Molatek Animal Feed is a division of Tsb Sugar, which is headquartered in Onderberg Valley in the South-eastern Lowveld in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Molatek started operating as a manufacturing business in 1985 and has continued to expand steadily since then. Today the company supplies products throughout South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland.

Tsb Sugar manufactures sugar in its mills at Malalane, Komatipoort and Pongola; Molatek uses the by-product of this process, molasses and bagasse, and combines it with other raw materials to produce animal feeds. Today an extensive range of advanced concentrates, licks and energy rations are manufactured and marketed for beef cattle, dairy cattle, calves, sheep, goats, horses and ostriches. Molatek’s molasses-based feeds ensure palatability, nutritional care and the prevention of dusty feeds.

SALES AND DISTRIBUTION

Molatek sells its products in two ways: directly to the customer and via cooperatives. The company has a dedicated team of sales executives who transport the products via road to farmers and cooperatives, as Fanie du Plessis, General Manager at Molatek explains, “All of our dedicated technical sales people have specific sales routes to follow. They visit individual farmers and cooperatives and sell Molatek’s products directly to the farmer. This ensures we are constantly generating new sales and promoting our products within the market.”

Molatek’s approach to sales is quite unique within South Africa and du Plessis believes that it is this technique that sets the company apart from its competitors. “We develop strong relationships with our customers and ensure all communication channels constantly remain open,” he says. “The quality of our sales teams, in terms of their technical ability and in terms of the support they offer farmers when it comes to managing their livestock operations are one of the company’s main selling points.”

In order to strengthen its sales, Molatek has spent a lot of time developing product ranges that compliment one another. By diversifying its product range, the company has experienced dramatic growth in the last decade owing to the fact that they can offer their customers’ complete animal feed solutions. Molatek products are also noted for its superior quality and mix ability and performance of animals consuming there products.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Molatek employs over 300 people and about 85 percent of those employees are based at the two manufacturing sites in Malalane and Komatipoort, the rest are employed mainly within the sales division of the company. Du Plessis explains that managing a large team of people requires a common aim. “We believe in engaging people at all levels by giving them a practical understanding of the requirements of the business,” he says. “We also create direct alignment in terms of customer needs and ensure that everybody understands their responsibility in relation to delivering the best customer service and fulfilling the customer’s demands.”

Training is also an integral part of people management at Molatek. “We train people to make sure they have the necessary skills to do their job as effectively as possible,” explains du Plessis. “At the company we place a particular emphasis on management training to ensure the people guiding our employees are doing so in a productive way.” Technical and sales training are a constant focus area where they focus on staying ahead relative to there competitive advantage. However, the company also embarks on personal training where it helps its employees to manage things such as their own finances and time.

TECHNOLOGY

Molatek constantly strives to be at the forefront of new developments in terms of manufacturing technology. “We utelise technology within our manufacturing and administrative divisions and by using the latest technology we are able to supply an excellent service to the market and run cost effective operations,” says du Plessis. Molatek is always looking to invest in the latest technological advancements and it is this uptake of new and improved systems that has allowed the company to perform well. 

Today, the company’s directors are investigating the possibility of expansion within the continent and du Plessis is certain that within the next 3-5 years Molatek will be spending a considerable amount of money on capital investments. He also states that Molatek will be expanding its product range to cope with customer demand. “We are looking to expand the company both geographically and from a products point of view. We have built a solid company on the foundations of high-quality products, outstanding customer service and great marketing and it is these key strengths we will be drawing upon to move forward in the future.”