South Africa’s largest food producer is kissing Eskom goodbye

Tiger Brands announced that its Culinary facility in Boksburg has become one of its manufacturing sites across South Africa, powered by solar energy. 

This means the facility is effectively no longer reliant on Eskom for its electricity and is no longer exposed to the utility’s sharply rising electricity costs. 

The facility in Boksburg produces foodstuffs under some of South Africa’s most-loved brands, such as All Gold, Crosse & Blackwell, and KOO. 

Tiger Brands has invested heavily in making its operations more efficient to keep its products affordable amid rising input costs. 

This also helps the company grow its bottom line in a stagnant economy where topline sales growth is hard to come by. 

Under CEO Tjaart Kruger, the company’s fortunes have been turned around through self-help solutions, such as solar power, and a reorganisation of Tiger Brands’ management structure. 

Kruger believes the turnaround is now complete, with Tiger being back on the front foot and investing in product innovation and growth initiatives. 

Apart from investing in product lines and brands, the company has put significant money to work in making its operations more cost-efficient. 

One of the main ways Tiger has done this is through investments in rooftop solar at its manufacturing facilities. 

On 9 June, it announced that its Culinary facility in Boksburg is now one of seven manufacturing sites in South Africa powered by solar power. 

“These installations form part of a multi-million-rand investment to increase the use of renewable energy across the company’s operations,” it said in a social media post. 

Tiger explained that these investments help it build a more sustainable and resilient manufacturing footprint. 

“Solar energy is already helping several of our manufacturing facilities reduce their dependence on conventional electricity sources,” Tiger’s chief manufacturing officer, Praveen Balgobind, said. 

Balgobind explained that these investments also contribute to improving the operational efficiency of Tiger’s manufacturing sites. 

“Importantly, this is just one component of a broader renewable energy strategy that will continue to evolve over the coming years.” 

The next phase is wheeling

Tiger Brands has the same problem as many other corporates looking to invest in making their facilities more energy self-sufficient – space. 

Not all of Tiger’s manufacturing facilities have sufficient space to put enough rooftop solar up to cover their energy use. 

This is particularly true of energy-intensive production processes, such as baking and milling, which are key parts of Tiger’s business. 

Thus, the next step of the company’s efficiency drive is wheeling, with it signing an agreement with Apollo Africa to power its other manufacturing sites in Gauteng. 

Also known as “Power Wheeling”, wheeling is the process of transmitting energy from sustainably sourced power generators to end users in different regions of the country via the national power grid. 

Tiger Brands explained the transaction involves Eskom electrons being swapped for renewable energy electrons supplied by Apollo Africa under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). 

The PPA commits the business to sourcing a specified quantity of electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind or solar farms. 

Through this approach, Tiger Brands said it can access clean energy without being limited by the physical location of generation plants, giving the business greater diversity of sources.

The company says its manufacturing sites in the Ekurhuleni Municipality will receive around 60% of their electricity supply from wheeling by 2028. 

“Importantly, our business grows, cost efficiency is maximised, all while reducing our carbon footprint,” chief manufacturing officer Praveen Balgobind said. 

This wheeling agreement is part of a multi-phase journey toward a lower-carbon footprint through reduced energy intensity. 

Tiger Brands is not the only company or institution investing in such alternatives, with the University of Cape Town signing a wheeling agreement with Discovery Green. 

This agreement will see Discovery Green convert 70% to 90% of the electricity consumption of UCT’s main and health sciences campuses to renewable energy.