Astrapak & SOS Children's Village change lives

South Africa’s leading plastic packaging Group
edition three, 2009
Astrapak & SOS Children’s Village change lives
Astrapak has always striven to go beyond the call of duty when it comes
to corporate social responsibility and 5 years ago embarked on a
relationship with the SOS Children’s Village.
The SOS Children’s Village was
started by Herman Gmeiner in
1949 in Imst, Austria, after the tragic
events of World War II. Through the
support of donors and co-workers, the
SOS Children’s Village has grown to help
children around the globe the globe,
and is now the largest private welfare
organization for children in the world. A
group of children are placed within a
home, attended to by an SOS mother,
and are raised in that house as a family
so the children grow as a unit, and not
just as individuals. Astrapak assists in the
funding of five different SOS Children’s
Village houses around South Africa;
Cape Town, Mthatha, Pietermaritzberg,
Mamelodi and Rustenburg.
Rustenburg Village – House 27
(From left) SOS Mother Bitsang, Patrick, Orapeleng,
Dineo, Kediemetse, Ntombi, Lettie and John
The organisers for 2006 World Cup in
Germany choose the SOS Children’s
Village as its official charity, leading
to the construction of the Rusternberg
Village as one of FIFA’s ‘6 Villages for
2006’. It consists of 10 family homes
integrated into one of the mining town’s
suburbs.
Cape Town Village – House 8
(Back, from left) Valentina, SOS Mother Mary,
Meagan and Leon; and (front, from left) Fatiema,
Audrey and Emerencia. Geraldine (inset) joined
after the group photo was taken.
Established in the year of South Africa’s
new democracy, the Cape Town SOS
Village opened its doors in 1996 with then
president Nelson Mandela and SOS-KDI
president Helmut Kutin being present at
the official opening. .
Pietermaritzburg Village – House 13
In 1992, the Natal Emergency Help
Programme was launched to provide
temporary accommodation in rented
houses for orphans living in poor
conditions in government hospitals. Once
suitable land was found, a Village was
built consisting of 15 family homes and an
SOS kindergarten.
(Back, from left) S'ne, Lunga, Nhlanhla and Njabalo;
and (front, from left) twins Londiwe and KLondeka.
SOS Mother Thelma was behind the camera, taking the
photo.
Mthatha Village – House 2
House 2 in the Mthatha Village is what
SOS Mother Sibulawa and 6 children call
home. The Village itself was built in 1995
on a former farm about three kilometres
outside of Mthatha. It consists of 15 family
houses, a SOS kindergarten, a clinic and
a Hermann Gmeiner Primary School - the
only SOS primary school in South Africa.
Mamelodi Village – House 15
8 children under the guidance of SOS
Mother Joyce, reside in House 15 in
the Mamelodi SOS Children’s Village.
Established in 1985, the Mamelodi Village,
near Pretoria, is home to 162 children.
Unpacked hopes to feature House 2 in
Mthatha and House 15 in Mamelodi in
future editions.
in this
issue ...
All above board
2 Tristar goes WCM Keith Watkins -
6
COO Rising Gospel star
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ASTRAPAK NEWS
1

Syspro helps sales
The importance of integrating sales with production is fast becoming plain to see with Syspro, Pak @00’s Ryan Croft – Marketing Manager, Stanley Chetty – Planning Manager,
Pam Baxter – Internal Sales and Peter Verster – Sales Manager show off their Visual Performance Monitor board.
One of the secrets to
effective selling is the
ability to understand
what the true cost
of producing an
item is and Syspro,
the enterprise
management system
adopted Group-wide
by Astrapak, is key to
ensuring that sales staff
have access to this
information.
‘If you can’t accurately determine what
it costs to produce a tube, bottle or
bag you are doomed before you even
start,’ says consultant Renee Kirkham.
‘All too often sales people are so keen
to secure the order that they are willing
to compromise price at the expense of
profitability. But the company needs to
not only recoup direct inputs like raw
materials but also general overheads
and margin on each product produced.
Sure, some items are more profitable than
others but each item manufactured must
contribute to the bottom line.’
Syspro is the system that keeps track of
every aspect of the business to ensure
accurate production costs can be
verified.
Gareth Elcox, general manager at Pak
2000 explains: ‘Purchase orders are an
important component. Not only do
they ensure that the correct price is
paid for the input but they help with the
production planning process so that
stock is on hand when needed. And this is
critical to efficient production runs. At the
same time it makes sure that we are not
overstocked on raw materials.’
‘The sales order function enables sales
staff to see the state of their order book
at any point in time. In fact, within
24hours of placing their order, customers
receive confirmation of the amount and
expected delivery date. This is a win:win
situation because we benefit from more
efficient production runs and the client
is fully informed of when their order will
arrive.’
Sales staff have access to a wide variety
of reports from Syspro. These can be
used to identify the profitability of every
product they sell, the value that each
customer brings to the company as well
help greatly with forecasting.
‘Syspro implementation throughout
the Group is almost complete. While
an intensive and detailed process, the
benefits are clearly evident for all to
see. From production to sales everyone
benefits,’ concludes Renee.
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ASTRAPAK NEWS

It may look a soft touch…
Message from Marco
Preparing for the upswing
The past 12 months
have been a relatively
turbulent time for many
Astrapak employees
as the Group has gone
through a period of
adjustment and refocus.
And this coincided with a
time when the local and
international economies
were going through
turmoil.
Cinqpet’s sales team expects success. From left,
Sales people have such a cushy job: they get to drive a
company car, have an entertainment allowance and float
in and out of the office at will. But do they really?
In any business, it’s sales that
generate turnover, create
jobs and provide profits for the
shareholders – and making a
success of this tough career takes
guts, stamina, self-organisation
and huge amounts of personal
motivation.
So, to provide the Astrapak sales
force with the skills to become
super-achievers, various Institute
of Marketing Management (IMM)
training programmes are being
rolled out.
Cinqpet’s sales team, headed up
by livewire manager Kirsty Keith, is
an example of one of the many that
have completed several of the IMM
modules this year. Says Kirsty, ‘A big
part of selling is psychological: you
have to be on top of your game,
from product knowledge to human
relationship skills and everything
in between. I’ve personally
benefited from the negotiating
skills programme; I think I’m now a
better listener and definitely more
organised – before I leave the office
I have my objectives for the day
identified.’
For internal sales person Angelina
Mkhondo, the training has helped
her deal with difficult customers.
She says the ability to build trust
and keep promises creates better
relationships with clients: once
you’re on better terms and things
go pear-shaped, it’s easier to
negotiate a suitable way out that’s
still beneficial for the client.
Ria Venter concurs. ‘As key account
manager, it’s vital that I build longterm
relationships with customers. I
need to ensure that we do business
for years to come and it takes a
lot of ongoing hard work to ensure
each customer is continually
happy.’
Development manager Steve Baker,
also part of the sales team, agrees
with his colleagues, and adds that
the team-based approach has
contributed to their overall success.
Sales coordinator Nomsa
Ramothwala is a firm believer in
giving customers a 110% service
experience with every transaction.
‘The IMM training has helped me
understand the value of great
service. It not only makes the client
happy but I feel happier when I’ve
done my best.’
The IMM training is ongoing and
will resume in the new year. It’s
anticipated that all client-facing
staff will eventually complete the
various modules that are relevant to
their particular job.
While we’ve achieved
an incredible amount from an Astrapak
perspective, we’re not out of the woods from a
general economic point of view. There are signs
of a recovery but the average consumer is still
under huge pressure and he/she is the ultimate
consumer of all of our packaging products.
Internally we’re well positioned for the economic
recovery when it starts to really swing around.
We’ve refocused our operations to closer reflect
the areas where we see long-term growth and
opportunities by disposing of those that didn’t
reflect this new outlook.
We’ve put an enormous amount of money and
time into introducing World Class Manufacturing to
ensure every company will be able to benchmark
themselves to the very best in the world. Our new
advertising strapline, ‘A world of opportunities’,
reflects this need and desire to be globally
competitive.
With production facilities upgrading their
capabilities, it only made sense that client-facing
staff also upskill. A range of IMM-accredited
courses have now been rolled out across the
Group and early indications are that positive
results are already being experienced.
Any large, modern organisation relies on upto-the-minute
information and Astrapak is no
exception. With manufacturing operations spread
across the country, millions of Rands in raw
material and finished goods in stock at any one
point, and more than 3 000 people on staff, we
need to know exactly what’s happening in each
operation all the time. Thanks to Syspro, this is
now a reality. And what’s important for me is that
everyone throughout the Group benefits from this
initiative.
This year has flown past and 2010 holds much
promise for us and South Africa as a whole. Let’s
embrace the future. Let’s be positive about
the year ahead and make the most of the
opportunities, both business and personal, that
come our way.
If you’re taking time over the festive season
for holidays, please drive safely. Enjoy the time
with friends and family and return rested and
rejuvenated for what promises to be one of the
most exciting years in South Africa’s modern
history.
Viva 2010, viva!
Best wishes
ASTRAPAK NEWS
3

Here are some
WCM success stories
from companies
within the Group:
One team, one vision at Packline
Launched under the slogan Isipani esinye, sinembono
enye – ‘one team, one vision’ – East London-based
Packline have got off to a racing start with their WCM
programme and have already reduced their scrap levels
by almost three percent. ‘The Eastern Cape is probably a lot
harder hit than most in the current economic slump and we’re
wholeheartedly embracing WCM as a way to make ourselves
more competitive,’ says general manager Wally van Rensburg.
‘Our goal is to become the Eastern Cape’s least-cost producer
of quality film and related products.’
Wally sees the role of training as a key element in changing
staff attitudes, lifting morale and re-energising personnel. ‘In
addition to reducing scrap, watching inputs and becoming
more electricity efficient, training is where we hope to add the
most value. And, importantly, it’s skills that employees will have
forever.
‘We’re working hard to overcome the short-term challenges but
I do commend the staff for the way they’ve embraced WCM
and see it as an integral part of their future.’
No, it’s not a strike, it’s Packline staff embracing Isipani esinye, sinembono enye.
Facilitators are key to WCM implementation
The trained Facilitators from six of
the KZN companies (back, from
left) Peter Edwards (Plastop KZN),
Neil Doherty-Bigara (PAK2000),
Trust Ndlela (Consupac), Viren
Rampukar (VPM Champion,
Consupac) and Donavan
Van Niekerk (Thermopac);
and (front, from left) Marc Nel
(JJ Precision Plastics), Balan
Munswami (Consupac) and
Naeem Soobrathi (Packaging
Consultants).
The facilitator plays a key role
in the implementation and
sustainability of World Class
Manufacturing practices.
And, emphasising the importance of
this person, six of the companies in
KwaZulu-Natal have embarked on a
combined comprehensive development
programme for the individuals tasked
with this value-adding role.
What made the development process
particularly effective was that the six
candidates were developed as a team,
rotating their training from one operation
to the next each time they met. The
spin-off has been that not only are they
aware of their roles and responsibilities
but they’ve gained valuable exposure
to other Astrapak operations and have
learned to share ideas from the outset.
A Facilitator is the internal expert on
WCM practices and his/her role includes:
* advising the Implementation Task Force
on the next steps in the process;
* coaching and guiding Best Practices
Champions on assessing current
practices and the way forward;
* coaching and supporting the Team
Leaders and Internal Trainers in their roles;
* guiding Profit Improvement Project
Leaders in the correct methodology to
ensure project delivery;
* assisting with logistic arrangements such
as team-building sessions and 5S, clear
and tag exercises; and
* ensuring that new practices are lived in
the workplace.
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ASTRAPAK NEWS

Marcom and Plastop in the WCM rhythm
The reorganisation of
Astrapak’s business model
in recent months has
meant greater cooperation
between operations and so
Marcom and Plastop both
decided to use drumming
as the motivational tool
to introduce World Class
Manufacturing.
With Obakeng
Sebona appointed
continuous
improvement
manager for both Marcom and
Plastop, it fell to him to present
the overview of what World
Class Manufacturing (WCM)
is all about, together with the
roles to be played by all staff
members.
Both operations took time out
from the normal production
schedule to ensure that all
employees attended their
respective WCM launch
programme. Obakeng explains,
‘It’s about securing total buy-in
from everyone. Without that,
this type of initiative won’t work.
Interestingly enough, these two
launches represented the first
time that many staff from admin
and sales had any interaction
with production. The breaking of
perceived barriers between the
two groups of employees was
an important step in the WCM
process.’
Both companies also introduced
a logo and naming competition
to brand their respective
WCM programmes and the
response in both instances was
outstanding.
Plastop received 63 entries; the
top 10 have been shortlisted
and the final design will be
based on these submissions.
However, all 10 finalists will be
embarking on a plant visit to an
Astrapak operation in KwaZulu-
Natal as reward for their efforts.
Marcom’s winning entry was
submitted by Abbey Nkitle.
Entitled Singano, local slang for
‘together we survive’, the logo
has now been adopted across
the company for use with any
WCM initiative.
A show of hands. Each person had the opportunity of ‘signing’ and committing
to the WCM programme by making a handmark on a canvas frame.
Marcom staff take time for a group photo on WCM launch day
Sales adopts WCM at Cinqpet
World Class Manufacturing is gaining
momentum throughout the Group
and at Cinqpet: the sales team has
become intricately involved in the
process.
‘Sales and Manufacturing approach a
customer’s need from opposite ends
of the spectrum,’ says sales manager
Kirsty Keith. ‘Manufacturing wants to
see large orders with long lead times
so they can plan production and gain
efficiencies. Sales people want to
make the client happy: short runs, lots
of variants and, you want it tomorrow,
no problem! Clearly the two parties
need to work together to satisfy the
customer.’
Kirsty’s team have adopted the 5s
system as well as a visual performance
monitor board, albeit with their own
measurement criteria. In addition,
Sales has introduced the Apple award,
their own reward system for superior
performance.
Manufacturing manager Deon Swart is
delighted with the way Manufacturing
and Sales have integrated over WCM.
‘At the end of the day we both have
the same goals: keep the clients happy
and ensure a safe and productive
manufacturing environment. The results
for us so far have been outstanding.
Not only are we operating at greater
efficiencies but the feeling of teamwork
is palpable.’
Kirsty agrees. ‘It’s all about teamwork,
from Manufacturing to Sales and on
to the client. We need to educate
customers about the need for
forecasting and sharing of information,
because if we understand their needs
in good time, we’ll be in a position to
deliver timeously and with maximum
efficiencies. It’s a win-win for everyone.’
And the proof is in the pudding: this
year, for the first time in many years,
Cinqpet is scheduled to have its
Christmas shutdown with perhaps only
Distribution having to be on standby to
meet customers’ emergency needs.
‘You do have to be realistic about
the challenges faced when looking
to adopt anything new, and WCM is
no different. We all work ourselves into
a comfort zone and change is not
easy. Often, in fact, we actively work
against it until we can be convinced
that there are benefits that will accrue.
But I can vouch, that by including all
the members of the operation into
the WCM change team we have
noticed a significant change in culture
in the company and it’s all positive,’
concludes Deon.
Key account manager Ria Venter, the first winner of
the Apple award, with sales manager Kirsty Keith and
manufacturing manager Deon Swart. The word Apple is an
acronym for: Attitude, Passion, Perseverance, Leadership
and Energy – all necessary ingredients when tackling change!
ASTRAPAK NEWS
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NEWS
Astrapak on the Propak map
Congratulations to Charles Muller and his team for the exhibition at
this year’s Propak show. The innovative colouring and bold design
created a significant impression and attracted many favourable
comments from visitors.
East Rand takes to the road
Congratulations to Gold Pack winners
The Group won eight Gold Packs at this
year’s annual packaging awards held in
Johannesburg to coincide with the Propak
exhibition. This is a significant event on the
calendar and has become regarded as the
Oscars of the packaging industry.
The competition is more than 30 years old
and is the judging benchmark for locally
produced packaging. There were 167 entries
this year and 81 winners, so for Astrapak
to garner eight of those is a significant
achievement.
The winners were:
Cinqplast
Consupaq (2)
Plastop Bronkhorstspruit
Hilfort Plastics
Thermopac (2)
Knilam Packaging.
Looking sweet for
Pacon and Tristar
Coming up smiling at this year’s East Rand Plasticssponsored
Garbie Relay are (from left) Traver Museenzi,
Carol Wallace, Irene Mayorkinos, Wanda Molefe and
(seated) John Polori. What started out as a teambuilding
fun-run last year – a by-product of the WCM
initiative – has grown into a fully fledged corporate
challenge among other companies and running clubs
in Gauteng. Added incentive has been created with
several other Astrapak companies taking part. If you’re
based in Gauteng, why not take up the challenge and
enter a team next year?
Denis Campbell from Pacon proudly displays the Supplier of
the Year award received from TSB Sugar earlier in the year.
Tristar Plastics and Pacon both received awards from TSB
Sugar, with the latter a significant achievement when you
consider there were 38 companies vying for only six awards.
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ASTRAPAK NEWS

Pacon cleanup
Plastic is often fingered as the guilty party
when it comes to environmental waste, with
discarded plastic bags and bottles scattered
across the country. But as the Plastics
Federation maintains, ‘Plastic doesn’t litter,
people do.’
It was with this
in mind that
Johnson Nagaser,
Praven Ranjith,
Ken Swanepoel,
Geoff Cuttler
and James van
Tonder from Pacon
joined 8 000 other
concerned citizens
and braved a cold
and wet Saturday
in September to
participate in the
annual International
Coastal Clean-up
Day.
The event focuses
on cleaning coastal
Pravin Ranjith, extrusion manager at Pacon,
makes light of an unpleasant task during the
annual clean-up day.
and riverine environments and this time round it was the
turn of the Umhlangane River, a waterway that bisects
the Riverhorse Valley Business Estate where Pacon is
situated.
The campaign was a resounding success, with about 16
000 bags of litter collected weighing about 51 tonnes.
About 70% of the collected waste was plastic.
Innovation brings savings
When the motherboard on one of the Cinqpet’s
injection moulding machines blew up, they were
faced with a R300 000 problem: that was the cost of the
replacement part.
But for electrician Tumelo Moseki and charge-hand Johan Greef,
this seemed a lot of money for something they felt could be
done more innovatively. Off they went to look what was on offer
at a couple of computer shops and they soon found a card
which, with a bit of tweaking and adjustment, ended up working
perfectly – at a total cost of R240!
Cinqpet’s ‘McGyvers’, Tumelo Moseki and Johan Greef (right), with Cinqpet
maintenance manager Martin Botha (left).
Penpak celebrates
Peninsula Packaging celebrated its 30th year of operation
with a company braai, sing-a-long and talent competition.
Designer of
Marcom’s WCM
logo Abbey
Nkitle’s career
epitomises
the kind of
commitment that
is expected from
everyone on WCM. He started with the company
as a packer in 2008, progressed to grinder
operator at the beginning of 2009 and is now on a
mentorship programme to become a production
clerk. In addition, he has attended WCM Team
Leader training and will become one of Marcom’s
champions for the project.
Winners of Miss Penpak 2009 with the judges. Back row, from left: Deon van der Merwe,
Marius Floris, Patrick Meyer and Adriaan Engelbrecht. Middle row, from left: Alvester
Chadow, Theresa van Vuuren, Magdel Aggenbach and Leon Mias. Front row, from left:
second princess Louisa Louw, Miss Penpak Tanya Esau and first princess Merlé Faro.
The tone for the Saturday event, held at Penpak’s premises
was set after the Boks beat New Zealand at rugby, and from
there the party was on. The tea ladies gave a performance of
‘Koekie Loekie’ while another group performed a ‘Single Ladies’
number that rivalled Beyonce’s.
The highlight of the day was the crowing of Miss Penpak, but with
so many beautiful people working for the company, the judges’ job
wasn’t easy.
ASTRAPAK NEWS
7

Our new strap line tells it like it is...
A world of opportunities
The last 12 months have witnessed a re-birth of Astrapak and our
new corporate slogan and branding sums it all up: A world of
opportunities
‘The Astrapak A has been overlaid on Africa and the globe. It emphasises that while we
see our roots on this continent, we are ultimately a member of the global village and see
ourselves as a world-class player,’ explains Group marketing director Charles Muller. ‘We
are at an incredibly exciting phase of the Group’s life and the strap line could not be more
appropriate: there are opportunities for all stakeholders – employees, customers, suppliers
and investors. We need to embrace and maximise them.’
Specialised plastic packaging like Saflite’s Astrapouch
is fast replacing glass and not only for the budget
wines.
Advances in packaging technology have opened
the door for the use of plastic instead of glass
in the wine industry and both Hilfort and Saflite
have experience in this fickle field. And while
traditionalists may want to retain glass they are going to be
under huge environmental pressure to adopt alternatives,
with plastic being the most obvious.
The three major components when comparing carbon
footprints are; manufacture, transportation and disposal.
There’s no CO2 debate,
plastic is the winner
With carbon footprint becoming an increasingly significant
topic much has been made about the comparison
between plastic bottles and glass, particularly for wine
where a large volume of intercontinental traffic takes
place.
According to independent studies, glass creates about
7.3 times more the CO2 of plastic during manufacture and
1.8 times more during transport. Even if you assume that all
glass bottles were recycled and no recycled plastic was
used to make new bottles, plastic still comes up favourably.
‘The research is clear,’ says Charles Muller. ‘Manufacturing
a typical wine bottle creates about 295g of CO2, while a
comparable plastic bottle is only 108g. That means from
an environmental perspective, you can manufacture 2.7
plastic bottles for every one glass. And that’s a significant
benefit for our environment.’
One-stop shop
The scope of Astrapak’s product offering is
mind boggling to say the least with very few
people in the Group really understanding
the entire range.
So, to make it easier for staff members, customers and
potential customers alike Charles Muller took one of
the unused rooms at Cinqplast and converted it into a
showroom complete with projection screen.
Each company has been allocated its own display cabinet
which can be used to showcase examples of its capabilities.
Product brochures and other promotional literature can also
be placed there for interested parties to access.
It is going to be largely up to each company to ensure their
display presents their most recent and innovative offering. For
more information contact Garath Hendrikz on
garath@astrapak.co.za
Also on show will be products manufactured by Astrapak’s
international alliance partners as well as innovative packaging
designs from around the world that have been collected on
one of Charles’s business sojourns.
IMBONGI COMMUNICATIONS TEL: 021 671 9143 www.imbongisa.com
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ASTRAPAK NEWS