Photo by: Reuters
Eastern Trading, the controlling shareholder of AH-Vest, known as All Joy Foods, has acquired Winplas Packaging to add to the larger group’s backward integrated model of producing its own cans and tomato paste.
The company stated on Monday that it had bought Winplas, a polyethylene terephthalate bottle and jar manufacturing company with factories in Johannesburg and Cape Town, for an undisclosed amount.
“All Joy Foods is the leading manufacturer of tomato sauce packed in plastic bottles in South Africa. The business, through its parent company, will now have increased capability to expand its range of long shelf-life food and beverage products,” AH-Vest added.
AH-Vest’s backward integrated model had also been advanced by Eastern Trading in February, when it announced that it was acquiring equipment through Rossi Catelli to increase the capacity of its newly bought tomato-processing factory.
The tomato-processing factory was expected to guarantee the supply of high-quality tomato paste and curtail the use of imported tomato paste by Dursots and All Joy, with pure tomato paste being a vital ingredient in both brands' products.
The Duiwelskloof, Tzaneen-based factory, in Limpopo, where more than 60% of South Africa’s tomatoes were currently produced, was bought from JSE-listed Tiger Brands.