Nestlé SA launched a new coffee creamer factory in Potchefstroom on 3 February. This brings the total number of Nestlé manufacturing facilities in SA to 10. The new creamer facility is expected to increase the production capacity and offers Nestlé an opportunity to develop affordable products of a high standard, a company representative said.
The world's biggest food company is looking to tap into the growing demand in Africa, as consumers become wealthier.
"We are proud to launch Nestlé Potchefstroom as this further demonstrates the company's ongoing commitment to foreign direct investment," Nestlé chairman and MD Sullivan O'Carroll said. "This launch speaks to the company's need for increased local manufacturing in order to respond to increased demand of Nestlé coffee creamer."
Cremora would be made at the plant adding much-needed capacity to the existing creamer manufacturing facility in Babelegi, near Pretoria.
"It is also in line with our long-term commitment to business sustainability and economic development in SA and the rest of the African continent," he said.
The launch follows Nestlé SA's recent R106 million acquisition of Potchefstroom-based Specialised Protein Products. A Nestlé representative said a further R150 million would be spent on this facility over the next 18 months for general upgrading. The acquisition included the absorption of 142 employees.
This purchase will increase the production capacity of Nestlé's non-dairy creamers and give the company an opportunity to develop good quality and affordable soya-based products.
Consumer goods companies are increasingly seeking to tap into the growing African market of more than one billion people and this launch confirms the opportunities Nestlé recognises in this growing market.
