It’s less than a year since we reported the establishment of Kangopak, a start-up pouchmaking facility in Diep River, Cape Town (PPM Aug11, p89). Since then, the company has expanded from a single to a double shift, has doubled the number of employees to four admin staff and four operators (two per shift), is moving fast towards BRC accreditation, and is experiencing burgeoning sales, not only within South Africa but to other African countries. It’s good to hear such an entrepreneurial
success story!

Kangopak is headed by Clive Schlachter (who in an earlier life was part of the team at Kohler Flexible Packaging in Pinetown), aided by his wife Lyndsay (who handles internal sales and logistics) and their son Michael (who, with a BCom Accounting degree, ably handles operational and financial management).

A recent addition to the team is Allan Marais as sales representative.

The latest news from this go-ahead family concern is access to a fully-automatic spout-insertion line that operates at 30 spouts/min. The line has undergone all the necessary pre-commissioning trials and is already producing spouted pouches for Kangopak’s growing list of customers.

‘We’re experiencing strong growth in sales of pouches fitted with spouts,’ Clive insists, ‘particularly for products such as fabric softeners, catering packs and portion control packs.’

‘While we focus on stand-up and spout pouches,’ he continues, ‘we also produce three-side seal pouches and quad-seal pouches.’

Particularly exciting is the pouch-maker’s double unwind station which allows the production of pouches with metallised backs and clear fronts. The machine also includes a zipper inserter, tear-nick, euro slot and rounded corner capabilities.

Move towards BRC

Another noteworthy development in its one-year history has been Kangopak’s steady journey towards BRC certification, with a final audit expected in August.