After the excitement of assembling bicycles at our hashtag#DoleDay charitable giving event, Suzanne Storm and Sandrien Melck officially handed over brand spanking new wheels for aspiring young cyclists to the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation SA last week. CHOC continues to be a beacon of hope for children and teenagers battling cancer and we are proud to be associated with the work they do.
As usual at this time of year, the Dole SA team came together at our annual Dole Day. This is not only an event where we report back and review our business of the past year, but also an opportunity to be inspired by a motivational speaker and invest in our time to charitable giving.
MD Hannes Nieuwoudt says: “I could not be prouder of the Dole SA team! Besides giving it their all when it comes to delivering a premium product to customers, they can also be counted on to bring the ‘gees’.
“This year we were kept on the edges of our seats listening to guest speaker Joey Evans, CSP reliving his Para – Dakar escapades; uplifted by a handover to ILOVEBOOBIES ZA🎗 non profit of R80 000 achieved during our recent Wellness Month; and challenged by assembling and handing over bicycles to the CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation) https://choc.org.za/ project. And not forgetting our long service award recipients: 4 of our team celebrated 25 years of unbroken service. Well done team Dole South Africa (Pty) Ltd.”
Fiesta Fresh Board of Directors: Renier Basson, Theo Craven, Servaas van Niekerk, Hannes Nieuwoudt and Shane Hewitt.
It’s official! Dole South Africa (Pty) Ltd has formed a new startup in the local market space.
Fiesta Fresh (Pty) Ltd will trade in both local and imported food produce. It will focus on sales to local retail and other local customers as well as exports into Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands. Dole Africa Holdings has partnered with three other shareholders to form the new company. Joining Dole SA Managing Director Hannes Nieuwoudt and Finance Director Shane Hewitt on the board are Renier Basson, Theo Craven and Servaas van Niekerk. All are specialists in their field and bring with them a wealth of knowledge in the local market arena.
Dole Africa Holdings has a 60 per cent shareholding in Fiesta Fresh. Says Nieuwoudt , “I am happy to be a part of this innovative business venture, which will offer a solution for local specifications to Dole’s own farms and third-party growers. It will also tap into Dole plc’s extensive global network from which to source imported product.”
The industry has lost a giant with the passing of Arend Venter.
Arend was already a doyen of the fruit industry when he joined Dole SA at inception in 1998. It’s fair to say that Dole pulled off a coup with the appointment of the then Outspan No 2.
Without even having the benefit of an office, Arend put together a formidable team containing the likes of Marguerite van Rensburg, Barry Dowling, Eugene Brand, David Kruger, Marius Deyzel, Martin Le Roux and Willie Messerschmidt. They had to hit the ground running as the citrus season had just started.
Of course citrus was Arend’s forte – whether we talk about his knowledge of every citrus variety or his connections with people in the agricultural space. So passionate was he, that Dole’s first citrus volumes were procured from his dining room table in Pretoria; he was not going to sit around waiting for office space when he could get the job done.
Back then, getting close to producers was difficult because many growers were members of co-ops. Arend and his team criss-crossed the country visiting co-ops and growers to introduce themselves. In the words of Martin Le Roux, Product Manager at Dole, “He talked the right talk, and there was no better person at the time to promote the Dole brand.”
We are eternally grateful for the role Arend played at Dole South Africa in those very crucial early years. The fact that Dole has retained growers since the first citrus season in 1998 is testament to Arend’s character and tenacity. – Hannes Nieuwoudt, Dole SA Managing Director
A natural salesman, Arend did not take No for an answer. The message to everyone he met was: we have a well-known international brand in the fruit trade, we are established in all markets, we have a distribution network of note and we want to sell your fruit at competitive (best possible) prices… and we do not want to be your competitors in production!
An excellent host and marvelous orator, Arend was also renowned for his staying power and his meticulous feedback to growers. On the road, his constitution was legendary. He relied on minimal sleep, coffee and, for his only real meal of the day, medium rare steak accompanied by red wine and capped with a double espresso.
Arend was indeed a force to be reckoned with. Descriptions such as larger than life, feisty, passionate, dedicated and direct come to mind. Even so, his right hand for nearly 40 years, Marguerite van Rensburg, recalls his respect for everyone who crossed his path.
We are eternally grateful for the role Arend played at Dole South Africa in those very crucial early years. The fact that Dole has retained growers since the first citrus season in 1998 is testament to Arend’s character and tenacity. We wish to express our gratitude to a formidable man – one who has dedicated his life to the fruit industry. Thank you for your tireless efforts, your dedication and commitment to excellence.