Plastic packaging and recycling company the ALPLA Group on October 12 opened its new production site, in Lanseria, near Johannesburg.  

The internationally active plastic packaging specialist is merging five previous locations in South Africa under one roof at the production site, which will also be home to its new headquarters for sub-Saharan Africa.

All ALPLA technologies, processes and materials are combined in the Lanseria plant and the first apprenticeship programme of ALPLA in Africa will start at the beginning of 2023.

The new premises boasts 35 000 m2 of covered production, administration and storage space, another 12 500 m2 for future expansion and 30 000 m2 of roof area covered with solar panels.

The plant has one of the largest solar installations on a privately owned manufacturing building in South Africa.

ALPLA says the new plant is setting the course for further growth in sub-Saharan Africa.

After about two years of construction and relocation, the company on October 12 celebrated the opening of the new headquarters in the presence of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, Austrian Ambassador-Designate to South Africa Romana Königsbrun and several other high-ranking guests.

“All of sub-Saharan Africa is on the upswing [and] the markets have enormous potential. Our investment in South Africa is a clear commitment to the continent. In this way, we are increasing our competitiveness and guaranteeing the long-term regional supply of safe, affordable and sustainable packaging solutions,” commented ALPLA CEO Philipp Lehner.

COMBINED COMPETENCIES, TECHNOLOGIES

The new location in the industrial area north of Johannesburg combines and builds on the five previous plants in Harrismith, Denver, Isando, Kempton Park and Samrand.

The departments, employees and machines were relocated step-by-step. About 350 employees will soon start working at the new premises in Lanseria, and this number is likely to grow in future.

The new plant will produce bottles, closures and special packaging for the food, personal and home care, chemical, cleaning agent and pharmaceutical industries – a total of about 3.5-billion pieces yearly.

ALPLA uses six different technologies, including injection and compression moulding, injection stretch blow moulding and extrusion blow moulding.

In addition to international corporations, ALPLA also supplies smaller local companies with plastic packaging solutions.

APPRENTICESHIP

With the new plant in Lanseria, ALPLA is also promoting its own training of specialists and has established a dual education and apprenticeship programme.

This dual system of practical and theoretical training, based on the Austrian model, is already in operation at the ALPLA locations in Germany, Mexico, India, Poland and China.

From 2023, the first 12 South African apprentices are to begin their training in the plastics technology and machining technology trades in the ‘Future Corner’ training centre in Lanseria.

Speaking at the launch, Creecy lauded the company for advancing sustainable production, including generating 10% to 15% of its power requirements from renewable sources.

“The opening of this plant is another milestone in the relationship between Austria and South Africa. It reaffirms that our country remains a destination that enjoys the confidence of global investors.

“The bilateral relations between Austria and South Africa date back as far as 1852 when Austria first opened a consulate in Cape Town. This relationship has grown over time, and we are forever grateful to the Austrian anti-apartheid movement for its role and contribution towards the achievement of our democracy,” Creecy acclaimed.

She expressed her thanks to Austria for supporting South Africa’s industrialisation goals with investments such as this one, with the new plant representing an investment of $50-million by ALPLA.

“We share your optimism that the African continent will become a high-growth region for the packaging industry. Demand is being driven by increased markets for consumer products, burgeoning individual incomes, and expanding population of youthful consumers and growing domestic economies,” Creecy said.

She also highlighted ALPLA’s support for the Youth Employment Service programme, with it providing work experience opportunities for 50 young people, spending R6.4-million on skills development and an additional R500 000 on learnerships for contractors with disabilities.

Creecy also mentioned that ALPLA achieving a Level 1 black economic empowerment status signals that it is committed to South Africa’s transformation agenda.

“I have been informed that 70% of your top management and 69% of your middle management are black, of which 40% are black women. This is significant because we believe that our workplaces should be a reflection of the demographics of broader society,” she emphasised.

Creecy also highlighted the company’s local procurement spend of about R820-million.

“ALPLA is in the business of manufacturing plastic containers, and when we think of plastic we normally associate this with damage to the environment. ALPLA has recycling plants in Asia, South America and Europe and we are happy that this recycling technology might soon be brought to South Africa, through a further investment,” Creecy noted.