Workers employed by the Vintage Group, a well-known apple and pear producer and marketer based in the Elgin-Vyeboom region in the Western Cape, have acquired a majority share in one of the group’s farms in what is one of the most significant Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) deals in the region for some time.
The Arieskraal farm, located in the Elgin Valley, will in future be a partnership between the Vintage Group and three worker trusts, which gives 197 farm and packhouse workers a 52 per cent stake in the business. The other shareholder is the Vintage Group with a 48 per cent stake.
The farm was officially handed over to the new partnership during a ceremony at Arieskraal this morning which was presided over by the Western Cape MEC for Agriculture Cobus Dowry.
The worker shareholders in Arieskraal are represented by the Arieskraal Workers’ Trust (20 per cent), the Vyebosch Workers Trust (27 per cent) and the Arieskraal Management Trust (5 per cent). Vyebosch was, along with Arieskraal, one of the two original farms in the Vintage Group when it was established in 1998 by well-known entrepreneurs Barbara Van den Bossche and Charl van den Berg.
The Vintage Group has recently extended its fruit farming operations significantly through the purchase of two more fruit farming entities, Twaalffontein Farm in the Vyeboom Valley, as well as Kentucky Farm in the Elgin Valley which was previously owned by the Smith family.
Arieskraal’s manager Peter Januarie, who is also a shareholder, says the farm produces 1,500 tons of pears and 7,400 tons of apples annually. In total 175ha of the 300ha farm have been planted with fruit trees.
“I have been working on Arieskraal for more than three decades and all of us are excited and looking forward to being part of this new partnership in a very successful enterprise,” says Mr Januarie.
Vintage CEO Barbara Van den Bossche says the business has grown steadily since her family first arrived in South Africa in 1995 on what was initially a holiday. “Our partnership with Charl van den Berg has resulted in the establishment of a very competitive export business which already benefits a large community,' she says. 'We believe that the people who work in on the farms in our group need to be part of the land transformation process and Arieskraal is our first initiative to accomplish this.”
“We have a clear vision on what we need to do to keep our farming operations profitable for the future, taking into account the dramatic rise in input costs, especially prices of fuel and fertilizer. We also understand the uniqueness and past of this beautiful country South Africa and the social responsibility that we have as farm owners,” says Vintage Managing director Charl van den Berg.
Mrs Van den Bossche says the Group recently also launched the Vintage Foundation which will be responsible to look after the social welfare and needs of all employees working for the group. The work of the Foundation focuses on child care and pre-school facilities, after-care for schoolchildren, healthcare, education, cultural enrichment and sport and leisure.
'Through uplifting our great farm family we make a contribution to a healthy community in our region. The Vintage Foundation will eventually spread its wings far beyond the borders of our farms,' she says.
Mr Van den Berg explains that the addition of two new farms to the Vintage Group's farming activities will boost exports and its ability to service its customer base. “The shareholders in Arieskraal will benefit directly as a result of this. The acquisition of Twaalffontein and Kentucky Farms mean that Vintage is becoming one of the leading growers, packers and exporters of apples and pears in South Africa. We now have 420ha of apple and 80ha of pear orchards. Vyebosch is located near Twaalffontein in the Vyeboom Valley, whereas Arieskraal is close to Kentucky in Elgin and we can therefore maximise our infrastructure to the benefit of all our shareholders.'
