Photo: Supplied
Manufacturing and converting more than 50 million square metres of corrugated board per annum, Houers, situated in Letsitele in Limpopo, is one of the major suppliers of corrugated cartons to the agricultural market in South Africa.
Although most of these cartons are for the citrus industry, the company is a major industry supplier of specialised cartons and packaging for agricultural products, including tropical and subtropical fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs and dairy products.
In 1982, a group of citrus farmers set up an independent, farmer-owned carton manufacturing facility in Letsitele with limited capital.
Today, the co-operative is still fully owned by farmers, and day-to-day management is in the hands of CEO, Wimpie Mostert. The business is going from strength to strength and supplies fruit cartons and other packaging to a broad agricultural sector.
Mostert feels strongly about supporting and forging relationships with local suppliers of paper.
“We need to support our local suppliers such as Sappi and Mondi. If they should ever close their doors, we will be at the mercy of global suppliers and availability.”
Houers provides employment to 120 full-time staff and up to 250 seasonal workers contracted during peak manufacturing season. Upskilling workers and promising candidates from the local community is one of their priorities, says Mostert.
He says Houers prides itself on continuously adding value and delivering quality products at competitive prices on time. “Our aim is to exceed our clients’ expectations by constantly exploring new opportunities and ideas.”
Training initiatives
To fulfil its objectives while serving the industry with integrity and distinction, constant training of staff is another one of the company’s objectives.
“It is of the utmost importance to us to fulfil our obligations to our local communities. Only if we can uplift our communities and invest in skills training will we be able to create a pipeline of new employees for the future,” Mostert points out.
He says Houers registered a training centre, Houers Academy, in June 2020. In collaboration with Skills Academy, it has obtained accreditation for the following:
- FP&M Seta Theory: Corrugated Board Manufacturing Machine Minder & Printer and Finishing Machine Minder;
- FP&M Seta Workplace: Corrugated Board Manufacturing Machine Minder & Printer and Finishing Machine Minder;
- National Assessment and Moderation Body (NAMB): Corrugated Board Manufacturing Machine Minder & Printer and Finishing Machine Minder; and
- MICT Seta: Basic computer training – Mobile computer laboratory.
Currently, the Houers Academy offers the following courses and programmes:
- Basic skills
- Learnerships
- Middle Management
TT1, TT2, TT3 apprenticeships for:
- Corrugated Board Manufacturing Machine Minder
- Printer and Finishing Machine Minder
Basic Computer training
- Introduction to computers
- Internet and email
- Microsoft Office (Excel, Word and PowerPoint)
- First Aid Training
- Fire Fighting Training; and
- Health and Safety.
Representative training
Over the past four years, 70 students a year, comprising Houers employees as well as unemployed candidates, have been part of the programmes offered at the academy. The first students who enrolled in 2020 and 2021 finished their T3 training at the end of 2023.
According to Mostert, Houers and Skills Unlimited offer free training to schools in remote areas as part of their social and ethics responsibilities.
“In 2020, we also partnered with Skills Unlimited to alleviate the needs of schools in rural Nwamitwa. The project started with Mahwahwa Secondary School through the Partners for Possibility initiative. The first activity was training in Basic Computer Techniques given to Grade 10 learners to equip them for the future. In 2021, Mrs Ledwaba from Skills Unlimited set up a mobile computer facility at Mahwahwa Secondary School.
Grade 11 and 12 learners are taught basic Internet and email skills and assisted to create their own email addresses and write a curriculum vitae from a template. The learners are now able to apply for work, tertiary education or National Student Financial Aid Scheme financing,“ according to Mostert.
Houers Academy has also been involved in other social corporate investment projects over the past few years. During 2019, toys sponsored by PEP in Letsitele were handed out to children at a less fortunate creche in the area. During the same year, students at Houers collected money for a feeding scheme at another creche.
In collaboration with the Kaross Foundation, a group of grade 12 mathematics teachers from rural secondary schools in the area attended a five-day workshop at the Houers Academy in Letsitele in June 2021.
According to Mostert, the workshop was presented by an experienced facilitator and the teachers obtained access to high-quality study material.
“Future outreaches are planned at schools where we will be empowering the youth with knowledge regarding HIV, child trafficking and substance abuse.”
New tech creates opportunities
Recently, Houers bought a Göpfert Evolution modular printer and die-cutter. The machine is manufactured in Germany and is designed for high- quality flexo printing and die-cutting.
“The direct drive technology and vacuum sheet transport allows for maximum register accuracy, providing high-quality printing,” says Mostert, adding that they had to train staff to operate the new machine.
“We identified four people within the company. All four of the candidates came from a group who previously underwent training through the Houers Academy and obtaineded a TT3 qualification as a Printer and Finishing Machine Minder.
“Of these four, two were selected from our temporary staff and two were already permanently appointed. Three of the operators will work during the normal daily shifts and one will be on standby for when one of the others are not able to work due to illness.”
European training team
The machine operating training staff from Germany and Sweden did the training on-site.
“What was encouraging was the fact that the trainers observed that our staff compare well with the best operators in the world. They accepted the challenge,” Mostert says.
One of these newly trained operators is Joanna Maponya. She started working at Houers about 17 years ago in an unskilled role.
“I started as an office cleaner and then after a couple of years moved into the plant as a general cleaner on the floor. I then moved to the packing division as a packer and stacker, but through continuous learning I worked myself up to where I am today,” she says.
Maponya is also mentoring younger staff members and often stresses the importance of learning to write and read and finishing school. “If I were not able to read and write, I would not have been able to operate this machine. Hard work pays off,” she says.
Farmer’s Weekly reported on the company in 2017: ‘Carton factory cooperative pays off for citrus farmers’
Email Wimpie Mostert at [email protected], or visit houers.co.za.
