Randfontein is said to now be home to the only ready-cooked pap manufacturing plant in South Africa, according to the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG).
According to the GPG, there are 50 million people in the country, and in 2010 we consumed over 2,5 million tons of maize meal. And Randfontein will now be one of the producers of the large amount of maize meal we eat.
The MEC for Economic, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Lebogang Maile helped Wendell Peters, CEO of Casa-Mia acquire the plant and officially launched the project recently.
Casa-Mia is a staple-food production initiative aimed at producing ready-cooked maize meal products.
The company was founded by Wendell four years ago, but he had difficulty breaking into the market.
Since 2012, Wendell has been looking for funding to enable him to obtain ISO 22000 food safety management system accreditation, but to no avail. This meant that he missed out on numerous opportunities, including a tender to supply the South African National Defence Force.
The Gauteng Enterprise Propeller has now approved R2,2 million to kick-start the project, while the Industrial Development Corporation has provided R1,1 million to set up the test facility. The project will provide 17 permanent jobs for local residents. Its aim is to provide sustainable, nutritious and costeffective maize meal to the continent.
The project is also hoping to move South Africa away from being a nation of consumers to a nation of producers.
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