprint that is moving ever deeper into communities,” says Mahindra South Africa CEO Ashok Thakur. “Our drive is to offer value-for-money products and services to all of our customers.” www.southafricamag.com 67

Mahindra focus manufacturing

Partnerships December 2011 saw the acquisition of Berco Express (Pty) Ltd by Aramex. As part of this global company Aramex South Africa, incorporating Berco, is able to provide a more comprehensive range of services through the global offices and strong alliance network. “We believe in partnering with our clients to provide them with cost-effective tailor-made solutions to suit their business. We employ a team of dedicated experts in our Business Solutions Team to provide smart flexible solutions,” explains Nick Brown, Business Solutions Executive.

Mr Thakur is clear about the firm’s competitive advantage, “Our latest price positioning enables us to undercut the prices of the traditional major players in the South African bakkie market, while still offering a very robust, reliable and durable product that has been well proven operating in South African conditions.” The local vehicle market is one of the largest and most dynamic in Africa. Mahindra South Africa sold 1761 vehicles in 2010, which grew to 2558 vehicles in 2011 – a 45 percent increase. That is rising. “Our product portfolio includes Bolero Pick Ups, Scorpio Pick Ups, Genio Pick Ups, Scorpio SUV, Xylo MPV, Xylo panel vans and Thar, and of course the new Mahindra XUV500,” says Thakur. 68

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“A good example of this partnership is Mahindra. Since 2007, we have stored, managed and distributed over 6000 line items to 28 Mahindra dealers nationwide.”

We have a growing national footprint that is moving ever deeper into communities

“We are continuously striving to improve the service we offer Mahindra, allowing them to focus on their core business.” Warehousing and storage represent a strategic business tool that gives many Aramex customers an edge over their competitors. It’s about more than just cutting costs!

The Mahindra XUV500, which was showcased at the Johannesburg International Motor Show, has been a huge success making a big impression in South Africa. “It has attracted a considerable amount of interest with over 100 units being retailed per month, making it one of the top ten compact SUV brands,” says Thakur. “We are delighted with the sales figures and the strong interest in our new product.” The Mahindra XUV500 is all-new from the ground up and aimed at both the Indian, South African and international markets. Needless to say, times have been good for Mahindra as a result. www.southafricamag.com

Mahindra focus manufacturing

It is targeting 50 percent sales growth this year. “We do aim to improve vehicle sales,” says Thakur. “Something like 50 percent. I think it is achievable.” It might seem ambitious but he is confident – Mahindra SA has what he calls a “growing model range, keen pricing and added value offerings”. Another reason for the optimistic growth target is that Mahindra SA has taken over the distribution of SsangYong vehicles in South Africa off the back of its Indian parent company obtaining the majority shareholding in the Korean manufacturer. “We sold over 2,000 vehicles in 2011 and are targeting 5,000 unit sales this year, rising to 7,000 in 2013,” says Thakur.

www.southafricamag.com

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We sold over 2,000 vehicles in 2011 and are targeting 5,000 unit sales this year, rising to 7,000 in 2013

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When Mahindra decided to invest in South Africa, they turned to our partners for audit services – and BDO in South Africa is proud of our association and involvement with Mahindra. Over the years, we have built an exceptional relationship based on a deep understanding of – and involvement with - their business. Understanding client needs and requirements is at the forefront of our client service philosophy, and we have a diversified set of tailor-made service offerings in order to better meet the needs of our customers – across all continents. To experience the ‘BDO difference’, contact us today.

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“We are aware this is ambitious, but are confident of being able to achieve these sales. “Some of our dealers — and we have 50 in SA — are reporting increases in market share. We are also getting more and more applications from businesspeople looking to become Mahindra dealers.” Mahindra SA is also working on growing the number of African countries it services. “Expansion is planned into the Southern African Development Community. “We want to become an increasingly significant player in the region. “Going forward, we will continue to extend our range and provide added-value offerings to our customers,” says Thakur. END To learn more visit www.mahindra.co.za. www.southafricamag.com 71

guys C able

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National Cables focus manufacturing

South Africa Magazine profiles National Cables (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of General Cable Corp – a leader in the development, design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of copper, aluminium and fibre optic wire and cable products. By Marie Toms

eneral Cable is a global leader in the development and manufacture of copper, aluminium and fibre optic cable for the energy, industrial, speciality and communications market. With manufacturing units in South Africa, Zambia and Angola, it services the Sub-Saharan market thought its majority-owned distribution unit National Cables, based in Johannesburg General Cables has ambitious plans. Plans to tap into Africa’s growth. It sees South Africa as strategically important, a “springboard to Africa” - a continent where it has been making several acquisitions in recent years. It is looking to maximise those investments and enhance service levels to its regional customers. “We are investing in our manufacturing facilities and manufacturing capacity both in Durban and Zambia,” says National Cables managing director Gary Bateman. “This investment will increase capacity of both low voltage and medium voltage cable, as well as add capability for an extended range of aluminium cable, flexible power cable and rubber trailing cable.” The expansion programme will be completed by Q1 2013, he says, and together with an integrated regional ERP solution will enhance General Cable’s service level to its regional customers. “Our cables have a wide range of applications,” Bateman adds. “As the largest stockist and distributor

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national Cables FoCUs MANUFACTURING

Truckafrica South Africa (Pty) Ltd Truckafrica South Africa (Pty) Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Group (Pty) Limited. The over border flagship of Imperial, is an “overland” haulage company serving a variety of destinations and equipment to handle specialty consignments.

of cable in the region and with a global link to 46 manufacturing units on six continents, we are able to supply cable to most international standards. Cables can also be manufactured or cut to suit the customer’s project lengths.” The General Cable manufacturing unit in South Africa produces medium voltage aluminium and copper power cable, and by the completion of the expansion programme will be able to produce low voltage power cable, flexible power cable, rubber trailing cable and paper insulated cable. Bateman says the Zambian manufacturing unit produces mainly low voltage power cable but also has capability to supply aluminium and telecommunication cable. It is also one of the largest manufacturers of copper rod in Africa. “With significant opportunities opening up in Sub-Saharan Africa due to mining project and infrastructure investment, General Cable, through strategic global relationships combined with a strong South African base, is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the market growth,” Bateman says. 74

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Truckafrica’s superior infrastructure guarantees the elimination of most risk involved in using road transportation to Africa. Services consist of: · Consolidation · Full loads · Abnormal loads · Containerized cargo · Handling of sensitive products · Satellite tracking · Documentation and clearing · Tailor made solutions

Our mission is to exceed our costumers’ expectations by means of an excellent service and the most advanced technical solutions in design, development, production and sale of cables

Delivering world-class and international inter-modal systems critical to the continent’s growth and competitiveness.

Warehousing and distribution • Terminal management (bulk and containers) • Bond storage • Inventory management • Materials / cargo handling and palletisation • Container stuffing / loading, securing and destuffing / unloading Groupage / Consolidation Multi-modal transportation (direct modes and/or transshipments) • Shipping and port related services • Rail logistics • Road Freight forwarding & clearing / International logistics

Servicing markets as diverse as mining, power, oil and gas and telecommunications, he adds, the key to its success lies in “global support” structures. “Our success lies in global support in areas of lean manufacturing, material science advances and innovative technology resources. These have played out in General Cable’s improved financial performance in the region, resulting from higher market penetration and growing appreciation for a global brand operating locally.” The cables the firm makes and stocks are typically used for generation, distribution and transmission in sectors like energy, surface and underground mining, utilities and telecommunications.

AFRICA DIVISION Tel: +27 11 821 5500 E-mail: info@ilad.co.za www.imperiallogistics.co.za Winner of the 2011 Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Awards Companies and Organisations with innovative Environmental Strategies that improve Business Performance.

Clients include mines, municipalities, utilities, electrical contractors and wholesales. It also works with power utility Eskom. General Cable has “the broadest product and global reach in the wire and cable industry” and it is an innovator. It’s all about new technologies and no matter where you are it “has got you wired”. Bateman says, “We believe in continually improving.” To learn more visit www.generalcable.com www.southafricamag.com 75

BASF strengthens

Polyurethanes businesses in SA and sub-Saharan Africa Christian Mirangels outlines BAsF Polyurethanes South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth strategy and plans to increase BASFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence in growing African markets, taking advantage of its global leadership position in polyurethane systems. By Ian Armitage

www.southafricamag.com

BAsF Polyurethanes FoCUs MANUFACTURING

In terms of polyurethane consumption in South Africa it is around one kilo per capita per year. In Europe, it is around five kilos per capita. So there’s clearly a lot of room to grow and a lot of potential

e use polyurethanes in one form or another every day – at home, in our offices and cars, for sport and leisure activities and on holiday. They’re versatile, modern and safe and are used in a wide variety of applications to create all manner of consumer and industrial products that play a crucial role in making our lives more convenient, comfortable and environmentally friendly. Global chemical manufacturing company BASF Polyurethanes is a leader in this field, particularly here in South Africa. “It (South Africa) is a key market in Africa for BASF and is a role model for the rest of the African continent,” says BASF Polyurethanes South Africa’s new managing director Christian Mirangels. “We expect significant growth. The company’s sales have grown despite difficult global conditions owing to new business and because customers have seen the benefit of our local presence. “There is lots of potential,” he adds. “In terms of polyurethane consumption in South Africa it is around one kilo per capita per year. In Europe, it is around five kilos per capita. So there’s clearly a lot of room to grow and a lot of potential.” BASF has had a presence in South Africa for over 40 years. In 2006 it brought into CHC Elastogran, a polyurethane systems house that was established as a Joint Venture between CHC and Elastogran. The business grew steadily and it was renamed BASF Polyurethanes South Africa (Pty) Ltd in 2010. Beginning of 2012 BASF acquired the rest of the shares from CHC - now the company is a 100 percent BASF subsidiary. “My career spans over 17 years within BASF Polyurethanes and I’ve held senior positions in a number of successful entities, including BASF Polyurethanes Turkey where I served as managing director. I’m very excited now to be working and living in South Africa. “My focus is on the overall operations of the South African systems house, with a strong focus on business development within South and Sub-Saharan Africa of projects in selected industries.” Mirangels, who took over two months ago, says sales growth remained positive for the company www.southafricamag.com 77

despite the effects of the global economic crisis and believes it is thanks to an ability to supply products to a diverse industry base, which includes the automotive, construction, footwear, mining and ‘white’ goods sectors. He believes that the company’s growth has been buoyed by its continual investment in technology and production capacity aimed at developing high-quality and efficient polyurethane systems for application in a number of industries. That investment will continue. “We’re developing our site in Elandsfontein and over the next years we’ll continue to modernise and invest in new machinery.” According to Mirangels, South Africa is playing an important role in BASF’s Africa expansion. The firm has been increasing its presence in the growing African markets and recently opened a new office in Nairobi, Kenya, to serve customers in East Africa and Sub-Sahara. “Africa is a huge continent with a wealth of raw materials and a growing population. At the same time, the dynamically growing economy has enormous potential. Through establishing a stronger local presence we will 78

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be able to even further support our customers and to enhance our market position.” The company’s target is to more than double sales in Africa by 2020. Its sales, excluding oil and gas, were around 1 billion euros in 2010. It is ambitious. But the demand for polyurethane, and its other chemicals, is strong. “There is strong demand for polyurethane, particularly in areas like construction where South African and Sub-Saharan African construction firms are starting to pursue green practices and projects. “There is also increased demand in mining and a number of other industries. “In terms of polyurethane, the market is more established in South Africa than it is in Sub-Saharan Africa, but that represents a growth opportunity. The market will become more established and we are working on that, raising the profile of the material – after all, few realise that it is all around us and how it can be applied. “Also, I would say the company is certainly profiting from a growing middle class with rising consumer aspirations and that is true right across Africa.”

BAsF Polyurethanes FoCUs MANUFACTURING

Key to the company’s successes in Africa are its new East and West African divisions - BASF West Africa, headed by former BASF Polyurethanes South Africa managing director Andrew Bailey, and BASF East Africa, which we’ve mentioned. “This will help us establish stronger local presences in key growth markets and we’ll also be able to offer local support to customers. This combined effort will see us develop considerably in sub-Saharan Africa in the next few years.” BASF’s success is down to having the right team, the local presence and the right skills and processes in place including a world class product and R&D team. The future is bright.

My focus is on the overall operations of the South African systems house with a strong focus on business development within South and SubSaharan Africa of projects in selected industries

“The aim is to develop in line with our global goal of ‘Best Team in Industry’ and to create value for our stakeholders,” Mirangels says. “We also want to continue contributing to our customers’ success and to do all of this in a sustainable way. “I’m excited by the future and the challenge ahead, helping also to make meaningful social contributions through BASF and improve people’s lives.” Mirangels forecasts growth in South Africa “this and the next years” and says new energy efficiency regulations, which are in place for all new buildings being built in South Africa, are a contributing factor. enD To learn more visit www.basf.co.za.

"Only our service beats our rate" Dasa Logistics was started by Dean Moodley in 2001 and has grown from 1 vehicle operation to a large ﬂeet of vehicles. The company is currently able to deliver on various sizes and types of contracts. Dasa is also a 100% black owned level 2 BEE supplier as well as being registered for Responsible Care with the Chemical And Allied Industries Association. Dasa Logistics Services include: - Chemical Services - Bulk Tanker Services, liquid and dry - Retail Services - Special Project Services www.dasagroup.co.za 552 Boxer Road Glen Austin Ext 3 Midrand South Africa 1685

T: +27 11 310 3870 M: +27 83 212 9212 F: +27 86 622 4860 E: info@dasalogistics.co.za

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll drink to that!

www.southafricamag.com

namibia Quality Beverages FoCUs MANUFACTURING

South Africa Magazine talks to Charl Coetzee, CEO of namibia Quality Beverages, a man who believes in promoting local products and that Namibian businesses have a lot to offer. By Ian Armitage

amibia relies heavily upon imports to meet its needs, with an estimated 48 percent of the GDP being spent on goods produced outside the country. Unsurprisingly it is flooded with imported goods, many from South Africa. No more is this true than in the world of soft drinks. However, Namibian Quality Beverages (NQB) has managed to turn the tide through its supply of a unique brand ‘4 U’, which has been warmly welcomed by the local market. The firm specialises in manufacturing, import, export, sales and distribution. It produces local, quality products and opened its doors in 2008. “Our brand name is ‘4 U’, implying ‘for Namibians by Namibians’,” says Charl Coetzee, CEO of NQB, which started by manufacturing juice, then expanded to add in YKP Fire balls, YKP Cheese Curls and Hi-pro Dog food. The juices come in three ranges: 100% fruit Juices, Lite Juices and Nectars and have recently introduced ice tea made from Rooibos extract. Juice ‘4 U’ is sold in more than 30 retail shops around the country. “We are a fully owned Namibian company and believe in promoting local products,” says Coetzee. “We are proud of what we as Namibian manufacturers have accomplished over the past few years against huge odds. Namibia used to import absolutely everything and still depends on imports but we’ve seen an increase in the number of local people buying Namibian products and I think there is a growing hunger for locally produced goods. That has certainly helped. Before we started as a business we looked at the local economy, local industry, and we looked at what other companies were doing right and we developed a solid game plan before we kicked off. We continue to analyse what’s www.southafricamag.com 81

Namibia Quality Beverages focus MANUFACTURING

happening and have been active in finding new areas for growth. We change according to the market.” Coetzee says that the prices on the shelf are mostly governed by well known imported brands, and the manufacturers carry the loss. That is a challenge. So too is an annual increase in prices of local products which is linked to the country’s inflation rate. Coetzee says the greatest challenge to the local producer remains to be able to compete against imported products flooding the market. Huge companies with a consumer base of millions 82

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This helps to create more local jobs and many other economic benefits that lead to the things people want - service improvements and inflation dropping

generally supply these – they’re able to sell quantity while their expenses are kept to the minimum. “A typical supplier in South Africa, in Joburg for example, has more than seven or eight million consumers in a 300km radius. A local producer here in Namibia has a consumer base of only about two million, spread across the whole country. “To be able to compete, local producers need to grow to a point where they can export and compete on the doorstep of the opposition. That is a challenge. So too is growth and finding investment capital. In a small, emerging

Granor Passi is a proud supplier of Namibia Quality Beverages

economy like Namibia attracting investment can be a challenge.” However, local produces are still in demand. “Consumers want what we are making and selling. I think there is a real awareness that if people buy locally, wealth is created as the money is kept in the country. “This helps to create more local jobs and many other economic benefits that lead to the things people want - service improvements and inflation dropping; that sort of thing. “And if you manufacture locally all the money stays in the country instead of leaving like it does with imported good.” So could more be done, particularly on a governmental level? “I think the government does a wonderful job – they certainly put money into start ups. The issue is that a business reaches a point where it becomes too big to be small and too small to be big. It needs next level funding. That funding is difficult to obtain and normally after three or four years a business will fold because it grows faster than it can manage and ends up in huge debt or reaches the point where it restricts or limits growth.” That is the challenge NQB is faced with. It needs next level funding. “At the moment the shareholders are covering it but we have reached the point where it is limiting growth,” says Coetzee. Nonetheless, the future is bright. NQB is currently working on a very exciting longterm project in which they want to make oil from local fruit called ‘project nut’ and the oil-made will be used as a cosmetic oil for skin care and secondly for cooking. This is part of NQB’s social responsibility and a way to plough back into the market, the economy and the country. “The business plan revolves around three pillars. The centre pillar is the actual company itself, which will be extracting the oil - Namibia Quality Oils. It won’t really employ a lot of people - probably the maximum of 10-20 people. The primary 84

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Namibia Quality Beverages focus MANUFACTURING

Long-term it should grow, we foresee, to over 1000 people and all of them will be basically selfemployed

pillar would be where we actually go into rural areas and set up a less formal small medium enterprise where these people will gather the fruits and then sell it to us so they will have their own community business. In the shortterm that should create, we estimate, about 100 people jobs. That should grow extensively as the product starts selling. These are people with absolutely no skills - rural poor communities and the previously disadvantaged. Long-term it should grow,

we foresee, to over 1000 people and all of them will be basically self-employed. The third pillar that we’re looking at is from that there will be spin-offs for the upcoming entrepreneurs; we will assist them in setting up small medium enterprises in industries that our waste products, for instance, will spawn. That is further job creation.” The name NQB is perhaps a bit misleading then, at least to the untrained eye? “I suppose it is. We’re much more already than a

beverage producer. We’ve thought about having another name but what we are looking at, most probably in the future, is to create a holding company and then have Namibia Quality Beverages, Namibia Quality Foods, Namibia Quality Oils and then maybe Namibia Quality Cosmetics. It is something that we’re thinking about and is in the pipeline. We’ll see how it plays out.” We wish them luck. END To learn more visit www.namibia-beverages.com www.southafricamag.com 85

S taying ahead of

t h e pack

www.southafricamag.com

Lapack FoCUs MANUFACTURING

A self–proclaimed “leader of the pack” Lapack has been manufacturing plastic packaging for the personal care industry for over 30 years. By Ian Armitage

common trend of many of the businesses we have featured this month is that they started small – from Ocean Basket to Zambeef. Lapack is no different. Its life began in 1981, formed by brothers Bob and Eric Smith, who ran the operation from a small shop in Johannesburg. 30 years on, the company is almost unrecognisable and is now a leading provider of personal care packaging across South Africa. “That we are,” says executive director and second-generationer Mark Smith. “We supply companies like Tiger Brands, Revlon, Colgate, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and Loreal. “Lapack is a family owned business that has been manufacturing plastic packaging for the personal care industry for over 30 years,” he adds. “We started with just the family running the business from manufacturing the moulds to producing and printing and through hard work and some tough times we slowly grew the business to what it is today. Lapack is now one of the biggest privately owned plastic packaging companies in South Africa in the personal care industry. We pride ourselves on manufacturing quality packaging for the personal care industry and it shows with our client base being some of the blue chip companies in the world – the likes of which I’ve mentioned.” According to Smith the company has more than 400 staff today but can proudly say that some of the original staff compliment still work there. “It says something for family run businesses and as we go through www.southafricamag.com 87

Lapack focus manufacturing

We supply companies like Tiger Brands, Revlon, Colgate, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and Loreal

www.southafricamag.com

a really difficult period worldwide in this industry. It’s the family business’s that can survive due to the simple fact that the family has total control and understanding of the business.

“In plastics its experience that makes the difference. It’s on the floor knowledge that allows the man at the top to make the right decisions in this industry and with all family businesses

Lapack FoCUs MANUFACTURING

you start on the floor and even if you are CEO you still are part of those on the floor decisions every day.” Sadly perhaps – and maybe even devastatingly for the plastics industry and wider economy - businesses like Lapack are being swallowed up by the big corporate companies. They’re becoming something of a rarity. Smith says the result is a lot of experience and knowledge is being lost. “That has a happy consequence for us our clients can take comfort in the fact that they are dealing with a company that has the experience from the shop floor to the very top and that we continually reinvest into our business and staff ensuring longevity and sustainability. “The personal care market in South Africa has been adversely affected by the recession and the continued high price of oil and exchange rate has had a negative effect 90

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Our clients can take comfort in the fact that they are dealing with a company that has the experience from the shop floor to the very top and that we continually reinvest into our business and staff ensuring longevity and sustainability

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Lapack FoCUs MANUFACTURING

Hestico (Pty) Ltd. Hestico are pleased to be associated with the Lapack success story who are excellent customers and have been for many years. Lapack believe in using the state of the art equipment (Aoki; Uniloy; Maguire and Yudo) which traditionally Hestico supplies into the African Market. This state of the art equipment enables Lapack to run very efficiently providing top quality moulded containers to their customers in the Personal care, cosmetics and Pharmaceutical industry. We wish Lapack all the very best for the future.

on the plastic industry as a whole. You cannot expect an overnight recovery and it’s going to take a few years for our industry to get back to the profitability of pre 2008. Like I said, it’s going to be about knowledge in the running of your company and about servicing your clients.” He believes that a bright future is in store for Lapack. “Over the next five years we plan to ensure that we remain leaders in the personal care industry in South Africa. Through innovation and design, we want to be leaders and not followers. Through the help of our customers and suppliers we can maintain our position in the marketplace. 92

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Over the next five years we plan to ensure that we remain leaders in the personal care industry in South Africa

“We are looking to expand into Africa. Emerging market is constantly used to describe Africa and yes in certain industries it most definitely has enormous potential. However the minimum wage is still extremely low in most parts of Africa and so we have taken a decision to support our current clients through either technical advice or by exporting our product to them. We will constantly monitor the situation. “We have advanced plans which I sadly cannot talk about – it is strategic and contract negotiations are ongoing.” enD Lapack is a technology-driven, award-winning packaging company. To learn more visit www.lapack.co.za.

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Egg-cellent pac k aging solutions

South Africa Magazine profiles DFM, a company that has taken the lead in development and now supplies the widest range of egg packaging in the country. By Ian Armitage

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Dynamic Fibre Moulding focus manufacturing

FM (Dynamic Fibre Moulding) started operations in 1994 in Mandini, KwaZuluNatal, and in the near two-decades since it has become a preferred supplier of moulded natural fibre egg packaging in South Africa. It is a company that has taken the lead in development and has reaped the rewards. It now supplies the widest range of egg packing in SA. Significantly, it uses scrap paper as raw material. “The business was born from an increased demand for moulded fibre products and has grown over the years to become a leader in the field of moulded fibre packaging,” says technical services manager Dave Gait. “We offer the widest range of egg packaging available in South Africa and we supply more than 90 percent of the country’s formal egg producers. We don’t just do eggs – we also have dairy packaging, distribution packaging, protective packaging and cushion packaging.” Moulded fibre’s properties make it increasingly popular he says. Growth is on the cards. “Moulded fibre is establishing itself internationally as a preferred form of industrial cushion packaging due to growing pressure from public and politicians on environmental and waste disposal issues. “Dynamic vision and enthusiasm have driven this business forward over the years, resulting in the new technology of thermoforming natural fibre for cushion and locative packaging. This rivals the existing polystyrene and plastic forms used today with the added benefit that these elements are manufactured from recycled material and is biodegradable and recyclable.” Off the back of this, DFM has managed to maintain its market position and strength, despite the local market suffering the effects of a double-dip recession. “The market has been tough in the last year as a result of the worldwide recession. SA certainly had that double dip but the company has maintained its strength in the market and on the egg packaging www.southafricamag.com 95

Dynamic Fibre Moulding focus manufacturing

side. It’s been going very well actually,” Mr Gait says. “Consumers are still buying but they are buying down and the rand isn’t stretching as far as it used to. We’ve noticed smaller configurations are moving better.” To grow the business above organic levels, new markets have been investigated and served, he adds. “We have been diversifying and have developed trays for the dairy industry and have enjoyed success in that market. “Over the next few months we’ll be launching a number of new products on the fruit packaging side – and we’ve noticed that in terms of environmental awareness SA is certainly waking up. Moulded fibre has a lot to offer in that respect and we’re trying to capitalise on a shift towards sustainable food produce.” Moulded natural fibre packaging is cellulose, or - more simply - raw woodpulp fibre, obtained from either pulp or recycled paper. It is drawn onto fine mesh moulds by vacuum, leaving a thin layer of pulp adhering to the mould. This is dried in an oven to produce common egg box packaging. 96

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DFM has been going from strength to strength. Generally year after year we grow

Lot 805, Old Main Road Stanger 4450 South Africa Tel: 0027 32 551 4260 Fax: 0027 32 551 4277 Email: pvtransport1@telkomsa.net

P.V. TRANSPORT

Your road to professional excellence

P.V. Transport was formed in 1992, initially as a broker company, eventually expanding its wings into a general cartage contracting company. In 1998, the directors made a decision to implement further changes, changing the name from P.V. Transport to Kugan Consultant CC t/a P.V. Transport. Our main objective is to provide an excellent and dedicated logistical service to satisfy our clients total requirements, and to do this we offer the following services:

Our vision to our clients is to give them: · Quality service · Appreciation and respect for all clients · Providing a service that will enable clients to increase their growth and sales · Building on existing relationships, and building good relationships with new clients · Expand P.V. Transport’s growth, whilst acting in an ethical and responsible manner

· Local, long distance and cross-border haulage · Overnight freight services · Warehousing & Distribution

DFM is well aware of the benefits of the natural fibre raw material, the use of which is growing because of its huge environmental advantages - the products, made from recycled material, are themselves 100 percent recyclable and 100 percent biodegradeable. Productivity increases created through efficient operating have also given DFM reasons to be excited. “Over the last six months we’ve upgraded the efficiency of our machines and probably in the not too distant future, maybe the next year or two, we’re looking at new equipment and hiring people.” DFM employs over 200 permanent staff in Mandini.

“Most of our people commute – many live on the North Coast. It’s just the nature of the business. What we have been doing over the last few months is upskilling and we’ve had an intensive in house training programme for our machine operators. Because the industry is small – there are only two main players – there isn’t a standard training manual so we have spent a couple of years searching for a new development and training manager and his remit has been to develop that side of things. We are probably twothirds of the way through getting all the staff on this new training manual that we’ve developed.”

P.V. Transport are proud to be associated with Dynamic Fibre Mouldings

Staff turnover is low, he adds, and the company is very optimistic about its products and the future. “DFM has been going from strength to strength. Generally year after year we grow and we’ve well positioned ourselves for the next few years to handle rapid growth in the future. We’re definitely very positive about the future.” DFM is a fully compliant Level 7 BEE registered Company and it’s quality systems are certified to ISO 9001: 2008. END To learn more about DFM visit www.dfmsa.co.za. www.southafricamag.com 97

bag! ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S IN THE

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Izaka Plastics FoCUs MANUFACTURING

Izaka Plastics is a specialist in the manufacture and distribution of refuse bags. By Ian Armitage

inetown-based Izaka Plastics – Izakhamzi Plastics (Pty) Ltd – is no stranger to South Africa Magazine. The firm is a leading manufacturer and distributer of refuse bags and produces HDPE, LPDE plain and printed refuse bags and other plastic bags. Since 2001, it has invested heavily in providing exceptional products and services through design, extrusion, printing, laminating and conversion of flexible packaging. It is a great example of how to start up and then succeed in business. “We’re ‘hands-on’, assisting clients from the initial product planning and design stage, right through to completion,” says Production Manager Anwar Hayath. “We’ve got the tools, skills and resources – under one roof – to get any job done, efficiently and effectively and our equipment is professionally maintained to ensure minimal down-time and our experienced staff are energetic. “That is important as the flexible packaging arena is saturated and competition is fierce. It is very price competitive.” The company has been an ISO 9001:2008 accredited company since 2009. It is a specialist, dedicated to innovation and the development of modern flexible solutions for a wide range of Industries. www.southafricamag.com 99

Izaka Plastics focus manufacturing

We’ve also got an exciting development in respect of a six-month plan to develop an in-house brand

100 www.southafricamag.com

“I think we are recognised for our quality, service and professionalism,” Hayath says. Sibusiso Michael Maziya founded the firm. In the early years, and as an environmentally conscious businessman, the company was only engaged in the manufacture of refuse bags. Today it has grown considerably and expanded its operation to extrude and print on various types of bags, tubing and shrink film. It is quite the success story and Izaka’s plant currently comprises 12 bag-making machines, 11 extrusion lines, two co-extrusion lines, a slitter and three C I printing machines. Further growth is on the cards - according to Hayath, innovative expansion plans are being proposed and new equipment could well be brought in. “It is an exciting future,” he says. “We will be looking at investing in some recycling equipment that we’ll bring in to reduce costs. “We’ve also got an exciting development in respect of a sixmonth plan to develop an in-house brand. That is very exciting and we expect to increase production capacity and output in the region of between 28 and 30 percent. Turnover will go up. And we’ll look to align ourselves with some of the big guys in South Africa such as Unilever and Tiger Brands. We’ve made initial contact so in the next three or four months we’ll start getting work from these blue chip brands.” A willingness to invest and try something new has helped define the business, Hayath says. “Over the last few years we have

Manuchar sources a comprehensive range of products, but in all cases the common factor is service in the supply chain. We deliver the materials you need, at competitive conditions. Our product and market experience, efficient logistics and close follow-up allow us to reduce the time between order and shipment. Moreover we are able to add value in the form of trade financing and market knowledge. We offer products in the following sectors: • Chemicals & Fertilizers • Forest Products & Building Materials • Minerals & Ferro-alloys • Pharmaceuticals - LDI International • Polymers • Pulp & Paper • Spare Parts & Mining Products - PTC • Steel • Special Steel and Metals - Baubur Manuchar South Africa is an active and dynamic player in the supply of raw materials and logistics services to the mining, detergent, glass, food, candle, steel, polymers and various other industries. We are serving the entire South African market from our commercial and logistics offices in Johannesburg and Durban. With a total of 30,000 m2 of warehousing space in 4 different locations in South Africa, Manuchar South Africa can deliver world-class supply chain services throughout the region.

160 Jan Smuts Avenue 3rd Floor, North Wing Rosebank, South Africa Tel: +27 861 333 558 Fax: +27 11 442 1265 Email: southafrica.contact@manuchar.com Web: www.manuchar.com

invested in equipment upgrades and have increased staff numbers as a result. “Going forward we are looking to create more employment opportunities and training opportunities.” Izaka Plastics recognises that training and development of staff is paramount to success. MERSTA funding allows it to continuously train and develop staff and all staff members are trained through the Plastics Federation of SA, as well as the Packaging Convertors Association. “We’re investing in skills development and staff are receiving extra training. If you are a machine operator your skill level doesn’t need to be particularly high. You don’t need higher education diplomas. All you need is to understand how the machine works. Although there is a lot of chemistry involved in making plastics, machine operators are not really involved in the process. We think a little differently. And we encourage learning. The extra training is costing us money but 102 www.southafricamag.com

the company will benefit in the long run and the added bonus is that the staff that receive training are able to pass that knowledge on. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. “We’ve been moving previously disadvantaged people up into management positions. That’s all about empowering people and offering the chance to learn new skills. That is key to us.” Izaka is committed to the betterment and development of its staff and the nation. It has been independently rated by DRGSiyaya in terms of Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment codes of good practice and is a Level Three Contributor to BEE. “We at Izaka Plastics acknowledge that Black economic empowerment as defined in the BEE Act constitutes: “…An integrated and coherent socio-economic process that directly contributes to the economic transformation of South Africa and brings about significant increases in the number of blacks that manage,

Izaka Plastics focus manufacturing

own and control the country’s economy, as well as significant decreases in income inequalities,” the company’s website says. “We are committed to Broad-Based BEE, aimed at the economic empowerment of all black people (including women, workers, youth, disabled people, and people living in rural areas) through: ownership; management; employment equity; skills development; preferential procurement; and enterprise development.” Hayath says the company is a socially responsible enterprise and makes various contributions to a number of charities and special programmes. “This is part of our social responsibility to the community.” All printer cartridges are donated to ProjectPlus helpus2help.com in aid of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, for example. “All scrap generated from production is disposed of in a controlled manner. Recyclable scrap is recycled by a contractor and returned for use in production. Other waste is dumped at DSW dumpsites. Solvents are recycled for further use in production. We have also formed an alliance with Mondi Paper and DSW to install collection points throughout KZN especially to areas that were not previously accessible. “We also encourage end users to separate waste and recycling products in an acceptable manner.” Izaka Plastics incorporates in its business model a strict adherence to environmental best practices. END To learn more visit www.izaka.co.za. www.southafricamag.com 103

success? THE LABEL OF

A productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s label is one of the most important but often least-valued elements. Consider a bottle, can, box, jar or any other package. What identifies it? The label. It is a vital component. Or is it? South Africa Magazine talks to rotolabel, a high quality self-adhesive label manufacturer, to find out. By Ian Armitage

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rotolabel FoCUs MANUFACTURING

ape Town-based Rotolabel is both familiar and anonymous. Its high quality self-adhesive labels are all around us. From award wining South Africa wines to the aisles and shelves of top retailers, its creations are everywhere – packaging that cries out for our attention. It is a top producer in its niche. A frontrunner. “We specialise in high quality pressure sensitive label printing,” says sales director Grant Watson. “We supply the food, wine and hygiene industries predominantly and have built a reputation for total commitment, total dedication to service and absolute quality. “Labels are absolutely essential - What tells you who made it and what’s inside? The label. Where do you find the alcoholic content, the grape and the originating vineyard of a bottle of wine? On the label. It may also list ingredients, how to handle the product and how to store it for best results.” He says Rotolabel deals right across the spectrum. “We collaborate with top companies and brands of course but we deal right across the board, treating every client exactly the same where that’s a multinational blue chip or a guy off the street.”

The approach works. And it is one that founder Simon Gilbert developed way back in 1982. “We’ve always had a clear vision, solid plan,” says Mr Watson. “We wanted to lead the market in terms of quality, customer service and consistency. We’ve also been flexible in what has become a saturated market.” Indeed it has – there is very little organic growth in this niche industry. That’s a challenge, one that demanded flexibility. “It is a challenge,” Watson adds. “The organic growth is not there. But we never whinge. We simply face it. And we overcome.” Another issue is that many overseas players and new players have come into the South African market because they think it is a gateway to Africa. “It could be – in other forms of packaging definitely – but in self-adhesive labels I don’t see it,” Watson says. “Another trend or concern is that retailers are tending to go one layer, blindly believing it will reduce cost. That is not always the case – you have to consider the context, the whole life. There are instances where it is more expensive. Okay, some are doing that for green reasons. Whether it is greener or not is open to debate, but people see it as one less layer, and less material, so it must be www.southafricamag.com 105

greener. The other reason is labour. “What I’m getting at is that it is very important to look at total cost, not just the cost of packaging but also the cost of issues like minimum quantities, stock and re-orders. With labels you can order less stock and have changeovers in design, product or legislation. “Yes a printed product could be a few cents cheaper than a label and a product, but look at the total cost implication. “Unfortunately though, we’ve lost a lot of labels to direct print.” So where might growth come from? And what is Rotolabel doing in response? A lot actually. Investment in new technology is enabling it to respond more effectively to customer needs and to maintain its leading position in a competitive market. “Technology and innovation are key, something we live by,” Watson says. “We are a world-class company when it comes to consistency and quality. Anyone can print a good label but doing it consistently is another ball game. “We have advanced printing technology and offer innovative finishing techniques such as foiling, varnishing and a range of other value-added processes to produce world-class labels. We’ve also been a pioneer and a frontrunner in digital printing. Digital of course can respond quicker to the market since it is competitive on smaller runs, stock is better managed and the quality is superb. It’s also interchangeable, which works great here in South Africa where a percentage of the average runs are less than 2,000 metres.” 106 www.southafricamag.com

We are a world-class company when it comes to consistency and quality. Anyone can print a good label but doing it consistently is another ball game

Rotolabel focus manufacturing

So is the market demanding? “Very much so, especially on digital print where the lead times are incredibly short. It is driven by the economy and with things the way they are everyone is trying to keep inventory lower. Expectations of printers are almost like a mall now – everything is on the shelf and South Africa is over-traded. “People do not understand why lead times exist in manufacturing and they expect to pick up a phone and have labels within a day or two. We have to try and meet that. This need of the market is the prevalent one and lead times are becoming more demanding. You have to be hungry for the work or someone else will take it. “Our lead time in digital at the moment is three weeks because the demand is so high – yes it gets the job done quicker than conventional, but there is a queue of people in front of you. “The pressure is to get things out quickly and that is driven by the economy and the customer. “Our ability to interchange between conventional printing and digital has really served us well during this period where we have to adapt quickly to the client. “It’s about quality and reliability and also flexibility and adaptability.” A secret to success? Manifold. “It’s a few things. I’ve touched on our values – I think we have very good values. We are known to be professional, fair. We build long-term relationships. We like to play in a niche. “We are a business driven by a desire to please. I know it is cliché, but we really go out of our way for the customer to ensure their lives are hassle-free. They are demanding

but we always go out of our way to meet and exceed expectations. “But I come back to our people. They are a defining factor. We’ve a number of long servers and their grasp of the business is tremendous. They enjoy what they do and it tells. “We also keep it simple. Simplicity is the key to success. We try to stick to the basics, live by being honest and act with integrity and do things right. We are very professional and have superb expertise. Wherever you are coming from we are committed to you.” The market isn’t giving two-month orders any more; they’re ordering for two weeks – and don’t want to pay any more for it. Rotolabel is meeting the challenge head on and continuing to deliver the quality it is renowned for. END To learn more visit www.rotolabel.co.za.

Congratulations to Rotalabel on their 30th Anniversary. Synchron is proud to be associated with a leader in the label industry. With suppliers who are world leaders in their respective areas of expertise, Synchron will continue to source innovative products that differentiate the end users’ brands and provide tailor made solutions. We do not compromise on quality and offer consistently excellent service to our customers. JUST IMAGINE finding ONE company that can help build your brand in every visual space.

Tel: +27 21 5277100 Fax: +27 21 5525291 Website: www.synchron.co.za Email: info@synchron.co.za

future Focused on the

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Fima FoCUs MANUFACTURING

Fima is South Africa’s leading flexible packaging producer and is performing very well thanks to CEO Andre Annandale’ turnaround strategy. By Marie Toms

n after dinner mint, your favourite chocolate bar or a 25kg sack of cement; the likelihood is the wrapping comes from Fima, South Africa’s leading name in flexible packaging. The firm, formerly known as Treofan South Africa, has forged an enviable reputation as one of the leading suppliers of high-quality Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP), with a local production plant at its headquarters in Chamdor, Johannesburg. BOPP is a must-have packaging solution; its extensive benefits including unique combination properties such as stiffness, balanced shrinkage, transparency, sealability, barrier, shine, and twist retention. Applications include flexible packaging, pressure sensitive tape, printing and lamination, stationery, metallising, flower sleeves, cable wrap and insulation and Fima’s films are used for the packaging of snacks, chocolate bars, baked goods, confectionery, hygiene products, as well as wrap-around labels for the beverage market and carton overwraps for the tea and tobacco industry. “We’re a leader in flexible packaging solutions,” a company source told South Africa Magazine in June. “We develop innovative products for our customers and partners with a range of clear, white, matt and metalised products for packaging, labelling, and carton overwraps, as well as alternative packaging solutions. “The company is doing very well and our turnaround strategy has been successful. The factory is exceeding all production targets and we have confidence of a continued positive outlook,” he added. During 2011 Fima embarked on expansion plans that will see production at 31,000t of film at plate capacity per annum by 2013. Backed by the Industrial Development Corporation and funded by local banks, it is pitched towards beating imports and creating jobs in the supply chain. www.southafricamag.com 109

Fima FoCUs MANUFACTURING

In July 2011, Fima placed an order for an 8.7 metre BOPP line, as well as an 8.7 metre Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate (BOPET) line with the Andritz Group - with a capacity to produce 31,000 and 25,000 tons respectively at its Chamdor plant. “Our ultimate goal is to be able to meet the demands of the South African market,” the company told South Africa Magazine (see SA Mag issue 17). It added that South Africa was seeing a big push to replace glass and paper with plastic products and that the growth of BOPP across Africa was estimated at 12 percent over the next 10 years. “Our vision is to give the market what it wants, work closely with our customers and give them a packaging solution at a reasonable price, tailored to their needs and requirements,” the company said. “We want to be seen not just as a supplier but as a partner, educating and advising our customers and industry about our products, their features and benefits. In the flexible packaging field we are the experts” At the time Fima’s two lines were producing 11,500 tons of BOPP film, meaning it could serve only 30 percent of the South African market with locally produced film. The balance was met by imports, whose scale and cost are a constant challenge. “We must ensure we give our customers the best product, price and service to also make them more competitive globally. Our challenge at the moment is focussing on 2013, and our short term strategy is one of satisfying our market by putting out products that they want to seed the local market,” the company said. 110 www.southafricamag.com

Part of the Treofan Group for over 25 years, a 2009 management buyout gave the local company financial control and Treofan SA relaunched as Fima. A year later a Black Economic Empowerment transaction saw Wendile Investment Holdings - a 100 percent black-owned company - as majority shareholder. The Treofan Group link remains close, with Fima having exclusive selling rights in Sub-Saharan Africa. In November 2011 it was announced that Mr André Annandale, who was acting CEO, had given the role full-time – he became CEO officially on January 1, 2012. He has helped guide Fima though its turnaround strategy, cutting costs dramatically and improving production. For the future he is keen to build on these successes, investing in further new machinery and production efficiencies. enD To learn more visit www.fima.co.za.

Disaki Cores and Tubes is a leading manufacturer of spirally wound tubular cardboard cores in South Africa and amongst its valued customers are well-known paper mills and textile suppliers. We are a major supplier of cores and tubes and with our dedicated team and improved production processes, we run a fully automated core winding and cutting operation. Our focus is to deliver affordable solutions timeously while ensuring that our customers are supplied with a superior quality product. NEW Product ranges added: · Cones (textile industry) · Angleboard (fruit packing industry) · Dufaylite (used during the manufacture of doors) · Cardboard Partitions (mostly used in the wine industry) · Composites (for the food and medical industry)

Transpaco Contact Details 374 Bergvlei Road Wadeville EXT 4 Germiston 1401 Tel: 011 902 1528 Fax: 011 902 6700 Email: charly@transpaco.co.za

On a Roll

112 www.southafricamag.com

Rollex FOCUS SUPPLY CHAIN

Y Africa is the future, says Toby Williams managing director of agri-processing and logistics company Rollex. By Ali Barnard

ou may not recognise the company’s name. But you’ll certainly know its products. If you eat fruit and vegetables, the chances are your fridge is packed with produce grown, cut, packaged and delivered by Rollex. Despite the low profile, the company has had a powerful impact on southern Africa. It has developed a clear, simple and precise logic – to empower African growth by investing in its people – and that commitment has made it a champion of the African market place. Rollex’s continental scope is impressive to say the least. It has spent the past 15 years defining and redefining its focus and today stands out as a pioneer in the industry of perishable logistics. It offers a cost-effective service in air and road freight, focusing on fresh fruit and vegetables from across the Sub-Saharan region and, not satisfied with just transportation, it has expanded its involvement into implementing dozens of successful farming projects. Rollex takes responsibility from start to finish – growing, sourcing, packing and finally delivering fresh food to some of the world’s biggest retailers. Managing Director Toby Williams says: “We’re primarily involved in the business of sourcing, packaging and delivering produce – vegetables, fruits, salads, organic produce, fish and a variety of cut flowers - from across Africa to a network of highprofile retail clients. These include Pick n Pay in Southern Africa, as well as the provision of services to Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury, World Flowers, TFC Holland and Univeg in Europe.” www.southafricamag.com 113

Rollex focus supply chain

However, it is Rollex’s grassroots commitment to the African economy that makes it stand out from the rest. This determination to give something back to the African people is a legacy inherited from its parent company, Lonrho. Rollex was partially bought by Lonrho in 2008, and fully acquired in 2010. Today, Rollex falls under Lonrho’s agriculture division and has grown by leaps and bounds since the acquisition. “We needed to expand and that’s where Lonrho came in. They gave us the opportunity to leverage our position to put together the farming operation and the necessary developments within the business,” says Williams. “I suppose this is now a new business with a new face but it is an enlarged version of the original model which we have proven over the last 15 years.” Rollex has clearly benefited from Lonrho’s input. An international company with an international scope, Rollex has emerged as a leader it its field with the help of several valuable principles adopted from the Lonrho group. Rollex and other Lonrho-affiliated companies encourage initiatives for communities to thrive on their own terms, generating significant and lasting social and economic benefits for 114 www.southafricamag.com

the region as a whole. All companies within the Lonrho group share a similar vision – to unite the continent by investing in its people. “We grow the produce, we slice it, dice it, ship it, truck it, air freight it and everything in between,” says Williams. “We also strive to provide the best cold chain in Southern Africa with the trucks, fridges and our services. That’s our business and what we are trying to sell – a vertically integrated model that can provide tailor-made solutions.” As a result, Rollex has thrown itself into nurturing local communities and encouraging commercially viable agricultural businesses

Elegant Fuel Elegant Fuel would like to congratulate Rollex on their outstanding performances over the years. It gives us great pride supplying Rollex with the best available fuel at the best price to give them the competitive edge over their competition. Rollex only demands the best fuel for their fleet and Elegant Fuel is in the unique position to access the whole petroleum grid. We strive to diminish stock out situations and through careful strategic planning, deliver fuel in quantities and at times that suit them. We believe in building long term and mutually beneficial partnerships. The relationship between Elegant Fuel and Rollex speaks volumes in this regard.

Leading the way in fuel wholesale and distribution The company was born from the need that existed to look after smaller users of petroleum. Elegant Fuel only delivers depot-certified product to its clients over a vast area that includes Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the North West province. Due to its attention to detail and personal service, the company has seen month on month growth for a few years running and is the preferred non-refining wholesaler to diesel depots, mines, garages, the agricultural sector and even public transport operators. It has even come to the rescue of branded garages when they have run out of fuel. “Drawing from hard-earned experience and a never-say-die attitude of its founders, Elegant Fuel has established itself as the foremost supplier of petroleum products in the northern provinces of South Africa,” “With a customer satisfaction mindset, it has its finger firmly on the pulse of the economic, industrial and agricultural heartbeat of the province.” Through excellent strategic planning and communication, Elegant Fuel strives to deliver the best quality products to its discerning customers. Customer satisfaction is front of mind across the product range, from low-sulphur diesel to high-octane fuel. Elegant Fuel retains its logistical edge on the competition through agreements with all the major petroleum depots in the country, including Sasol Secunda, Sasol Natref, Total Waltoo, Total Alrode, Shell Alrode, Caltex Alrode and BP Waltloo to name a few.

Email: elegantfuel@gmail.com Web: www.elegantfuel.com

“Through the use of state-of-the-art bulk tankers, we pride ourselves in unmatched levels of service and industry expertise gained from our industry leading partnership with Faith Wheels tankers.” “Elegant Fuel always strives to put the customer first by introducing industry-leading cost-cutting measures and passing these savings on to our customers.” “It is interesting to note that in these financially troubled times, Elegant Fuel is still seen as a lucrative investment opportunity with low risks and high rewards by investors from both the public and private sector.” Elegant Fuel also enjoys a Level 4 BEE rating and is certified by the Department of Energy, speaking volumes of its commitment to transformation within the petroleum industry. Doing business with Elegant Fuel has now become even easier, with online orders allowing increased ease of purchase. Also available online is a list of representatives that cover the various areas. The company prides itself on its 100% no contamination record, which speaks volumes of the quality of the products and the integrity of management. Given the integrity, expertise, passion, hard work and commitment produced by the Elegant Fuel team, our market-leading performance comes as no surprise.

Tel: 015 5161834 Fax: 015 5161270

across the southern African region. It does not hold back when it comes to little ideas with big potential, and works closely with small scale farmers, encouraging job and skills creation in order to raise the standard of living in rural Africa. “We’re committed to striving to be the best, to training the best, investing in the best practice, the best equipment and best processes – and thereby delivering the best. Everything we do centres on that,” says Williams. And it means Rollex has had no trouble keeping its head above water in today’s economic climate. Williams attributes the company’s success to the African 116 www.southafricamag.com

Rollex focus SUPPLY CHAIN

market place, where he believes it is perfectly positioned to thrive. “Africa is the future,” he says. “The reality is that we’re probably better placed than anybody.” He is enthusiastic about future prospects. “We’re in the process of developing the strawberry business within Southern Africa, based around currently providing strawberries to South Africa in summer where they are out of season. That’s a huge potential market which is as yet relatively untapped and we’re a year and half into our project. From a market development perspective we like to take what we’re good at currently - the fresh fruit, the fresh vegetables and expand horizons into the US, the Middle East and the Far East.” Rollex’s ethos may be simple, but it has already created a legacy of hope, progress and development within Southern Africa. All that remains is3329 to continue that upward climb. END 2 2012/07/13 Garrun Ad-1-4 page ad f-aR1.pdf

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1:12

your lobster

T he world

South Africa Magazine talks to Ovenstone Agencies’ Dorrien Venn. By Ian Armitage

f business success requires a combination of knowing what you are doing and capitalising on a good opportunity, then Ovenstone Agencies wrote the book. It has a unique product, craved by consumers the world over. And it knows how to get it to them, without compromising on quality. “We are the sole concession holder for the Tristan da Cunha’s lobster,” says Ovenstone director Dorrien Venn. “That means we’re the only fishing company able to fish Tristan rock lobster in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Tristan da Cunha group of islands 118 www.southafricamag.com

Tristan da Cunha, Gough, Nightingale and Inaccessible.” He says there has been a commercial lobster fishery on the Island since 1948 and it is a mainstay of the local economy, employing many of the people that live there. Production is split between the island facility and a longline freezer vessel, which sails from Cape Town. “This is a unique business on a unique island.” The annual catch is in the region of 450 tonnes and is sold mainly to Japanese and American markets.

Ovenstone Agencies focus food & agriculture

“The US is one of our main markets and it is where lobster tails are mainly distributed to restaurant and hotel chains and we also sell a lot to Japan where whole cooked lobsters are a traditional wedding dish. The Australian market is a new outlet for us where Tristan lobster is used as a substitute for their local lobster, following a decline in their west coast catches.” It is an exciting time. “Ovenstone has held the Tristan Lobster concession since 1997. We fish at Gough, Nightingale and Inaccessible with a freezer factory longline vessel, the Edinburgh, and her four dories, which fish the inshore grounds,” adds Venn, who says fishing on Tristan is conducted by Islanders employed by Ovenstone, using nine dories owned by the company. “Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory deep in the South Atlantic Ocean and is home to the world’s remotest island community. Despite the challenges and difficulties we face, we operate a well-run and sustainable fishery.” Catches on Tristan are delivered to Ovenstone’s new factory that was commissioned in July 2009. It is a state-of-the-art facility, built with an eye on selling into the European market. “We control all aspects of the catching, processing, marketing and export of Tristan lobster,” says Venn. “We’re incredibly unique in that we are able to exclusively offer Jasus tristani to our markets.” Ovenstone is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified and is able to display the blue MSC eco-label on its products to

demonstrate its commitment to sustainable seafood management practices. “That is very important to us – we are a well-run fishery with a conservative resource management strategy.” You might be tempted to think it’s been easy for Ovenstone – it’s a leader in a niche market, with an almost monopoly if you consider it is the only firm permitted to catch and sell Tristan de Cunha’s lobster - but you’d be wrong. Life has sprung a few surprises. In 2008 a fire ripped through the factory – that’s why it was rebuilt in 2009. The fire struck on Valentine’s Day of all days, gutting the business. Statistically the odds of recovering from such a disaster are low, but Ovenstone overcame the challenge in conjunction with the Island Community. “The factory was destroyed by fire - there was nothing left. But within a year we’d commissioned and built a new one.” Fire wasn’t the only thing the business had endured. According to Venn there was a volcano on the original factory site in 1961. And if that wasn’t enough, in 2011, MS Oliva ran aground at Spinners Point off Nightingale Island.

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Ovenstone Agencies focus food & agriculture

That is very important to us – we are a wellrun fishery with a conservative resource management strategy

The 75,300 tonne vessel was sailing to Singapore from Santos in Brazil carrying soya beans. “It caused a fair bit of disruption to our operations. It was a bulk carrier on its way from Brazil to Singapore and ran aground on Nightingale. Subsequently the vessel broke up and dispersed 65,000 tonnes of soya into the water as well as 1,500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. We obviously had to stop fishing in the area and the Tristan Government closed the fishing ground at Nightingale until such time as it can be assessed that the resource has recovered from the impact of the Oliva and the resource is at the level it was before the grounding. It means we have lost a significant portion of our annual quota at Nightingale as well as Inaccessible Island where the quota has been reduced as a precaution. Both islands had significant oil pollution at the time. It has been a blow.” These things don’t keep Ovenstone down though. Looking to the future, Venn is optimistic, hopeful of gaining access to EU markets. “We’re focused on the EU and are in the final stages of the process and hoping to be fully EU 120 www.southafricamag.com

compliant by the end of the year at the latest. “Yes the factory was devastated by the fire in 2008 but it has enabled us to build the new plant and modernise everything with EU access in mind.” The reason Ovenstone is so keen to get into Europe is simple – it spreads the risks inherent of a cyclical industry and opens the product to a larger audience. “The lobster business can be very cyclical. EU access would be good for our business. “We continue to look at way of maximising the value of our quota and are developing new product lines such as sashimi frozen for the Japanese market and we are looking to sell our lobster tails into the retail sector in the US. “We are excited about the future prospects for our business, despite the recent setbacks and challenges which lie ahead.” Venn says Tristan lobster is highly regarded, with a reputation for excellent taste and quality. “They sell themselves.” So readers, go out and buy some! END To learn more visit www.tristandc.com.

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The tea

maker

122 www.southafricamag.com

tanganda tea Company FoCUs FOOD & AGRICULTURE

We have a lot to thank tea for – it refreshes your body, fuels your energy and, of course, the British Empire was built on it. Jokes aside, it is the favoured beverage of millions around the globe. It is also responsible for the fortunes of the tanganda tea Company, Zimbabwe’s biggest tea grower and producer. However, as we’ll learn, tea isn’t the only kid in town. By Ian Armitage

nywhere you go in the world you can always find a shop selling tea. Tea was discovered in China over 5,000 years ago and its popularity quickly spread. Today, it is in most offices and homes and millions enjoy a good cuppa. If you wondered who to thank odds are you needn’t look further than the Tanganda Tea Company, Zimbabwe’s biggest tea grower and producer. It is the best-selling brand of tea in the country and central Africa and it exports bulk tea leaves all over the world. It’s even claimed that six out of every ten cups of tea drunk in Britain every day are brewed from a blend containing leaves from Tanganda’s estates. That’s a mean feat. “As the name gives away, we are primarily involved in the production, packaging and distribution of tea,” says MD Tim Fennell. “Our major brand is Tanganda but we have many.” Unfortunately, times in the tea trade have been tough of late. Sure, there is always a huge demand, but low prices have been prevailing on the world market. It has seen Tanganda diversify into new crops - avocado and macadamia nut farming in particular - to increase earnings. “Why have we gone down this road? Well, tea production costs have been rising, yet prices on world markets have been stable, making the crop marginal. Frequent power outages, poor weather and increasing labour costs have also affected production. As a result, we saw it viable to diversify into other crops.” The cost of labour in particular remains a significant challenge and discussions with the relevant authorities for a

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tanganda tea Company FoCUs FOOD & AGRICULTURE

sustainable wage are being progressed, Mr Fennell says. “It’s an ongoing challenge. Wages have increased dramatically, perhaps to the point that it starts to become a little bit of a worry, as it’s a viability issue. That’s one reason that we have to grow more profitable crops.” Power is another problem. “We’re now so expensive in world terms for electricity.” Tanganda Tea Company owns and operates five estates covering 2,600 hectares tea with additional land being developed for the new crops. The Group is divided into two main operating divisions - Agricultural and Beverage. Fennell says it plans to put several hundred hectares under macadamia nuts and avocados and coffee.

“We identified macadamia nuts, avocadoes and coffee as the best and most complimentary crops. What we’ve done is we’ve basically embarked on the first stage of our diversification programme - the building of nurseries and growing of seedlings. That is obviously quite a process but we hope to have about 700 hectares of macadamias planted, 300 hectares of coffee planted and 500 hectares of avocadoes planted by March 2013. We intend to expand that. “The first 150 hectares of coffee that we planted last year will come into its first small crop in 2014. By 2015 that project will be in full swing. The avocadoes we planted this year and obviously we’ve got major

We’ve basically embarked on the first stage of our diversification programme

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ZFC Limited and Tanganda Tea Company

It takes two! ZFC Limited is the dominant manufacturer and distributer of Fertilisers and Agrochemicals in Zimbabwe and at the same time a major player in the regional market. ZFC Limited and Tanganda Tea Company have a long standing business relationship dating back two decades. For the Tanganda cropping enterprises that include Tea, Coffee, Macadamia and Avocado, ZFC Limited has provided Fertilizers that include Tea Fertilisers, Coffee Blends, Compounds, Fruit Fertilisers; Gypsum; Lime and Foliar Fertilisers. Agrochemicals also provided to the estates are in the form of Fungicides, Herbicides and Insecticides. Apart from Fertilizers and Agrochemicals, ZFC Limited also provides a strong Agronomic Support Team of agronomists that work hand in hand with estate managers on all the Tanganda Tea Company estates and assist with product back up services, the servicing of customer enquiries, soil sampling as well as research and development of new products that can be of use on the estates. ZFC Limited continuously thrives to improve its product quality by working hand in hand with Tanganda Tea Company and as a result of the existing strong business relationship between the two companies; ZFC Limited has established substantial business opportunities with Tanganda Tea Company.

Tanganda Tea Company focus food & agriculture

G&W Industrial Minerals and Tanganda Tea Company Since 1969, G&W Industrial Minerals Zimbabwe has been producing and supplying dolomitic and calcitic agricultural limes to many estates around Zimbabwe including Tanganda Tea Estates for the production of tea (camellia sinensis), macademia, coffee and other crops. On average Tanganda Tea Estates has been using not less than 2 500 tonnes of lime annually.

plantings that will take place between August and December after our winter and those will come into what I would say is a meaningful production, probably 2017. The macadamias will only really come into proper production in 2018-2019. “We do have areas under tea that are not particularly suitable from a terrain and water point of view so there is a possibility that we could remove some tea and increase the other crops, but not as a policy to remove tea. Currently we have 2,600 hectares of tea. We may bring that down to 2,400 and simply take out marginal areas. “Of course the other thing that we would always look at, which is not easy in Zimbabwe at the moment because of the various land issues and so on, but we would definitely look at purchasing more ground in order to develop more of the new crops.” He expects Tanganda to reap massive benefits from diversifying into those crops. “As I said, we are increasing our hectarage for macadamias and are embarking on a substantial development of avocados, and this will also be included in our out126 www.southafricamag.com

Benefits of lime on Tea Quality Tea is a widely consumed beverage. However, recent studies reveal that there were an increasing number of cases of tea products exceeding the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) usually (2mg per kg). Tea Lead (Pb) contamination is an issue affecting trade and consumer confidence. Root uptake of Pb could contribute significantly to Pb accumulation in tea leaves due to strong acidity of many tea garden soils. Agricultural lime is a very important crop input, which is often overlooked by many farmers with the consequence that their overall yields continue to decline over time. Addition of CaCO3 significantly increases soil pH thereby decreasing soil extractable Pb by up to 32%. The Pb concentration in fine roots, stems and new shoots of tea plants is significantly reduced after liming the soil. As a result tea quality is enhanced and consumer satisfaction increased. Other Beneficial Effects are: • Improved fertilizer use efficiency by your crops. Use of fertilizer alone without lime will result in poor fertilizer uptake and reduce the economic benefit of using fertilizer. • Application of lime improves the availability of soil nutrients to plants. At low pH, these nutrients will remain insoluble and hence inaccessible to crops. An important point to note is that the effectiveness of agricultural lime on your soil depends on its purity, its fineness and its neutralizing value. G&W Industrial Minerals (Pvt) Ltd are proud to inform you that our lime is purer, finer and of highest neutralizing value, it will give farmers high value for money.

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Develop the roots and enjoy the fruits

grower programmes. Of course we have an extensive tea out-grower scheme involving small-scale farmers around our estates. We expect good returns on this investment – these crops are pretty good money spinners if they’re done properly.” Fennell is certainly hoping Tanganda can profit from its pastures. “These are very much complementary crops, especially in terms of the time of year that they’re reaped. When you’re only harvesting tea you’re incredibly busy from December to June and quiet for the rest of the year. With these new crops we’ll get a 10-month inflow of cash over 12 months because of the variation of the reaping times. It no longer means the labour force is busy for a certain period and then there’s no work for them. This is the heart of the complimentary crops.” Tanganda, which was founded in 1930 and is based in Harare, is a subsidiary of Meikles Africa Limited. Meikles was the first company to comply with Zimbabwe’s indigenisation regulations.

Tanganda certainly has an incredible history. “The first tea was planted in the Chipinge area in 1924 and the Tanganda Tea Company that we know today purchased that company in 1943. Its development and so on has basically been going on since then.” And it has a bright future. “Although the tea industry has been in the doldrums for the past few years we actually see a bright future for it and the main reason for that is the development in the tea drinking market in places like China and the ability of people to be able to afford to be able to drink a cup of tea,” says Fennell. “Not in the short-term but in the mediumterm we hope to see hopefully a big growth in world tea consumption which will be far greater than production and therefore the tea industry as a whole will become viable as we go forward.” END To learn more about the Tanganda Tea Company visit www.tanganda.co.zw. www.southafricamag.com 127

sole THEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;VE GOT

128 www.southafricamag.com

ocean Basket FoCUs FOOD & AGRICULTURE

South Africa’s most popular seafood restaurant chain is ocean Basket and it has grown into an international franchise. Marketing manager Brendan McGhee takes South Africa Magazine through the secrets of its success. By Ian Armitage

hen we last talked to the folks at Ocean Basket, South Africa’s most popular seafood restaurant chain, it was about to celebrate its 15th birthday – a real landmark I think you’ll agree. It marked the occasion in some style, selling fish and chips at the same price it was in 1995 when Ocean Basket first opened its doors. For only R10 customers could enjoy a rather generous portion! Unsurprisingly perhaps, 77,000 consumers made use of this remarkable, once-in-a-lifetime offer (I was one). It was a roaring success. Television and newspaper ads were shown one day before the promotion to drive up interest. Twitter and other social media sites played their part too, with news spreading like wildfire (Steers, please take note). Steers jokes aside (I’m only upset because I wanted a cheap rib burger), when we last visited Ocean Basket it had 133 outlets and it was opening an average of seven new restaurants a year. Fast-forward just over 12 months, it now has 150 outlets and is expected to open more by the end of the year. Business has boomed. And Ocean Basket rode the wave (excuse the pun). Growth was driven by demand overseas and at home, marketing manager Brendan McGhee says. “We’ve expanded our footprint. We can be found across South Africa and have a presence in several other African countries, in Zimbabwe, www.southafricamag.com 129

Ocean Basket focus food & agriculture

Zambia and Botswana for instance, as well as the Middle East and Europe. “We’ve opened a couple of new outlets in Cyprus and Dubai International airport and we’ve also opened one in Mauritius and a couple of outlets in metro areas and small towns locally.” The fact Ocean Basket continues to grow is remarkable, especially in light of the economic context of the last couple of years. McGhee says the company saw what was happening early and developed a strategy that has not only seen it through, but has seen it expand. “We planned in terms of our key value items. We have been communicating to the market 130 www.southafricamag.com

the value and entry-level price points of great meals, not cheap and nasty meals. We have been doing this now for the last couple of years. It has paid fantastic dividends.” Although Ocean Basket has come a long way it has never forgotten its initial promise, McGhee says. “When we first opened our doors only a privileged minority could enjoy seafood. We made seafood affordable and haven’t changed our pricing strategy since day one. The key to our success is simplicity and we aren’t overly complicated. “Our message has been consistent in terms of our offering value for money. We have invested more in communications and

We’ve expanded our footprint. We can be found across South Africa and have a presence in several other African countries, in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana for instance, as well as the Middle East and Europe

advertising to remain at the front of minds and we haven’t compromised on the quality and service. Our customers have rewarded us because we have seen growth in real terms. We have also seen an interesting phenomenon where the top end of the market have become more value driven and are shopping down. They ordinarily wouldn’t come to our stores but now they are.” Ocean Basket is continually looking at further growth throughout the world. However, it has also worked hard to drive down set up costs to make it affordable to open outlets in smaller South African towns of 60200,000 populations. That has planned its

part in the firm’s continued expansion, particularly over the last year. “This is a strategy that we have pursued and got some fantastic results from it,” says Mc Ghee. “To give you an example, we opened a restaurant in Lephalale and it is doing phenomenally, paying fantastic dividends to the franchisee.” Things are clearly going very well for Ocean Basket at the moment and more expansion is just around the corner. “We plan to open something like 22 new outlets by year-end worldwide. It’s weighted more towards South Africa, looking for more opportunities like those in Lephalale. Of course international expansion

is always appealing. It is certainly very profitable. We’re excited by the brand’s future.” Yet, no matter how big it grows, or how many outlets it opens, Ocean Basket will not forget its promise of ‘great tastes and outstanding prices’. “That we will never do - we will always commit to that promise of great tastes and great prices,” says Mc Ghee, who adds that in every Ocean Basket, no matter in the world it is, you will find the same formula for success - simplicity, value for money and quality seafood served piping hot from the pan. To learn more visit www.oceanbasket.co.za.

END

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woods? O U t OF t h E

order Timbers is Zimbabwe’s leading timber producer – in 2011 it reported increased revenues and annual turnover, buoyed by improved local and regional demand for its products growth. It core business, for those that don’t already know, includes growing, milling, manufacturing, and selling of hardwood and softwood timber in Zimbabwe and exporting. What the company achieved in 2011 is remarkable, set against a

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backdrop of power, liquidity and law and order chaos, as well as a tax authority that it’s chairman said “assumes impunity”. It also came under increased cost pressures. All in all it was pretty challenging. But Border Timber’s achievements have been many - improved production, improved silviculture, improved capital allocation, improved industrial relations, and importantly an improved profitability. That profitability would’ve been higher if a strong rand hadn’t added roughly six percent to its cost base.

Border timbers FoCUs FOOD & AGRICULTURE

Zimbabwe’s leading timber producer, Border timbers, has a lot to contend with as South Africa Magazine discovers. By Marie Toms

“The increase in revenue is a very rewarding conclusion to the year and I would like to commend all concerned for achieving a much improved production,” said chairman Kenneth Schofield in the firm’s annual report. “Looking through to the cash generated, it is clear that we have some way to go to convert production to cash in the bank – or at the very least - cash invested back into the assets.” Sadly though, the future is uncertain. Firstly, Border was hit by a major fire during 2011 and the group lost

193,000 ha of planted area, the bulk of which were arson-related. Fire damage continues to be a major concern to the long-term viability of the forests. Power outages at the factory have also caused problems, as have the prices it has to pay for diesel, which made diesel-generated power uneconomic. “Power supply has been part of the competitive advantage enjoyed by Zimbabwe in the past in building an industrial base. Government must define the role of power in the development of the

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Border Timbers focus FOOD & AGRICULTURE

future of the country in a clear and focused way that allows industry to plan its own investment. Diesel generation is not the way – unless we plan on Somalia being a role model for development!,” Schofield’s annual chairman’s statement says. As if that wasn’t enough, at the turn of the year scores of villagers settled in the company’s timber plantations. Plantations at the Charter estate in Chimanimani were worst affected. “About 2,500 ha of our estate has been illegally 134 www.southafricamag.com

The increase in revenue is a very rewarding conclusion to the year

taken over by villagers who have parcelled themselves pieces of land. Our hands are tied because the invasions are being coordinated by politicians,” an estate manager who refused to be named for fear of victimisation told reporters at the time. According to those reports, the affected estates were Zipras, Chinyai and Skyline where the illegal settlers cleared all the timber and substituted the trees with maize and rapoko crops. Company officials also accused the invaders of causing veld fires which destroyed newly planted trees.

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Border timbers FoCUs FOOD & AGRICULTURE

ABOUT

Having survived the chaos of the past decade that has devastated the Zimbabwean economy, it would be a shame to see Border Timbers go as a result of this. But that is just a possibility. Not a reality. Border is in the middle of a rebuilding programme and its positive results for 2011 showed an increase in demand for transmission poles with enquiries coming from as far afield as Uganda. Border is recognised as one of the premium suppliers of poles in Southern/Central Africa and as Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economies continue to grow, the demand for electricity will be a strong driver of demand for its products. There was also a firm market demand with the group continuing to maintain its position as the premium supplier of kiln dried timber to the local market. 136 www.southafricamag.com

Border Timbers Limited was incorporated in 1979 through an amalgamation of three companies - Border Eastern Forest Estates, Renfee Timbers (Pvt) Limited and Forestry Management Services. The company has three divisions - Forestry, Sawmilling and Manufacturing. The forestry division manages a total of five estates. Tilbury, Charter and Sawerombe are in the Chimanimani area to the south of Mutare town, while Imbeza and Sheba are to the north in the Pennalonga area. Logs harvested by the division are processed at the three sawmills in Charter, Tilbury and Sheba. The first sawmill was established at Charter in 1953 and today it is one of the largest and most modern sawmills in Southern Africa. The sawmilling division has capacity to process 300 000m3 of saw logs annually. Most of the timber produced from the sawmills is further processed into valued added products by the manufacturing division which is made up of Paulington factory, Border Timbers International as well as a Pole treatment plant all in Mutare. The manufacturing division exports most of its output into both regional and international markets.

Address: Ground Floor Anglican Diocese of Manicaland Building 113 Herbert Chitepo Street, Mutare Email: jmuchakata@freightzone-logistics.com Website: www.freightzone-logistics.com Tel/Fax: 020-62919 Cell: 0772 874 408

We take you ahead of the customs clearing game Shawshanks Enterprises Private Limited is a company specialising in customs clearing services and started trading on the 21st of December 2010 trading as FreightZone Logistics. We are a Zimbabwean company and eager to excel and expand. This has seen our company growing from an establishment of two staff members to the current seven employees in only one year of operation. Our Business Relationships We have forged ties with many companies, including Continental Logistics & Freight and Border Timbers. We offer the following services: · Customs Clearance for imports and exports · Customs consultancy services · Delivery of cleared consignments – Within Harare and Harare to Mutare · Removal in Bond or Transit (To and from Forbes-Chirundu and Chirundu to Beitbridge) · Commercial goods and vehicle guarantee (CVG) · Consignment tracking

“Prices have in the export market recovered and the Group is geared to take advantage of this development. South Africa and Botswana have remained the Group’s leading export market,” Border said. Zimbabwe is a country where there has been substantial wealth accumulation in the hands of a relatively small number of people and a growing underclass of poor who will pressure for a part of the “better life” that is simply not being provided. Border is hoping for some dramatic improvements in the near future and is seeking

South Africa and Botswana have remained the Group’s leading export market

international finance to safeguard its operations. In 2011 it planted 1,276 hectares as against 562 felled and the firm made several improvements in its sawmills, with a focus on investing in new equipment. The South African lumber market grew by nearly eight percent in 2011, while Mozambique in particular has seen huge potential investment in forestry and Zimabawe has the opportunity to re-establish itself as a key player in the regional forestry sector. enD To learn more visit www.bordertimbers.com. www.southafricamag.com 137

cow! Zambeef continues to expand its reach, taking full advantage of the growth in Zambia’s economy. By Ian Armitage

ambeef needs little introduction. It is of course one of Africa’s biggest agribusinesses and food producers. It comes from humble beginnings – starting out as a small butcher shop in Lusaka in 1991. Today it produces just about anything. Place “Zam” in front of a food product and there is a pretty good chance Zambeef Products is making it. Unsurprisingly its tagline is ‘Feeding the Nation’. “We are one of the largest agribusinesses in Zambia,” Justo Kopulande, Zambeef Product’s head of public relations says.

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It is a real giant, involved in the production, processing, distribution and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, milk, dairy products, eggs, edible oils, stock feed, flour and bread. It also has large row cropping (maize, soya beans and wheat) operations and has increased its presence in West African countries like Nigeria and Ghana, in conjunction with Shoprite, as well as invested in an ambitious palm project within Zambia. “Those are certainly the big developments,” Kopulande says. Zambeef has taken full advantage of the growth in Zambia’s economy, which has averaged 6 percent a year over the past decade. It recently announced a 32 percent rise in revenues to $127.6 million in the six

Zambeef FoCUs FOOD & AGRICULTURE

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months to March, with the strongest divisional growth being cropping (up 211 percent), chicken and eggs (up 82 percent), stock feed (up 63 percent), and the West African operations (up 56 percent). “We achieved excellent financial results for 2012 interim and we attribute it to strict financial discipline, investment oriented financial strategy, a defined strategic plan and a reliable retail chain of our varied food products. “And we have a lot to look forward to. We have continued with the expansion of our production capacity with several projects underway including the expansion and upgrade of Zamanita’s crushing capacity, the upgrade and expansion of processing facilities at Master Pork Limited and the expansion and upgrade of the dairy processing plant. We’ve also announced an intention to increase in the dairy herd through the purchase of about 180 in-calf heifers.” Zambeef has a very successful distribution model too – something it aims to improve further. “We have one of the leading distribution and retail footprints in Zambia,” Kopulande says. Zambeef operates over 100 stores under the Zambeef banner and many in-house butcheries in Shoprite supermarket outlets in Zambia, while it has a number of its own fast food outlets under the brand Zamchick Inn. It also operates several in-house butcheries in Shoprite outlets and stores under the Zambeef banner in Nigeria and Ghana. Zambeef has proven its ability to penetrate more international markets. “We are becoming a more global business, yes. Many expansion projects are underway and under development.” 140 www.southafricamag.com

Zambeef focus food & agriculture

We recently acquired 9,000 hectares of land on the Copperbelt. That was funded through a very successful floatation of shares both in Zambia on the Lusaka Stock Exchange and in London through the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange

One of those is the expansion of its soya production. Zambeef has this year produced about 40,000 tonnes of soya beans. It wants to produce more. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do. We recently acquired 9,000 hectares of land on the Copperbelt. That was funded through a very successful floatation of shares both in Zambia on the Lusaka Stock Exchange and in London through the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. We were the first Zambian company to list on AIM and in that process we raised $55 million in total in conjunction with a domestic rights issue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why make the purchase? Simple - to create capacity for raw materials specifically soya to feed our Zamanita crushing plant soya needs and increase production of stock feed. On the land we will expand our irrigation capacity for production of soya, wheat, and maize - in that cycle. Remember, these are raw materials for production of edible oils (soya), flour (wheat) and the residue from these

Insulated Structures are proud suppliers of top quality coldrooms and freezers to Zambeef, and congratulate them on their success.

For more information contact Tony Goncalves Phone: 0027 73 2163573 Email: tonyg@insulated.co.za Web: www.insulatedstructures.co.za

Zambeef FoCUs FOOD & AGRICULTURE

grains is what is used in the production of stock feed.” It will have positive ramifications for locals. “It will create employment, market for their Soya, crop residues for live stock feed for locals and agro technology transfer. “Zambia imports huge volumes of Palm crude oil from the Far East and so this investment makes a lot of sense. Our homegrown palm crude will go a long way in import substitution. We will also create real jobs plus the resulting multiplier effect. “The project will promote food security, jobs, export opportunities, self sufficiency in cooking oil and feed our Zamanita refinery in Lusaka.” The added advantage is it creates a buffer in case of 142 www.southafricamag.com

The project will promote food, security, jobs, export opportunities, self sufficiency in cooking oil

economic hurdles in other subsectors of the agroeconomy, Kopulande says. You really have to take your hat off to Zambeef. It started small but has diversified in a number of agricultural sectors.

“We are a good testimony of how agri-business can make a big difference in a country like Zambia which has good climate, land and livestock,” Kopulande concludes. enD