Weener Plastop is on the ball

Finding the right home for Saflite and KnilamThe consolidation of Saflite and Knilam, two of Astrapak’s special<strong>is</strong>tflexible manufacturers, <strong>is</strong> taking some time – but rest assured thatwhen it happens, it will meet all our needs.If you’re wondering why it’s taking awhile to get Saflite and Knilam underthe same roof, one of the reasons <strong>is</strong>that general manager Brennan Sharpand h<strong>is</strong> team are determined to findan industrial space that meets all theirspecial<strong>is</strong>ed requirements and <strong>is</strong> alsoclose to the southern suburbs of CapeTown, where most of their workforcehails from. With a combined staffcomplement set to reach close on60 on a four-shift system, it’s importantthey find a new home for theconsolidated company as close aspossible to the homes of the peoplewho make it all happen.The reasons for the consolidation are allgood: it’s about bringing economiesof scale to the two small businesses bycombining them into one operation, sosaving considerable admin<strong>is</strong>trative andoverhead costs.Another key advantage to the union<strong>is</strong> the integration of manufacturingoperations. Both companies use similarprocesses with different substrates toproduce special<strong>is</strong>t packaging.Saflite’s patented wine pouch hasbecome a global product; enquiriescontinue to flood in from around theworld. Production <strong>is</strong> set to reach newheights with the introduction of aspout insertion machine later th<strong>is</strong> year,adding a new product to the currentrange of pouches.Knilam already has a significant shareof the local MAP market and themanagement team <strong>is</strong> progressing wellwith their plans to target the lucrativeEuropean market importing freshproduce out of Kenya.And Knilam <strong>is</strong> one of an elite groupof companies in South Africa that hasbeen awarded Brit<strong>is</strong>h Retail Consortium(BRC) certification. The plan <strong>is</strong> toincorporate Knilam’s internationallyrecogn<strong>is</strong>ed hygiene and food safetystandard into Saflite. Says Brennan,‘As a supplier to the food andwine industries, and with theimplementation of the newConsumer Protection Act and itspotential impact on all South Africanbusinesses, we need to put standards inplace at Saflite.’In terms of securing a newprem<strong>is</strong>es, Brennan and h<strong>is</strong> teamhave been challenged by the recenteconomic slowdown as well as theirvery specific requirements. In terms oflocation, there are limited industrialproperties to be found in the southernsuburbs and, when looking at what <strong>is</strong>available, <strong>is</strong>sues such as cleanlinessand access control come into play.And then there’s the task of marryingtwo different cultures and skill levels intoone while maintaining continuity andachieving growth.But Brennan <strong>is</strong> excited by the new lookbusinessand <strong>is</strong> confident the new homewill be secured by the end of the year.Saflite staffKnilam staff4ASTRAPAK NEWS