African Business Review

Eco-friendly South African Winemaker Uses PET

February 5, 2020 by Melissa Rudd Leave a Comment

Backsberg takes innovative step and uses PET bottles for award-winning win.

Producing the finest quality wines relies on mother nature providing the optimum conditions for vineyards.

With this in mind, it is only right that winemakers should do their bit to help protect the environment – and that’s exactly what South African winemaker Backsberg, based near Stellenbosch, has done.

In 2006, Backsberg became the first wine producer in South Africa – and one of only three in the world – to gain carbon neutral status by sequestrating its carbon emissions.

PET bottles

In 2010, the company went one step further by using energy saving plastic bottles as opposed to glass. The Wine and Spirit Board approved the bottling of certified natural wine in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Backsberg became the first South African winemakers to implement the change.

Its ‘Tread Lightly’ Merlot 2008, Sauvignon Blanc 2010 and Chenin Blanc 2010 were the first certified wines in the country to be sold in Mondi’s new, innovative PET soft bottle.

“At roughly half the packaging energy consumption of glass and around 25 percent less shipments due to size and weight savings, these bottles certainly support the Tread Lightly philosophy,” said Backsberg.

The company admitted its eco-friendly wine is sometimes met with scepticism. “Questions get asked about the PET bottle – the most obvious is ‘how does it affect the wine?’ The easy answer is not at all. The PET bottle has been cleared as safe for food and beverage contact by health and regulatory agencies around the world, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada, and the EU’s Food Safety Authority.”

The PET bottle protects against oxidation, consisting of two outer layers with a third oxygen barrier layer in between, called the ‘oxygen scavenger’. In addition, Mondi, the South African manufacturer of the bottle, guarantees them for two years.

As well as the obvious environmental benefits of PET, there are also instances when it is desirable to traditional glass bottles of wine, such as concerts or other outdoor events where glass is prohibited. The lightweight bottles do not break if they are dropped and are perfect to take on picnics, hikes and walks.

Taste

Tread Lightly has certainly passed the taste test. The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc won a silver medal at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards and was voted by the public as their second favourite white wine on show at the Cape Town WineX.

“Wine consumers have not really had much of a chance to opt out from glass bottles in South Africa without having to seriously lower their expectations on the quality of the wine,” said Backsberg.

Owner Michael Back remains focused on continuing to lead the way when it comes to being environmentally-friendly.

“Care for the environment means care and concern for succeeding generations. As custodians of the land, it is our duty to understand and recognise potential threats, and to mitigate against them for the benefit of the next generation,” said Back.

“The enjoyment of a great bottle of wine should never be at the cost of the environment. Whether by measurable process or by intuitive approach, every step we take in producing our wines must be challenged.

“Tread Lightly is spearheading what will surely become commonplace in the near future.”

Le Nash Signs Sticks to Old-Fashioned Values and Enjoys Success in the Modern Age, in African Business Review

February 4, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

In a report in African Business Review, the success of Le Nash signs as a premier manufacturer and installer of traffic road signage is examined. Established in 1996, the company covers countries across Southern Africa.

Le-Nash has worked on large contracts in Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique and Angola as well as its domestic market. Le Nash handles not only ground mounted signs but also overhead signs and the supporting overhead structures too, sub contracting this aspect of work out to trusted vendors. The company was contracted to carry out the majority of signage work on the Gauteng Highway Improvement Project.

Sales Director Rob Fry has overseen a great deal of growth in his 12 years at Le Nash Signs, yet he maintains the firm has always operated by the same simple ethics. “Not many companies show real growth year-on-year,” he says. “If you give people what they want, when they want it, you will grow. Traditional, old style, ethical business – it’s what it’s all about.”

The company has two standalone factories, both fully equipped to produce signage. Le-Nash has also recently tied up a shareholder and distribution agreement with German graphic products company Orafol, whose products also include reflective sheeting and the Reflexite range of conspicuity tape and garment tapes. A massive area of focus for Le-Nash is the promotion of digitally printed traffic signs. As the proud owner of the first traffic sign digital printer in Africa, the company is ready to take advantage of new technology.

The majority of business for Le Nash comes through contracts with government departments and companies such as N3TC, Bakwena, Group Five, Grinaker, WBHO and SANRAL (The South African National Roads Agency.

Read the article here: https://www.africanbusinessreview.co.za/reports/le-nash-signs

About Le Nash Signs

Since its inception in June 1996, Le Nash Signs has grown into a highly respected, leading manufacturer of road traffic signs in Southern Africa supplying signs to South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Malawi.

For more information, visit: www.lenashsigns.co.za.

About African Business Review

African Business Review is a leading digital media source of news and content for C-level executives focused on business and industry-specific news throughout Africa. African Business Review is the territory-dedicated arm of the WDM Group. Founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Glen White, WDM Group retains a diversified portfolio of websites, magazines, mobile apps, daily news feeds and weekly e-newsletters that leverage technology to innovatively deliver high-quality content, analytical data, and industry news. For more information, contact 1-760-827-7800 or visit https://www.africanbusinessreview.co.za/.

Drake & Gorham Remains a Constant Source of Satisfaction to Customers for More Than 50 Years, in African Business Review

February 4, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

In a report in African Business Review, the development of Lusaka, Zambia-based Drake & Gorham into an international leader in air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration is examined.

Established in 1958, the company has proven itself as a sustainable, efficient and progressive company on its own continent while extending its reach globally. Originally part of the Drake & Skull International Group, the business has gone from strength to strength. Following the management buyout 18 years ago though, the progression has been staggering.

Chief Executive, Arne Lüring and his son and Managing Director, Mark Lüring are determined to maintain their dominance and develop further.“We are the major player in our sector at the moment and we want to retain that. It’s easy to climb the ladder, but it is also difficult to stay at the top, and we want to do that.”

The change in focus from multi services (M & E) provider to specialised air-conditioning, refrigeration and ventilation services, and contractors with retail and wholesale outlets for top brands of equipment and components, proved to be a strategic hammer-blow to the competition, and it has never looked back. Drake & Gorham continuously invests in development and recently acquired an additional warehouse, able to store more than 2,000 air conditioning units at any given time

To maintain its position at the top of the industry, Drake & Gorham has invested vast amounts of time in the quality of its staff and the development of employees.

“We emphasise a lot on training our staff in accordance with the latest technologies,” Arne explains. “We send our staff to South Africa for annual training and we also have trainers coming into Zambia to train all our technical staff.”

Read the article here:https://www.africanbusinessreview.co.za/reports/drake-and-gorham

About Drake & Gorham

Established in 1958, Drake & Gorham supplies high quality services and expertise on mechanical and electrical contracting works to numerous domestic, commercial, industrial and agro based sectors throughout Zambia. It is the leader in the Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Ventilation sector in the Zambian Market.

For more information, visit www.drakeandgorham.com

About African Business Review

For more information, contact 1-760-827-7800 or visit https://www.africanbusinessreview.co.za/.

Changing the Landscape of Money Transfers

February 3, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

MTxpress’ cashless remittance service branches out further in Nigeria.

Officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries are estimated to have reached $351 billion in 2011. The World Bank’s list of countries that received the most money from migrant remittances last year saw Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, placed seventh with an estimated $11 billion through official channels.

With those kinds of statistics, it’s no wonder that there is a tremendous opportunity to provide workers remittance services that provide an opportunity to earn revenue but also offer convenience and good value in the remittance sector. With a career working for J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, and HSBC, Steven Faulkner first learned of remittances when he became Chief Operating Officer of a division of UBA Bank in Nigeria. “With my experience in international payments and cash management and with the proliferation of the feature phone in Nigeria I knew I could change the money transfer landscape” he says.

The unique MTxpress model

Putting his ideas into practice, when he returned to the UK at the end of 2006, Faulkner co-founded Mobile Union with Nauzar Manekshaw in August 2007. “I set about designing the core system and finding the right technical partners – by coincidence Eagleeye’s Head of Technology Simon Collins had recently joined (Eagleeye Technology and Mobile Union’s technology partner) and who had previously been instrumental in the design of the M-Pesa service in Kenya during the early days of the project.

“A great collaboration between Collins and Faulkner resulted in “Mtxpress” an instant cashless remittance service from the UK to Bangladesh, Nepal and most recently, Nigeria.”

The Mtxpress service allows remittances to be sent from the UK to Nigeria both online and via mobile safely and instantly. As opposed to most other money transfer services, transactions are processed online by going to http://www.mtxpress.com/nigeria and money can either be collected in cash or credited to a bank account.

“The service is transformational in that you are not limited to the opening times of a local agent in either the send or receive country. At the destination, the recipient doesn’t have to make a special journey to collect funds or travel out in extreme conditions, such as a tropical storm to collect money. Both parties can send and receive funds in the comfort of their own home with the recipient cashing out if they need to at a time which suits them” says Faulkner.

“Unlike other services we operate a simple tariff structure, fixed transaction fee of between £1 and £6 for amounts between £100 and £1,000 with no hidden charges.

“We charge a modest commission on the foreign exchange of between 1 and 2 percent based on the prevailing official Interbank rate which means that our rates are completely transparent.”

Mobile Union Nigeria Limited is the only money transfer operator to have been given a full banking licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to conduct inward bound remittances into Nigeria. After starting out with the Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB), as a result of its merger with Sterling Bank MTxpress is now in 186 branches and every state in the country.

Safe and secure

Mobile Union ensures that the service is safe to conduct transactions online. “Through a combination of rigorous customer due diligence combined with state-of-the-art technology and military grade security we are able to ensure funds are delivered safely and securely,” says co-founder of Mobile Union (Nigeria) Ltd Winston Bell-Gam.

“What’s more, we can provide the sender with real-time transaction status updates providing peace of mind to the sender knowing that funds have been received in the destination.”

Sending remittances “on demand”

With the typical amount transferred to Nigeria around $200 according to Faulkner, he accepts that in order to generate mass interest in MTxpress there needs to be a shift in culture that he believes the service can bring about.

“Our service satisfies one of the major hang-ups with money transfer operations in that you have to send higher amounts to make the transaction cost effective. What we have built enables even the smallest remittances to be sent on demand”.

Mobile wallets

The success and widespread adoption of mobile money in Kenya, where services such as M-Pesa and Orange Money have transformed financial services in the country, has set the tone for African countries like Nigeria and Southern Sudan to follow, Faulkner and Bell-Gam agree.

“Four of five adults now have a mobile money account of some description in Kenya. With the 10 licenses that the CBN has recently granted (with others to follow) our next step will be partnering with those wallet providers to be able to credit remittances on to mobile wallets in Nigeria and removing even the need to go and cash out,” comments Faulkner.

Until this is achieved Mobile Union (Nigeria) Ltd is finalising its test plans to enable remittances to be credited to bank accounts in Nigeria.

“We look forward to playing our part in the emergence of a fully inclusive financial sector in Nigeria for whom the use of mobile financial services will become a useful tool to assist in making everyday life easier for millions of people,” says Bell-Gam.

“What’s happened in Kenya over the last 4 or 5 years and the impact of financial services has not been lost on us.”

Why Team Building Exercises Are Worthwhile

February 3, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

The success of a business ultimately hinges on the performance of its staff.

There is no ‘I’ in teamwork, as they say. The importance of being able to work effectively as a team in the workplace has long been an essential part of successful business strategies. But just how do you promote good team morale within your staff? It is a fact of life that we are not all going to get on with one another and in any workforce there are bound to be strong personalities and egos that clash. But truly successful companies are able to depend upon a strong team who work with and for each other.

With ever-increasing competition in the corporate world, especially with a global recession meaning that the battle for the consumer ‘buck’ is particularly hard, team building exercises have become big business in the last decade or so as companies try to get the edge over one another.

There are thousands of companies dedicated to providing activities and events designed to boost team morale and encourage healthy working relationships.

Some of the other benefits include:

– Organisational productivity

– Improved leadership skills

– Improved problem solving

– Identified strengths and weaknesses

– Improved trust between colleagues

Company Mind Tools, which runs a website dedicated to free training skills, states that although team building can be worthwhile, it is important for business leaders to have a clear goal in mind.

“The ‘day of fun’ may have been a nice break from business, but did your colleagues actually use any of the lessons that they learned once they were back in the workplace?

“Too often, managers plan an activity with no real thought or goal in mind. This tends to be a waste of time – and managers risk losing the team’s respect when they plan an exercise that doesn’t actually help those involved,” it says.

ALL IN THE PLANNING

One key factor to consider when planning any team building exercise or activity is identifying problems that exist within the group to rectify.

Noting down strengths and weaknesses will allow you to plan exercises that will challenge and test staff.

Mind Tools states that the following should be considered:

Are there conflicts between certain people that are creating divisions within the team?
Do team members need to get to know one another?
Do some members focus on their own success, and harm the group as a result?
Does poor communication slow the group’s progress?
Do people need to learn how to work together, instead of individually?
Are some members resistant to change, and does this affect the group’s ability to move forward?
Do members of the group need a boost to their morale?

TYPES OF ACTIVITIES

There are hundreds of different activities and events to choose from. Although sports and games seem an obvious choice, these can actually have the opposite effect and demoralise team members who are not particularly good at sport. Directly competing like this can also have a negative effect on relationships.

“Make sure that your team-building exercises aren’t competitive,” says Mind Tool. “Think about it – competition tends to make one person or team work against another. This probably isn’t a good way to build team spirit and unity. More likely, it’s a way to divide a group.”

Indoor, outdoor, physical and mental – the possible list of activities is endless, from something as simple as building a tower with blocks to river rafting. Which you decide to choose will depend on the size of your group and specific issues to address.

It is also a good idea to review what has been learnt in the course of a day after events have taken place to remind staff once they return to the workplace – after all, that is where the improvements should be felt most.