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South Africans love their coffee, with cappuccino now the fastest-growing coffee segment, and Nestlé SA has responded to this demand, as consumption was growing at about 15% annually.
The food and beverage company is now producing its variety of cappuccino mixes for the local market at its factory in Babelegi Industrial Park in Hammanskraal, north of the city of Tshwane, instead of in South Korea.
On Tuesday, Nestlé East and Southern African Region (ESAR) announced the expansion of this manufacturing plant, which already produces Maggi two-minute noodles, which is popular among little ones, and Cremora coffee creamer.
Nestlé ESAR business executive officer for coffee and beverages Carl Khoury said the company was a market leader in this coffee market segment.
"It brings convenience and a great-tasting cup of coffee in the convenience of your home, and you can prepare it anywhere. That’s really the advantage of this segment and that’s why we’re trying to build it in South Africa and beyond."
R79 million has been invested in the factory, most of which has gone to the machinery imported from Europe into the highly automated manufacturing plant, with only 27 jobs being added to the staff complement of approximately 350. Of the 27 employees, 24 are employed in production and three are based in engineering.
"Unfortunately, we don’t have the capability in the country to produce these high-speed machines with the quality requirements that we need," said ESAR chief engineer Sean Weavill at the Babelegi plant.
“The installation is designed such that man doesn’t interfere, so all the processes are automatic. The operators bring in the bags, they place them on the equipment and the weighing is done automatically.
"What you’re seeing on the line are the operators who are required to monitor the machines and for the manual packing at the end of the line,” he added.
The cutting-edge machinery produces an impressive 1 200 sachets of cappuccino per minute and 2 500 tons of mixes per annum; 90% of this is for the local market while the rest will be exported to other parts of the continent, including Mauritius.
The group’s plans to expand into Africa include growing coffee beans in countries such as Kenya and Angola. Currently, the coffee beans used are imported from Vietnam and Brazil.
Factory manager Samantha Ganethige said the company was taking precautions to ensure the safety of its products, following the outbreak of cholera in the area, which had claimed over 20 lives. He said the water chlorine levels were tested twice daily to ensure there was no bacteria, and there had been no cases of cholera on the site since the outbreak.
