A major project is underway at a large Germiston processing facility where Country Bird Holdings (CBH) brand Supreme Poultry is building a new poultry palace. One year after the CBH moved in, the former enterprise facility has completely removed the pork profile, has been halal certified, and is gradually transforming into a state-of-the-art processing facility for Supreme Poultry products.
Last year alone, a total of 150 million Rands was invested in the new plant, with further growth in the pipeline. According to CEO Brendon de Boer, this is in addition to the company’s commitment to a master plan for the poultry industry: Also from a contract breeder that produces the birds we slaughter. “In South Africa alone, we and our producers have invested more than R1 billion over the last three years, supplying the South African market with 2.3 million birds per week, adding 122 new jobs in the process. I plan to create it. “With 1.5 million weekly shipments of birds to countries other than South Africa, CBH is firmly established as a leading poultry player in sub-Saharan Africa.” South African Poultry Association Izaak Breitenbach said 2019 Master plan signed by the government and industry in the year. “The industry has promised a total of R $ 1.5 billion to increase production, create more jobs and empower new farmers by 2023. Expand to significantly increase slaughter numbers.
Also read: The latest on South Africa’s “Poultry Master Plan”
to a company like CBH that goes beyond that promise, we can be sure that we have already reached 80% of our goals, “Breitenbach said. The Poultry Palace will be home to his Supreme Chicken brand, as De Boer lovingly calls it the new Houten facility. The delivered image. The Poultry Palace, which De Boer lovingly calls the new Gauteng facility, has a processed and value-added product line under the Supreme Chicken brand, which now includes chicken putties, chicken nuggets, chicken strips and more, and is quick. Service restaurant (QSR) sector. But that’s just the beginning, says De Boer.
As of , we are waiting for the latest equipment to be installed by October, and by the end of the year production has already quadrupled to 800 tonnes per month, with a monthly target of 250 tonnes per month. January 2023 The facility is in the process of being certified for export to the EU, UK and Middle East. “We are increasingly moving into the area of value-added product development to diversify our product portfolio,” explains DeBoer.
He added: “I am looking forward to a time when the Poultry Palace will be a bustling hub of people producing whole ranges of convenient products, from sausages and possibly canned chicken to fully cooked whole chicken for the retail, hospitality and export markets.”
Along with this expansion will come a welcome increase in job opportunities they can offer, he adds.
QSRs rely on quality freezer-to-fryer products that are partly or fully cooked to cut down on essential preparation time for their signature fast meals. As a dependable, consistent supplier of these patties, nuggets and more, CBH has seen demand grow for the products they already supply, but also for different lines that offer a new horizon of potential, and not only in the food-service sector.
According to sales and marketing director Phil Tozer, the rising demand for convenient, value- added products is an opportunity CBH is training a keen eye on.
“People are looking for prepared food that is affordable, nutritious and readily available,” he says. “Chicken products that can be warmed and served almost instantly; chicken burgers and schnitzels that are quick to prepare and serve – those items that are ready to eat, heat and eat, oven ready, ready to braai, smoked, marinated and spiced – are increasingly popular.”
The future at Supreme is likely to include an expanded range of products of this nature, to cater to retail, wholesale and food-service outlets, he says.
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The new Poultry Palace is ideally placed for this future expansion. A massive hub sprawled over 82 000sq/m in Germiston, the premises consists of four separate factories connected by a central depot.
At present two of these factories are operational: one is occupied by a blue-chip tenant, while the second contains Further Process Plant 2, which is undergoing extensive renovation.
Production has already doubled in a flash-fry line that can produce a ton of formed, crumbed, freezer-to-fryer products in an hour. According to processing director Arno Kietzmann the new technology arriving in October include a state-of-the-art former and a spiral cooker with a production speed of three tons an hour.
Plant 2 will then have two production lines with fully automated weighing, packing, and X-ray equipment. Plants 3 and 4 are earmarked for future developments.
The export of fully cooked poultry products is one of the areas of potential development that De Boer and his team are most excited about.
The halaal certification has opened doors to potential exports to the Middle East, and initial exploratory meetings with interested parties in the United Arab Emirates have been positive, says De Boer.
“One of the benefits of the sheer scale of this facility is that it easily accommodates a tenant that produces salamis, alongside the rest of the premises which conform to the halaal requirements of the National Independent Halaal Trust (NIHT) and the Muslim Judicial Council (MJP).”
To ensure the halaal certification a complete separation was established between the Supreme further processing facilities and the tenant’s operating area, including the construction of solid dividing walls and the installation of new floors.
Existing processing equipment was also put through the rigorous cleansing processes required by the halaal trusts.
The existing equipment that came with the plant is another of the benefits of the facility, according to Supreme Poultry GM Francois Jacobsz. “There are cookers, smokers, oven; machinery with a variety of capabilities that we can experiment with in the development of new product lines going forward,” says Jacobsz.
There is even a fully equipped laboratory where food- safety tests can be carried out, he adds. New-product development is getting a leg up with the appointment of a new product-development scientist this month.
Says De Boer: “We’ve proven our capability to provide quality freezer-to-fryer products to the market and the networks we’ve built within the multinational QSR sector have highlighted whole other categories of demand that exists.
“The Poultry Palace is allowing us the room to grow our footprint, our workforce and our total offering of premium added-value products. Exciting times are ahead.”
Source: IOL
