Star 2023-07-11

MONDI, a manufacturer of packaging and paper, has acquired the 250 000 ton-per-annum Hinton Pulp mill in Alberta, Canada, from West Fraser Timber for $5 million (R94.2m). Mondi said that it would enter into a long-term partnership with West Fraser to access local, high-quality fibre from a well-established wood basket. The intention, subject to pre-engineering and permitting, is to invest €400 million (R8.27 billion) in the expansion of Hinton, primarily for a new 200 000 ton-per-annum kraft paper machine, anticipated to be operational from the second half of 2027. “The acquisition of the mill, and investment in the paper machine, will fully integrate operations in the Americas and enable Mondi to secure the long-term supply of high quality, cost competitive kraft paper…

THE HIGH COURT has ruled that the South African Post Office (Sapo) be placed in business rescue with proceedings to commence with immediate effect. Judge Professor Elmarie Van der Schyff in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, said yesterday that Anooshkumar Rooplal and Juanito Martin Damons would serve as joint interim business rescue practitioners. Minister of Communication and Digital Technologies Mondli Gungubele had approached the court on an urgent basis, to place Sapo under supervision and in business rescue in terms of the Companies Act. Sapo is currently under provisional liquidation. Van der Schyff was of the opinion that any possibility of Sapo being rescued depended mainly on the political will to bring about a turnaround. “It is gleaned from the Minister’s papers, and no objective reason exists to…

BELL EQUIPMENT CEO Leon Goosen, who took much verbal strain from the National Unions of Metalworkers of SA in recent weeks, has tendered his resignation to pursue another opportunity. He will step down from December 31, 2023, providing enough time to ensure smooth transition and hand-over to his successor, the manufacturer of articulated and heavy capital equipment said in a statement yesterday. Gpoosen had joined the Bell Equipment board in January 2009 and was chief operations officer from December 2014, until he was appointed as the CEO in 2018. Gary Bell, chairperson, thanked Goosen on for his tenure as CEO. “Leon has played a pivotal role in driving the success of the group and the board wishes him well in his future endeavours,” Bell said. A process to appoint a…

AFTER weeks of implementing reduced load shedding at stages 1 to 3, Eskom yesterday was forced to ramp up its power cuts and implement stage 4 load shedding on the back of freezing weather countrywide. A cold front caused a significant drop in temperatures over Gauteng yesterday, with the maximum temperatures only reaching 13°C in the northern areas while minimum temperatures recorded to have met criteria for snowy conditions. Snow was observed over areas in the south, such as Soweto, Alberton, Northcliff, Hyde Park, Roodepoort, Heidelberg and parts of Vosloorus. The much-anticipated cold front had started making landfall over the western parts of South Africa, resulting in significant cooling in daytime temperatures as well as showers and rain over the weekend. Snow started to fall on Saturday morning over…

TRANSNET National Port Authority’s (TNPA’s) running battles with its labour unions is going down to the wire as the State utility prepares to relocate manganese operations from Port of Elizabeth to the Port of Ngcura by December. The United National Transport Union (Untu) said yesterday that TNPA was negotiating in bad faith and was likely putting the livelihood of workers at the Port of Elizabeth terminal at risk as it was not explained if the workers would also follow their jobs. Untu’s head of Media and Communications, Atenkosi Plaatjies, said yesterday: “It is a sad day for Transnet employees in the Port of Elizabeth area who face uncertainties on whether they will still have jobs by the end of this year following Transnet National Ports Authority’s media announcement on the…

Government accused of lacklustre approach to safety on major arteries VARIOUS players in the trucking sector said yesterday they were disheartened at governments lacklustre handling on the attacks on trucks on major arteries, which comes at a cost to jobs and the economy. On Sunday several trucks were torched on Van Reenen’s Pass, in KwaZulu-Natal, which caused the closure of the N3 toll route. The industry said the cost of the damaged trucks and trailers alone in the latest attacks could amount to more than R100 million while the cost of the cargo destroyed was far more exponential. Abdul Kamdar, from KDG Logistics, said: “The cost of the superlinks can range anywhere between R3m to R5m, but the cost of the client’s cargo could well be more than…