Seven years after he took a gamble and started his own company, Flagstaff-born Xolela Makabane now supplies all Boxer Superstores in the Eastern Cape with his Umgubo Wesintu sifted yellow maize meal brand.
Last year his company, Pondoland Maize, started supplying the Spar Group as well as Bargain Wholesalers, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal.
He is also at the final stages of off-take agreement negotiations with Pick n Pay to supply the retailer with their Pondoland Broiler Pallets animal feed.
“When I started the milling plant in 2010 it was in my mother’s garden at Emangquzu village in Flagstaff, where I was born.
“The processing plant had a capacity of 200kg per hour, employing four people at the time.
“We were doing about 20 tons a month. It’s funny now, but after we produced our first 200 bags of maize meal we suddenly realised we had no one to sell the products to, which was a valuable learning curve.
“We then decided to target Sassa grant pension payout points in the major Transkei towns and sell our products there,” he said.
“That was the turning point because our market started telling us that they didn’t want super maize meal from us, they wanted sifted yellow maize meal to use for traditional purposes.
“Umgubo Wesintu was born in response to market demand.”
The 35-year-old said their efficiency and profit-making abilities had been hugely enhanced with the gift of factory premises they received from the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) at the beginning of this year.
“There is no way we would have secured these off-take agreements and been able to service them and meet the demand without the two factories with the 2000m² we are now operating from.”
They now have three product ranges. The sifted maize meal and whole maize meal both come in 1kg, 2kg, 5kg, 10kg and 12.5kg options.
The animal feed is available in 2kg and 5kg bags.
ECDC chief executive Ndzondelelo Dlulane said: “The support for Makabane’s initiative falls in line with efforts geared towards the development of black industrialists as well as the creation of sustainable jobs in the region. ECDC is proud to be associated with Pondoland Maize and we are looking forward to a fruitful and profitable relationship.”
Makabane, who left what is now called Absa Capital after successfully establishing a business process engineering division, had to fork out R586000 of his own cash to start the business in 2010 and a further R718000 to refurbish the new structure.
He even sold his car and home to finance the business.
The University of South Africa MBA graduate and University of Pretoria industrial engineering honours graduate said his initial interest in processing and milling started when he joined Siemens’ global supply chain division in Germany for two years, consulting for Fast Moving Consumer Goods clients such as Unilever and Tiger Brands.
He left Siemens to join Absa in 2006, when he was asked to set up a business process engineering division.
At the end of three years he had appointed 25 industrial engineers and was running a matured industrial engineering division.
Boxers Superstores enterprise and supplier development manager Gary Larkan spoke highly of Makabane.
“He started to supply us in 2014. His turnover with us has increased dramatically, with about 2500%,” Larkan said.
“He supplies all Boxer Stores in the Eastern Cape through our distribution centre in East London.” — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
EC miller inspired by market
Last year his company, Pondoland Maize, started supplying the Spar Group as well as Bargain Wholesalers, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal.
He is also at the final stages of off-take agreement negotiations with Pick n Pay to supply the retailer with their Pondoland Broiler Pallets animal feed.
“When I started the milling plant in 2010 it was in my mother’s garden at Emangquzu village in Flagstaff, where I was born.
“The processing plant had a capacity of 200kg per hour, employing four people at the time.
“We were doing about 20 tons a month. It’s funny now, but after we produced our first 200 bags of maize meal we suddenly realised we had no one to sell the products to, which was a valuable learning curve.
“We then decided to target Sassa grant pension payout points in the major Transkei towns and sell our products there,” he said.
“That was the turning point because our market started telling us that they didn’t want super maize meal from us, they wanted sifted yellow maize meal to use for traditional purposes.
“Umgubo Wesintu was born in response to market demand.”
The 35-year-old said their efficiency and profit-making abilities had been hugely enhanced with the gift of factory premises they received from the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) at the beginning of this year.
“There is no way we would have secured these off-take agreements and been able to service them and meet the demand without the two factories with the 2000m² we are now operating from.”
They now have three product ranges. The sifted maize meal and whole maize meal both come in 1kg, 2kg, 5kg, 10kg and 12.5kg options.
The animal feed is available in 2kg and 5kg bags.
ECDC chief executive Ndzondelelo Dlulane said: “The support for Makabane’s initiative falls in line with efforts geared towards the development of black industrialists as well as the creation of sustainable jobs in the region. ECDC is proud to be associated with Pondoland Maize and we are looking forward to a fruitful and profitable relationship.”
Makabane, who left what is now called Absa Capital after successfully establishing a business process engineering division, had to fork out R586000 of his own cash to start the business in 2010 and a further R718000 to refurbish the new structure.
He even sold his car and home to finance the business.
The University of South Africa MBA graduate and University of Pretoria industrial engineering honours graduate said his initial interest in processing and milling started when he joined Siemens’ global supply chain division in Germany for two years, consulting for Fast Moving Consumer Goods clients such as Unilever and Tiger Brands.
He left Siemens to join Absa in 2006, when he was asked to set up a business process engineering division.
At the end of three years he had appointed 25 industrial engineers and was running a matured industrial engineering division.
Boxers Superstores enterprise and supplier development manager Gary Larkan spoke highly of Makabane.
“He started to supply us in 2014. His turnover with us has increased dramatically, with about 2500%,” Larkan said.
“He supplies all Boxer Stores in the Eastern Cape through our distribution centre in East London.” — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
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