Mechanical Technology June 2015

⎪ Special report ⎪

project

Polman, who is also in South Africa as co-chair of the World Economic Forum on Africa and to launch the company’s brightFuture campaign: the new, cutting edge and green technology that has been incorporated into the design of the factory is in line with Unilever’s sustainable liv- ing plan (USLP) strategy. The USLP aims to double the size of the business while reducing the environmental footprint and increasing positive social impacts. Speaking at the launch, Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies says the green technology, innovation and energy efficiency are the kind of investments that South Africa welcomes as part of its climate change and industrialisation aspirations. He says the success and growth of Unilever’s investment projects in the country will continue to communi- cate the message of South Africa as an ideal location for investment in Africa. “Our 7 th iteration of IPAP (industrial policy action plan) launched on May 7, 2015, focuses on upscaling our manu- facturing sector footprint and full scale industrialisation. With the roll out of the Black Industrialist programme, Unilever’s investment could play a key role in knowledge sharing, technology and skills transfer to black industrialists in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and chemicals sector, thus creating an opportunity for emerging companies to be able to participate in the mainstream economy,” says Davies. He adds that Unilever could work with the dti in deepening the supply chain, especially with black industri- alists, through backward linkages in agriculture and the FMCG sector as well as building regional value chains on the African continent. The Khanyisa investment is one of many that have been supported by the dti’s 12-i tax allowance incentive scheme. The 12-i scheme has been set in place to support greenfield investments, new industrial projects that utilise only new and unused manufacturing assets, and other projects that benefit the planet as a whole. “We are appreciative of the dti’s commitment to improving this country’s global competitiveness and reputation with a view to delivering on its growth and development imperatives,” says Polman

At the starting point of the Khanyisa Home Care Factory are storage tanks and a modern distribution system for the raw materials required. The factory has a capacity to manufacture 150 000 tons of liquid detergent products per year.

The Indonsa factory expansion The company’s Indonsa factory expan- sion, another component of Unilever’s CTP and USLP, increases the Durban plant’s manufacturing capacity to 100 000 t, which will be fully utilised beyond 2020, while reducing its carbon footprint to a total of 41 t. Skills train- ing of 130 factory workers has been implemented to ensure world-class operations. “This expansion makes the Indonsa site the largest savoury factory in the Unilever world by volume. The site will achieve this growth whilst maintaining the flexibility to accommodate both the complex savoury portfolio and aggressive innovation agenda linked to the growth.” Indonsa, which means morning star in IsiZulu, manufactures savoury foods for Unilever’s brands, including Knorr, Robertson’s, Knorrox, Aromat and Rajah. The CTP, known as Ingede, was signed off in September 2013 and is fully op- erational, consisting primarily of four key technical developments: Mixing capacity expansion: The in- stallation and commissioning of three additional 4.0 m 3 dry powder Amixon mixers. These mixers are twice the size of the current three mixers and will be primarily dosed directly from bulk silos. Automated bulk material supply: The installation and commissioning of 16 bulk silos (6×75 m³ and 10×30 m³)

and a pneumatic conveying system to dose the bulk materials directly from the silos before they enter the new mix- ers. The system is designed to provide a supply buffer and, at the same time, unconstrained mixing operations. Reconfiguration of the Indonsa site warehouse: The current storage of ma- terials will be moved off site along with the conversion of the onsite warehouse to a just-in-time facility, to supply daily call-off from packing and manufacturing halls. This is required due to insufficient storage space in the warehouse for the expected volume growth. Moreover, this creates space for the expansion of the manufacturing facility within the current building’s footprint. Integrated material flow management: The total integrated site management systems will be upgraded in order to: manage, execute and monitor site opera- tions required for the growth. The sub- systems will include elements such as dynamic plant scheduling, semi-finished goods management, line material call- off and key decision flow and impact management. “While we invest in world class facto- ries, we continue to invest in our people who drive our success. The Indonsa team is driven by core values that ensure they are empowered and believe success can be achieved by collaboration and team- work,” Polman concludes. q

Mechanical Technology — June 2015

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