‘LIFE is plastic, it’s fantastic’ sang Aqua back in 1997. No-one would agree more than Nico van Niekerk of Safripol, the polymer professional par excellence. Nico should know – he has been up to his eyeballs in polymers for more than three decades and has played his part in the rise of Safripol, first as production director, then chief operating officer, now chief executive officer. He witnessed the era of global chemical group Dow’s ownership, was part of the Rockwood led buy-out from Dow in 2007, did the KAP fit in 2017 as that company took over and was an executive when, two years later, Hosaf and Safripol merged to create today’s Safripol.

Nico is proud to have been instrumental in the company’s evolution into a prominent polymer producer in sub-Saharan Africa with a poly-portfolio unmatched in the local market. Safripol remains the country’s only producer of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), with its environmental-stress crack resistance, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), converted by its customers into bottles for beverages and edible oils, and for cosmetic and pharmaceutical brands. It is also one of only two South African producers of polypropylene (PP), the lightweight, but hard-nosed, plastic for containers, toys, even furniture.

‘Plastic enriches many aspects of life,’ Nico confirms. ‘Besides its traditional uses, it can be found in cars, cellphones and laptops. It touches every life every day.’

As noted by Hassan Namazi in his study Polymers in our daily life, it is difficult to imagine human society without polymers. ‘Products made from polymers are all around us: clothing made from synthetic fibres, polyethylene cups, fibreglass, nylon bearings, plastic bags, polymer-based paints, epoxy glue, polyurethane foam cushions, silicone heart valves and Teflon-coated cookware.’ The list is almost endless and the impact almost incalculable, including medicine, communication, transportation, irrigation, buildings and highways, he adds.

Much of the HDPE and PP that finds its way into these industries in South Africa is manufactured at Safripol Sasolburg, while the Durban plant specialises in PET.

The operations, says Nico, are fuelled by technology and innovation, and focused on the achievement of excellence through teamwork and continuous improvement.

Safripol fires up

South Africa’s first home-grown HDPE pellets cracked into life in Sasolburg on April 1, 1972. But no-one was fooling around that day – they were too busy making history.

The Safripol story was one of partnership at the outset. A venture between Sentrachem and Hoechst of Germany set the wheels in motion in the late-1960s, after Sasol awarded half of its ethylene gas to the former, a newcomer to the chemical industry. For both companies to succeed, they teamed up to found South African Polyolefins.

Plastics was a big, booming business at that time, mass production having started after World War II because the material was cheaper than alternatives, versatile, durable, lightweight and lent itself to various shapes and colours. With an HDPE plant only and an initial capacity of 47 000 tons a year, there was plenty of scope for expansion.

Safripol took full advantage of the potential, making swift progress. By 1974, annual capacity had been increased to 60 000 tons to meet demand that had increased by about 33% over two years. At that time, the National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA) awarded the plant four stars, underlining its people-centred culture from an early stage. The PP plant was also commissioned in1974 and a five-star NOSA rating followed.

By 1981, capacity was 105 000 tons a year, the team 578-strong and the offering 57 polymer grades.

Former Safripol managing director, Duncan Blackburn was with the company from 1980 to 1994. He recalls a turning point in 1982, when Sasol rationalised its Sasolburg and Secunda facilities. It shut down its crackers in Sasolburg, robbing Safripol of its traditional source of propylene. It had a major product line without the raw materials to feed it. ‘Solving the problem led to eight years of events and projects that included buying crude propylene for the production of PP, moving materials from Durban to Sasolburg, and establishing a propylene import terminal in Richards Bay,’ Duncan recalls.

In 1997, the PP facility was upgraded to Spheripol modular technology based on bulk polymerisation.

Around that time, chemical giant Dow bought out Sentrachem for $446-million, giving the parent company a significant presence in South Africa and welcoming the latter into the large global conglomerate. Two years later, Dow became the sole owner of Safripol, then operating as Dow Plastics SA, and set about infusing its work processes and approaches into the business for the next seven years.

Then came a change of heart about involvement in emerging economies and a local consortium comprising Absa Capital (today Rockwood Capital), Thebe Investments and a management team led by Joaquin Schoch stepped in. The name Safripol was restored.

The next decade produced a new vision, mission and values, supported by electronic advancements, databases and a search for new technology partners. In 2017, KAP entered the picture, deciding that Safripol was an asset worth acquiring to further its stated goal of inspiring people by building exceptional businesses that create lasting economic and social value. Many years before, KAP had acquired Hosaf, an operation born of Hoechst’s unbundling.

In 2019, Hosaf and Safripol merged to form a diversified chemical division of KAP known as Safripol, naturally.

The power of the people

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.One may think that at the heart of Safripol’s business is resin, and there’s more than a pellet of truth to that. But more important are its people – all 264 of them, plus 108 contractors.

‘You can have the best strategies, the greatest plans and the most money, but without the right people with the right skills and expertise, these are all just pointless pieces of paper,’ Nico insists.

A culture of ownership is constantly nurtured and is evident in executive to janitor and all stops between, he adds. ‘Our people own their functions and take pride in their work. They know they’re valued, not only through the incentives we offer but in our attitudes and respect for one another.’

A tradition of training and development started around 1981, with the company’s first training centre, offering literacy and preparatory courses for employees to meet the demands of increasing production. The first three employees were awarded their elementary technical certificates with first-class passes a year later.

The approach to development is strategic. ‘We believe it is as important for our people to add value to the business as it is for us to enrich their lives,’ stresses human resources executive, Kurt Schovell.

This momentum of development and skills upliftment has endured to this day, with Safripol particularly strong in learnerships and workplace experience, two pillars of the government’s National Skills Development Plan. Last year more than R2.7-million was invested in the development of staff to allow them to fulfil their potential and boost their proficiency.

As is stated on the company’s website, it is no fluke that for eight consecutive years Safripol was a mainstay of the Top Employers Institute list, reserved for companies that demonstrate employee-centricity in workplace conditions, people development and professional practices.

Marketing guru, Rani Appalsamy (now with the company for 45 years), would not dispute the institute’s decision. ‘We are an innovative company with dynamic and exceptional leaders always looking to the future. I retire in a few years and I feel disappointed that I will not be able to see all the developments happening at present to fruition.’

Of like mind is Philip Liebetrau, who explains: ‘As a trainee engineer, I was exposed to and grabbed many opportunities to learn, grow and prove myself. I believe Safripol saw me as a potential future driver of the company culture and that’s why I was promoted to production engineer. We’re investing in increasing extrusion volumes, which excites me and keeps me here – I want to be a part of the next 50 years to contribute to our success.’

A long-serving employee who’d forego rest and relaxation not to miss out and a relative newcomer who’s enthralled by the prospect of serving Safripol his entire working life? Priceless.

Resinating with the circular economy

Despite being something of a wunderkind in the packaging community, plastic is often misunderstood and receives much flak as an enemy of the environment, Nico points out. In fact, most plastics have captured the circular economy concept better than alternative packaging media, they being relatively easy to recover and repurpose. The circular economy is a cornerstone of the Safripol strategy, focused on accelerating recycling, designing for circularity, preventing plastic leakage and ensuring renewable carbon feedstocks.

Call it motto, mantra or movement, Let’s plastic responsibly is catchy and captures the essence of the Safripol of 2022. It reflects the company’s strong sustainability and brand promise, which underlines its focus on producing higher-specification and greater-value polymers for use in more durable applications. It reiterates the commitment to long-term use and repurposing of products rather than single-use applications.

‘The campaign aims to educate people on the versatility of plastic and its widespread use across consumer products,’ says commercial executive, Mark Berry. ‘It also communicates that certain items, such as straws, should not include plastic because they can’t be recycled. We’re leading this movement as part of our growth strategy and are encouraging brand owners and retailers to join us.’

Constant innovation is fundamental to the business model, Mark continues. ‘During the last year, we started working with stakeholders on efficient and profitable solutions with reduced environmental impact. We also developed and produced recycled PET containing resin with a 15% to 25% post-consumer content.’

A recognised environmental trailblazer, Safripol staged its third annual sustainability forum in March 2022, which placed 200 delegates on seats, while many more tuned in for the livestream. The audience heard the latest news from thought leaders on unlocking opportunities through reducing, reusing, recycling, rethinking and repurposing plastics.

Another feather in the 2022 cap was the title ‘recycling partnership gamechanger’ bestowed during the annual PETCO Awards for its advance of waste collection and recycling.

Initiatives in the past year have included installation of litter booms along the lower uMngeni River catchment to intercept litter for reuse, separation at source at all Safripol facilities, sponsorship of bulk bags and recycling bins for waste collection projects nationwide, support for buy-back centres and involvement in clean-up campaigns in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.

Click on image to view.

The next 50

All eyes will be on beating the polymer cyclicality curve as Safripol heads confidently into the next 50 years of producing products for the people.

Now a more than R10-billion-turnover corporate with annual capacity of 520 kilotons, sustainability its theme and value its promise, Safripol aims to grow revenue by 30% while increasing operating profits by 50% over the next five years, Nico tells us.

And having aligned itself with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Safripol is focusing on three strategic pillars, i.e. the circular economy, reducing its environmental impact, and creating positive societal impact. Striving for carbon net zero emissions by 2050 to satisfy the Paris Agreement, it will remain on the right side of global environmental imperatives.

The worldwide annual demand for plastics is around 350-million tons, a far cry from the 50-million tons of 1976, and, with responsible usage and tapering off of single-use plastics in favour of long-term use and repurposing, plastics look set to prosper in the years ahead.

Four key strategic pillars will enable Safripol to beat the index:

• Building organisational capacity as an enabler.

• Polymer sustainability through the Let’s plastic responsibly campaign.

• Moderating polymer cyclicality.

• Enabling recycling, reducing, reusing and repurposing of polymers.

Underscoring its vision of creating plastics that responsibly shape the world, Safripol’s goal to establish itself as the undisputed sustainability leader rests on five objectives:

• Dynamic, future-driven leadership.

• Embracing change by creating innovative plastics and applications.

• Ensuring service excellence across the value chain.

• Embracing/leveraging technology to foster agile business solutions.

• Operating its facilities to their design intent.

Safripol will continue to capitalise on its home-grown advantage when exporters look with eager, profit-piqued eyes at the South African market. ‘We’re close to our marketplace and our customers and this gives us the edge,’ Nico maintains. ‘We’re right here when they need us, exposing them less to supply chain disruptions and global supply and demand vagaries. We’re highly flexible and can respond rapidly to evolving customer and consumer needs. On product quality, technological and product innovation, service, safety and environmental standards, Safripol has no reason to be unsettled by competitors.’

A bi-annual Phillips Townsend Associates Incorporated benchmark assessment of Safripol’s HDPE and PP operations against those of global competitors back this up, and they were judged to fall within the first quartile for performance.

The company believes polymers will ultimately take market share away from paper and steel in the form of aluminium, based on greenhouse gas emissions. ‘Producing polymers has less of an environmental footprint than any other material. Once polymers are used and disposed of responsibly, the profile of the sector will change,’ Nico asserts.

Suffice to say, the team couldn’t be more excited about the next 50 years, because they will undoubtedly be better than the last 50. ‘And we’ve already had a great run,’ he concludes.

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