Africa's largest pet food manufacturer Montego Pet Nutrition has invested R30m in a purpose-built facility located in Knoppieslaagte, Centurion. The new facility consists of a dry food factory, new warehouse and admin offices which cover 21,600m2 of land.
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The opening of the new facility entails the consolidation of three existing Gauteng facilities into one plant. This includes Montego’s previous Rosslyn plant moving to the Centurion location, which has created a hub for production, storage, distribution and admin staff.
Growing production capacity, improving service delivery
The factory will focus on the production of Montego’s Monty & Me Essential range, as well as manufacturing for contract clients. The building was designed to initiate a 100% increase in production capacity, with production forecasted to double when the Centurion facility is operating at full speed.
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The premises has been successfully audited and is equipped with an on-site laboratory to ensure that the same strict controls and testing processes are carried out, as compared to the main plant located in Graaff-Reinet.
All raw materials and final products are regularly tested and have been approved according to the Veterinary Approval process, HACCP Pet Food Safety regulations and has also received a FSSC 22000 certification.
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In addition to the factory, a new fully operational warehouse and distribution centre has been built on the premises. This has enabled an increase in service delivery to customers while reducing costs and has cut delivery lead time from this depot by 20%.
The final feature of the new facility is a 1,4002 three-story admin office built to accommodate the 147 existing staff based in Gauteng, with room for future new employees. Montego was able to occupy the new premises within nine months of breaking ground, with the building being designed and constructed from start to finish to suit the needs and specifications of the ever-growing company.
“All decisions during the building process were made with future growth in mind. The decision to combine all three sites into one plant is a significant move for us. This means better customer service, an increase in production and more opportunities for our staff,” says Marco van Jaarsveld, operations director at Montego Pet Nutrition.
