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Focused on thefuture

Fima is South Africa’s leading flexible packaging

producer and is performing very well thanks to

CEO Andre Annandale’ turnaround strategy.

By Marie Toms

A n after dinner mint, your favourite chocolate bar or a 25kg sack of cement; the likelihood is the wrapping

comes from Fima, South Africa’s leading name in fl exible packaging.

The fi rm, formerly known as Treofan South Africa, has forged an enviable reputation as one of the leading suppliers of high-quality Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP), with a local production plant at its headquarters in Chamdor, Johannesburg.

BOPP is a must-have packaging solution; its extensive benefi ts including unique combination properties such as stiffness, balanced shrinkage, transparency, sealability, barrier, shine, and twist retention.

Applications include fl exible packaging, pressure sensitive tape, printing and lamination, stationery, metallising, fl ower sleeves, cable wrap and insulation and Fima’s fi lms are used for the packaging of snacks, chocolate bars, baked goods, confectionery, hygiene products, as well as wrap-around labels for the beverage market and carton overwraps for the tea and tobacco industry.

“We’re a leader in fl exible packaging solutions,” a company source told South Africa Magazine in June. “We develop innovative products for our customers and partners with a range of clear, white, matt and metalised products for packaging, labelling, and carton overwraps, as well as alternative packaging solutions.

“The company is doing very well and our turnaround strategy has been successful. The factory is exceeding all production targets and we have confi dence of a continued positive outlook,” he added.

During 2011 Fima embarked on expansion plans that will see production at 31,000t of fi lm at plate capacity per annum by 2013.

Backed by the Industrial Development Corporation and funded by local banks, it is pitched towards beating imports and creating jobs in the supply chain.

Fima FOCUS MANUFACTURING

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future

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Fima FOCUS MANUFACTURING

In July 2011, Fima placed an order for an 8.7 metre BOPP line, as well as an 8.7 metre Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate (BOPET) line with the Andritz Group - with a capacity to produce 31,000 and 25,000 tons respectively at its Chamdor plant.

“Our ultimate goal is to be able to meet the demands of the South African market,” the company told South Africa Magazine (see SA Mag issue 17). It added that South Africa was seeing a big push to replace glass and paper with plastic products and that the growth of BOPP across Africa was estimated at 12 percent over the next 10 years.

“Our vision is to give the market what it wants, work closely with our customers and give them a packaging solution at a reasonable price, tailored to their needs and requirements,” the company said. “We want to be seen not just as a supplier but as a partner, educating and advising our customers and industry about our products, their features and benefi ts. In the fl exible packaging fi eld we are the experts”

At the time Fima’s two lines were producing 11,500 tons of BOPP fi lm, meaning it could serve only 30 percent of the South African market with locally produced fi lm. The balance was met by imports, whose scale and cost are a constant challenge.

“We must ensure we give our customers the best product, price and service to also make them more competitive globally. Our challenge at the moment is focussing on 2013, and our short term strategy is one of satisfying our market by putting out products that they want to seed the local market,” the company said.

Part of the Treofan Group for over 25 years, a 2009 management buyout gave the local company fi nancial control and Treofan SA re-launched as Fima.

A year later a Black Economic Empowerment transaction saw Wendile Investment Holdings - a 100 percent black-owned company - as majority shareholder. The Treofan Group link remains close, with Fima having exclusive selling rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In November 2011 it was announced that Mr André Annandale, who was acting CEO, had given the role full-time – he became CEO offi cially on January 1, 2012.

He has helped guide Fima though its turnaround strategy, cutting costs dramatically and improving production.

For the future he is keen to build on these successes, investing in further new machinery and production effi ciencies. END

To learn more visit www.fi ma.co.za.

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We are a major supplier of cores and tubes and with our dedicated team We are a major supplier of cores and tubes and with our dedicated team and improved production processes, we run a fully automated core winding and cutting operation. Our focus is to deliver affordable solutions timeously while ensuring that our customers are supplied with a superior quality product.

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