MINISTER
DAVIES OPENS R600 MILLION UNILEVER ICE CREAM FACTORY IN GAUTENG
The Minister of Trade and
Industry, Dr Rob Davies has opened a R600 million Unilever Ice Cream factory in
Midrand. The factory has been supported by the Department of Trade and Industry
(the dti) R350 million through its 12i Tax Allowance Incentive Scheme.
Addressing delegates at the
launch, Minister Davies said the opening of the factory was an important
milestone in South Africa in that it showed a vote of confidence by
multinational manufactures in the South African economy.
“The factory will give opportunities
to smaller vendors in the value chain that will see local farmers produce most
of the products and also create more local demand for most of the ingredients
and suppliers. This investment will also have a positive effect in upstream and
downstream movement in the economy,” said Davies.
Davies commended Unilever
with for investments in Africa, and said this was an indication of recognising
the significance of contributing in growing the African economy.
The Executive Vice
President for Africa at Unilever, Mr Bruno Witvoet said Unilever has proven its
confidence in South Africa’s and Africa’s growth potential by investing close
to R4 billion in new and refurbished manufacturing facilities in South Africa.
“The investment in the ice
cream factory is due to the market development opportunities that exist for the
sector in South Africa and the rest of Africa. Close to 150 direct, and 200
indirect jobs have been created since the start of the factory. A
further 2 500 jobs will be created by the end of 2015 through our Ola
Vendor Programme,” he said.
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