KwaZulu-Natal Business 2017/18 is the ninth edition of this highly successful publication that has, since its launch in 2008, established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the KwaZulu-Natal Province.
The 2017/18 edition includes special features on the Richards Bay area and its increasingly important Industrial Development Zone, the investment appeal of Durban and the growing maritime economy. Up-to-date overviews on the province’s economic sectors provide unique insights.
Global Africa Network Media (www.gan.co.za), the publisher of KwaZulu-Natal Business, specialises in business-to-business print and electronic publications, producing a series of region-specific, annual print journals. Every province in South Africa is covered by this unique range of journals and websites, complemented by a national business guidebook, South African Business.
OVERVIEW Agriprocessing
OVERVIEW Agriprocessing Food and beverages are produced on a large scale in KwaZulu-Natal. Turning agricultural products into tasty food and beverages is done on a large scale in KwaZulu-Natal. Dairy company Clover SA is one of several big brands that originated in KwaZulu-Natal. In Pinetown, Clover has a long-life UHT milk processing and packaging facility; a Queensburgh factory makes fresh pasteurised milk, juice, dairy mix and fermented products; in Estcourt, milk powder is manufactured. Clover buys nearly 30% of all milk produced by South Africa’s farmers. Dairybelle makes milk and milk products at Pinetown. International giant Unilever is strongly associated with KwaZulu- Natal. The South African company’s headquarters are in La Lucia. In 2016, Nestlé South Africa invested R1.2-billion in adding instant coffee to the products made at its plant in Estcourt. The company makes infant formula at Harrismith. Two of RCL’s four processing plants (dealing with four-million chickens per week) are in KwaZulu-Natal. RCL used to be Rainbow Chickens but the base of the new company is still in Westville, about 12km west of Durban. The Remgro Group is a 75.9% shareholder in RCL Foods. KwaZulu-Natal has a large number of food and beverage producers, but there are countless opportunities that still remain in the agri-processing sector. Agri-processing will no longer be the preserve of big companies, thanks to a provincial government initiative in Ngwanase in the uMkhanyakude District Municipality. R30-million has been invested in a marula processing plant, designed to produce jams and oils. Most of the money came from the KZN Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (KDARD) with the national Department of Rural Development and Land Reform contributing a R5-million de-stoner machine. Forty-nine local farmers will provide feedstock to the plant. CONTACT INFO Agricultural Research Council: www.arc.agric.za Food & Beverage Reporter: www.fbreporter.com Milk Producers Organisation: www.mpo.co.za National Agricultural Marketing Council: www.namc.co.za SECTOR INSIGHT Nestlé South Africa has a new instant coffee plant in Estcourt. Edible oil products are made by the Willowton Group at its national headquarters and plant in Pietermaritzburg. Other wellknown food producers include: Sasko (Estcourt and Durban), Beacon (Jacobs), Nature’s Source and National Brands (both Durban) and Snackworks biscuits (Westmead, Pinetown). The South African Breweries plant at Prospecton is one of the biggest producers in the region. Bergville subsistence farmers have contracts to supply SAB with yellow maize, an arrangement that will allow them to plan ahead and to invest in production. Coca-Cola has a plant in Durban and a large bottling plant, run by Amalgamated Beverage Industries, at Phoenix. The Ceres Beverage Company has a plant in Durban and bottled-water company aQuelle is based at Kranskop. KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2017/18 74
Automotive Durban hosts the first NAACAM Show. OVERVIEW As part of attempts to boost the city of Durban as a destination for automotive investment, the first National Association of Automotive Components and Allied Manufactures (NAACAM) Show was held in Durban in April 2017. Future events will rotate between other major centres in South Africa. In line with the policy of developing Industrial Economic Hubs, the Durban Automotive Supplier Park is being built at Illovo, south of Durban and near to the Toyota plant. An amount of R11.5-billion will be invested in three phases, with the first allocation amounting to R4.3-billion. The Dube TradePort Corporation will manage the project, which covers 1 013ha. Other partners are the eThekwini Municipality, Toyota and the provincial government. The aim is to attract car assembly and component manufacturing companies. Thirty-nine companies are currently members of the Durban Automotive Cluster which is funded by the municipality. Together, these firms have about 17 000 employees. In 2016, Toyota invested a further R6.1-billion into its already large plant at Prospecton. The company regularly sells about a quarter of the vehicles sold in South Africa, and the same proportion of exports volumes. The Corolla car, the Hilux bakkie and the Fortuner SUV are manufactured at the plant. KwaZulu-Natal’s other automotive giant is Bell Equipment. Between the Toyota plant at Prospecton south of Durban and the Richards Bay facility of heavy-equipment manufacturer Bell Equipment, upwards of 11 000 people are employed: both companies are market leaders. The sector accounts for 17.7% of the province’s export basket. The province also has a substantial and varied automotive-supply sector. Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TIKZN) estimates that CONTACT INFO Automotive Industry Export Council: www.aiec.co.za National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM): www.naacam.co.za National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA): www.naamsa.co.za SECTOR INSIGHT An Automotive Supplier Park is to be built south of Durban. the province’s component automotive manufacturers enjoy a combined turnover approaching R10-billion. Powerstar trucks assembled in Pietermaritzburg on a site formerly used by Super Group. China North Vehicle Corporation (Norinco Motors) and BEIBEN produce about 60 000 heavyduty commercial duty vehicles every year at their plant in Inner Mongolia. Two other global truck marques have assembly plants in the province: Volvo in Durban, and MAN Truck and Bus South Africa in Pinetown. MAN’s assembly plant makes front-engine bus chassis. Keeping MAN and Toyota supplied is the R300-million operation, Duys Engineering Group. International company GUD Filters has a big presence in the province. Indian-owned Apollo Tyres SA makes Dunlop products at two large factories in the province. The Behr Group makes airconditioning and cooling systems in Durban. Ramsay Engineering supplies cross-car beams for BMW and Ford. 75 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2017/18
