Above left: Managing Director Hannes Nieuwoudt celebrating 25 years of business in South Africa. Top centre: The Dole South Africa Finance team. Top right: Dole South Africa management. Above right: Dole South Africa staff gather to celebrate on the day.

“Some milestones deserve to be celebrated,” said Hannes Nieuwoudt, Dole South Africa’s Managing Director, as the company celebrated its 25th anniversary on Monday 13 March 2023.

In reflecting on the past 25 years team members recalled that the timing for Dole in South Africa could not have been better. It was the tail-end of the 1990s and, with a world already looking towards the new millennium, the South African fruit environment was emerging from a chequered past back into the global fold. Deregulation was at last opening up the local fruit industry to international players, Dole Food Company among them.

And so the story of Dole South Africa began, with the appointment of Benoit Galland as its Managing Director in March 1998.

A quarter of a century later, Hannes Nieuwoudt has paid tribute to all those colleagues who were part of the Dole family in the early years. “Our people are our biggest investment and we are thankful that we have such a dedicated team who carry the torch for Dole every day,” he said. “Without the support of this incredible group, we would not be able to service our producers and business partners.”

Reflecting further on its history, Nieuwoudt acknowledges Dole’s grower base, customers and service providers. “We have growers who have walked the road with us for 25 years. This is quite an achievement.

“It is therefore particularly gratifying to celebrate this year with colleagues, growers, customers and service providers who have been with the company for so many years.”

Along with colleagues at Dole SA’s head office in Cape Town, Nieuwoudt raised a glass “… to many more fruitful years of business in South Africa and to celebrate the Then and the Now”.