10 Sep 2014 Barentz opens an office in South Africa
Barentz International, a global player in food ingredients, has announced that it’s opening up shop in South Africa. It will be headed up by highly respected SA food industry veteran, Paul Vet.
Barentz International, a global player in food ingredients, has announced that it’s opening up shop in South Africa. It will be headed up by highly respected SA food industry veteran, Paul Vet.
The new office is the first dedicated Barentz office on the African continent and, it says, is a natural step following Barentz’ philosophy of wanting to be close to its customers.
With a main office in Johannesburg and a representation in Cape Town, Barentz South Africa will initially serve customers in South Africa, with a plan to expand into the Sub-Saharan African countries.
Paul Vet (left) as MD will manage the African operations and serve customers in all the Barentz industries – Food & Nutrition, Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care and Animal Nutrition.
He has a long history in the food ingredients industry, most recently as MD for Danisco Sub-Saharan Africa and prior to that as Technical Director for several Divisions of Tiger Brands, South Africa’s biggest food producer.
“Being in South Africa is a logical step for us,” says Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz International. “With 55 million people, South Africa is a substantial market for the food industry. South Africa has seen a rise in the income of the middle class, giving way to the growth of large food retail stores like Shoprite Checkers, Pick ‘n Pay, Woolworths and Spar.
“To supply these retail stores with food and beverage products, many leading global and local companies have established factories in Sub-Saharan Africa, needing high quality ingredients to produce their world-class products.”
Operating from Johannesburg, Barentz will focus on establishing itself as a preferred supplier to the leading food & nutrition companies in the Sub-Saharan countries, before developing the ingredients and additives business for the pharmaceutical and personal care industries.
With over one billion people, the Sub-Saharan territories represent a major opportunity for growth for Barentz and its major suppliers. Barentz South Africa will offer a full range of ingredients and solutions to the food & nutrition market.
Paul Vet speaks with passion about the developments in the Sub Saharan African region: “With a steady rising income and knowledge about health foods there is a clear interest in specialty ingredients to produce, for instance, gluten free and organic products.
“More and more high technology food processing plants are being built, with Nigeria topping the scale. With this comes the need for more technical support and for a super-efficient logistics system, which many trading companies are not able to supply.
“The Barentz team will make a difference here. Despite its considerable size it remains an entrepreneurial company, with solid ingredients expertise, reliable supply and guaranteed quality of ingredients. This is exactly what we need to supply global and local leaders in this region.”
The office of Barentz in South Africa is part of the international expansion strategy of the Barentz group. Barentz has grown substantially in the last couple of years, realising a group turnover of 880 million Euros in 2013.
Barents SA: www.barentz.co.za
Barentz International: www.barentz.com
T: 083 251 4777
Email: [email protected]