Parmalat's Bonnievale production grows with leaps and bounds

Tag : Juice Production Line

Parmalat's Bonnievale production grows with leaps and bounds

Dairy and fruit juice producer Parmalat has expanded its productioncapabilities by 33% through a capital investment of R32,7-millionat its facility at Bonnievale, a Breede River town near Robertsonin the Western Cape.

The result has seen the combined potential output of the cheesefactory, Africa's biggest producer and manufacturer, together withits sister facility at Ladismith, swell to huge numbers.

It's a significant milestone for the global company's South Africansubsidiary, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in South Africathis year and is also an indication of strong growth, particularlyfor its cheese production divisions.

Major growth was one of the main motivations behind theextraordinary expansion undertaken in Bonnievale. Parmalat'sBonnievale plant produces various premium quality cheddar, goudaand mozzarella products for a variety of end-users, among them someof SA's biggest supermarket groups and restaurant chains.

Meeting the target deadline of October - traditionally the WesternCape dairy farmers' highest milk production period - was no meanfeat, according to plant manager Hansie Wolfaardt. "The entiresupply chain relied on us being able to handle the extra milk byOctober and in spite of some considerable challenges, we achievedour goal," he says.

The project required the team to source material, most of it fromvarious countries overseas, and complete installations across thefactory premises within nine months and, most importantly, withminimal disruption to the normal day-to-day production.

The upgrade included the installation of an additional pasteuriserand pickling vat in the mozzarella line; a new 16-ton boiler; asecond Individually Wrapped Slices (IWS) machine; two new cheesevats and cheddar towers; and, the overhauling of the entirefactory's warehouse refrigeration and control systems.

"The project was among the single biggest undertaken at theBonnievale plant since its establishment in 1926," says Wolfaardt,who has worked at the factory for over three decades.

The company is one of the biggest employers, together with theagricultural sector, in the region. Some 600 permanent andtemporary staff members work at the R450-million facility.

The current value of stock at the plant is just under R150-million,with the bulk taken up by cheese which is matured at nine degreesCelsius for between five weeks for Gouda and 20 months for vintagecheddar before being cut and packaged for distribution.

According to Wolfaardt, the unflinching commitment of themanagement team and divisional supervisors, despite setbacks suchas the departure of some key staff during the period, resulted inthe successful completion of the upgrade.

"When we started out, we sketched the bigger picture and saideither we do it or we tell head office we are unable to meet thetarget. One option was to appoint contractors and to let them doeverything, but while we did eventually use some contractors, theteam said they were prepared to handle the bulk of what needed tobe done," says Wolfaardt.

"The tasks were divided among various divisions and becauseeveryone saw the bigger picture, they went for it," Wolfaardt says,adding specialists involved included electricians and teams dealingwith steam, cooling systems and stainless steel.

The task involved a total of no less than 5 000 labour hours. Theefforts of the Parmalat Bonnievale team - comprising Danie Nel(production manager: cheese), senior technician Les MҒ