South African Breweries

SOUTH AFRICA

BORN AND BREWED

Sphe Vundla, Brand Director at South African Breweries (SAB), discusses what sets SAB apart as a brewer and a long-standing South African corporate citizen, profiling its economy boosting programmes

Writer: Marcus Kääpä Project Manager: Kyle Livingstone

From farm to bottle, South African Breweries’ (SAB) beers are 97 percent locally sourced.

The company recognises the true value in empowering the country it serves to work first-hand with the people that call the country home.

Indeed, according to Sphe Vundla, Brand Director at the firm, all of SAB’s operations are localised to each specific country they operate in.

“Wherever you see the SAB logo, you’re looking at an investment,” explains Vundla. “SAB is proud to have played a large role in revitalising the township economy through several initiatives, aimed at empowerment and job creation. We’ve reached 20,000 taverns in South Africa through a smart trader initiative and helped to upgrade tavern infrastructure across three provinces. Our investment into the township economy has helped to empower many black entrepreneurs, predominantly women, with many of SAB’s products proudly being sold in shebeens across the country.”

Today, SAB has a beer value chain of 250,000, impacting just over one million livelihoods. Its wide range of products are anchored in some iconic beer brands such as Castle Lager, Carling Black Label and Castle Lite, but it also has its own growing beyond beer portfolio including Brutal Fruit, Flying Fish Selzer, Shine Club wine and Black Crown gin and tonic.

PLAYING A KEY ROLE

The food and beverage industry, among many other sectors, has experienced a tumultuous 18 months. In fact, SAB had 165 days out of business and experienced four alcohol bans.

“This has grown the industry in resilience and collaboration even as we have seen the sad close of craft and micro-breweries,” explains Vundla. “The pandemic has forced an evolution in leadership that has shaped strategic thinking, developed deeper compassion for people and mental health issues, and made ‘pivot’ more than a buzzword but a critical necessity for survival.”

Indeed, SAB had little choice but to face the disruption head-on and even

A BRIEF HISTORY

SAB is born and brewed in South Africa since the company’s humble beginnings over a century ago in the midst of Johannesburg’s pioneering days of the gold rush. Its history can be traced back to Charles Glass and the Castle Brewery that he started in 1888. Glass insisted that his brewery sell only the finest beers, which were highly sought-after by the 200 pubs that had sprung up in the city at the time. That level of quality has stayed with the firm since the beginning.

provided relief for its suppliers while helping its staff on a personal level too. “Now more than ever, we need to be responsible together,” discusses Vundla. “That is why we remain committed to helping government, medical institutions and our stakeholders as we work to securing a better tomorrow for us all.

“We’ve donated significant figures to The Solidarity Fund and 17,000 food parcels to taverns. We have also donated over 150,000 litres of hand sanitisers to key government departments as well as 100,000 face shields. We’ve also supplied vast amounts of PPE and medical supplies to the Eastern Cape Department of Health and Gauteng Health Department.

“But our fight doesn’t stop here. We will continue to support South Africa and its people, in any way possible, during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Since the merger with AB InBev in 2016, SAB has invested R1 billion which has a core focus of transforming the South African societal and economic conditions, making it one of the biggest Public Interest Commitments (PIC) in South Africa. Over the past five years, these PICs have focused on agricultural development, entrepreneurship, promotion of local manufacturing and sourcing, and contributing to the improvement of society sustainability and educational initiatives.

“Through the agricultural development programme, SAB has been able to develop and capacitate over 920 new emerging farmers and increased local barley production by 63 percent as compared to 2016 output levels within the sector. The company has also invested R190 million through the

SOUTH AFRICAN BREWERIES:

A CLOSER LOOK

SAB is not just a brewer, but a key driver of the South African economy with a direct employment of more than 6,000 people as well as 1,300 farmers and 250,000 suppliers and retailer employees. Vundla explains that the industry supports over one million livelihoods that span across different sectors of South Africa.

“In addition, we are a company that puts responsible consumption at the centre of what we do,” explains Vundla. “We are advocates of responsible consumption and we will soon launch a new responsible consumption platform that will create awareness on how consumers can enjoy our products responsibly. SAB has implemented numerous evidence-based initiatives in partnership with local government authorities that have been proven to positively impact our communities.

“An example of this are our AEC’s (Alcohol Evidence Centres). This is an initiative where we partnered with provincial local departments of transport to fund and implement these AEC’s. This has assisted government in reducing the number of fatalities in the roads in regions across the country.”

SCHULLPAK

Schullpak is one of South Africa’s leading suppliers of equipment and technical services to the packaging industry. Our company has built up a strong reputation for manufacturing and installing top quality products to enhance the productivity of our client’s plants, for over 21 years.

Various disciplines are covered, which include the manufacturing of a range of conveyors, bottling line automation, manufacture and installation of high speed bottling equipment and mechanical/electrical restoration of existing equipment. Schullpak also undertakes work in the process and services sector of the industry whereby piping and fabrication are key elements of the company’s routine. We cover all scales of industry, whether it be mass production bottling plants, small to medium craft breweries, or small scale wineries.

www.schullpak.co.za

Schullpak is an engineering company that provides high quality products and services for the food and beverage packaging industry. We help our customers meet their potential in maximizing efficiency, productivity and profitability. We provide turnkey solutions to our customers, where project management is reduced and ownership is placed with one entity, allowing customers to continue with normal operations while executing the project. We understand our customers’ needs and we are relentless in ensuring that they are met. With thousands of successful projects around the globe, and our multi-disciplined and highly skilled staff, we have more than enough experience to help you reach your goals. Below are some of our key areas of expertise. For more details, please visit our website at www.SCHULLPAK.co.za

LINE DESIGN

CONVEYOR SYTEMS

PLC SOFTWARE & CONTROL SYSTEMS

PRODUCT HANDLING EQUIPMENT

PROCESS MACHINERY

CHANGE PARTS

PROCESS PIPING

SPECIALISED ELECTRICAL & MECHANICAL WORK

www.SCHULLPAK.co.za

CAPE TOWN 82a Kyalami Drive Killarney Gardens, Cape Town, 7441. Tel: +27 21 557 5796 GM: Graham Hull JOHANNESBURG Unit 11 Falcon Lane Lanseria Corporate Estate Ext 26, JHB, 1739 Tel: +27 11 704 8821 MD: Ruan Blom

PIC to uplifting communities through the provision of education, mentorship opportunities and promoting environmental sustainability, with R200 million being directed to the Enterprise and Supplier Development.”

Today, the importance of implementing greener initiatives into operations is something that can’t be ignored. Many companies are recognising the value in being more environmentally friendly and it is this sustainable approach that is beginning to act as a real competitive advantage if conducted correctly.

“Through the SAB Foundation, which provides funding for small, medium and micro-sized enterprises in order to contribute to the economic and social empowerment, more than R421 million to date has been invested in social innovation, disability empowerment and SMMEs,” discusses Vundla. “The SAB Foundation’s primary beneficiaries are women, youth, people living with disabilities and people living in rural areas, from low-income backgrounds.”

SAB places significant emphasis on diversity and is striving towards its goal of increasing female representation in South Africa. These are:

• Talent Acceleration Programme (TAP) – The TAP programme is a graduate internship that runs for 18 months. Talented graduates across the business in six-month rotations.

The intake of these groups all aim to over-index to females and in SA AIC (African, Indian, etc) females.

• DraftTalent – Similar graduate programme to the TAP programme but aimed at building marketing and DraftLine talent. Also aimed at over indexing candidates towards females.

• Female District Manager programme – Talent development programme that aims to empower and equip aspiring leaders with the right skills and expertise to progress to management level roles in South

African sales.

Process Solutions Automation

Customers are core! P-S-A prides itself on a reputation built on supplying expert engineering solutions without compromise.

P-S-A has roots in the food and beverage industry with P-S-A’s primary focus in brewing. P-S-A have vast experience and knowledge in the design, manufacture, and automation of hygienic process systems also supplying single components, spares, and services from many European companies. P-S-A now focuses on providing refrigeration solutions within this industry!

P-S-A’s dynamic team of process, refrigeration, automation, and electrical engineers can offer customers turnkey solutions.

www.p-s-a.co.za

Steam Generation

Steam Generation Africa is well geared to sell and service a “best of breed” range of Industrial Steam, heat recovery boilers, Steam Generators, and related Spare parts.

All the products are supported by a professional team offering a range of cost-effective installations, after-sales services, repairs, maintenance, spare parts and statutory inspections.

Steam Generation is ISO3834 certified and specializes in all plant utility pipework, design and calculations

Steam Generation is the African Distributor of Cochran (UK) Steam, Hot water & Heat Recovery boilers as well as for Autoflame Combustion Controls (UK), Limpsfield burners (UK) and Certuss Steam Generators (Germany).

www.steamgeneration.co.za

CSR PROGRAMMES

The SAB Foundation’s Flagship Programmes include:

SOCIAL INNOVATION AWARDS

SAB’s focus on social innovation is underpinned by its belief that business as usual will never solve the challenges that exist in society today. It is necessary to invest in innovation that enables the company to do things more effectively, affordably and at scale.

THOLOANA ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME

The SAB Foundation Tholoana Enterprise Programme is an 18-month programme that supports entrepreneurs to become successful and resilient business owners through extensive entrepreneurial skills development, mentorship and access to markets, finance and practical business tools and templates. Connection to peers around the country builds a powerful network of opportunity for participants long after the programme has ended.

DISABILITY EMPOWERMENT

Unemployment amongst people with disabilities stands at over 70 percent in South Africa. In addition, there are many challenges with disability access. With this in mind, SAB find, support and scale social innovations which provide solutions for people with disabilities and work with organisations such as Mode, who develop and train entrepreneurs living with disabilities.

RURAL CATALYST PROGRAMME

SAB supports strategic farming models and initiatives in areas where there is high poverty.

Project Imifino

Outlook Creative Services

Outlook Publishing’s awardwinning in-house team is now utilising its extensive production skills to offer a full and bespoke range of editorial, design and marketing services via its new Outlook Creative Services division.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: www.outlookpublishing.com/creative-services

We offer quality maintenance on conveyors and packaging machines.

+27 82 936 2068 | +27 12 257 0065 info@ quantumindustrial.co.za www.quantumindustrial.co.za

#NONEFORTHEROAD

In November 2019, SAB launched its #NoneForTheRoad campaign which was created with the aim of encouraging responsible behaviour and helping to establish safer roads. To help get this project off the ground, SAB partnered with the Department of Transport, the Road Traffic Management Corporation and local policing authorities to launch several AECs across the country to help curb incidents of drinking and driving.

“Law enforcement officials are able to effectively detect alcohol levels at the facilities. SAB hopes to normalise #NoneForTheRoad amongst South Africans so they are consistently aware of their behaviour and how their choices have an impact on them and others,” says Vundla. “SAB also actively encourages consumers to make smart drinking choices such as ‘pacing’ by alternating between alcohol and non-alcohol drinks during social occasions.”

SAB sources almost 100 percent of its raw materials, locally supporting 2,739 suppliers of which approximately 1,345 are smallmedium-micro enterprises that support over 140,000 jobs.

“There are many factors we consider when looking for a partnership but key amongst these is agility and resilience - as we are an FMCG company this is critical,” explains Vundla. “The recent pandemic highlighted the importance of partnering with suppliers that can quickly turn challenges around and are agile and able to transform quicker.”

Looking ahead, Vundla is full of optimism for the future of his company and South Africa as a whole. “I am aiming to conduct a great deal of work around positioning the SAB brand and ensuring that all our brand’s activities and platforms are deeply rooted in our purpose in a manner that delivers with impact and transforms our business and the nation.”

SOUTH AFRICAN BREWERIES

Switchboard:+27 11 881 8111 www.sab.co.za