NAMIBIA – Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) has appointed Andries (Dries) van der Sandt as its new Marketing Manager effective 1 September 2022, filling the space left by Rene Duffy following his resignation in March this year.
As part of his role, Van der Sandt will be responsible for leading the company’s marketing team, which is responsible for the internationally acclaimed Windhoek trademark and other prized national brands such as Tafel Lager and Hansa Draught.
Says Van der Sandt, “I’m incredibly excited to be joining the NBL family of people and brands. Although NBL is one of the most admired businesses within Namibia, its track record, portfolio of brands and potential for future growth is recognised beyond the borders of Namibia.
“With all the new developments currently in play, the opportunities are massive, and I can’t think of a better time to join this amazing team.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know all the amazing people of NBL, and together with my team and our various business partners, start to harness our collective passion, experience, effort and energy to create the next chapter in what is an already impressive century-old success story.”
On the appointment, Marco Wenk, NBL managing director of NBL welcomed Dries to the company and expressed his confidence that he will add substantial value while leading the highly-experienced marketing team to further heights and supporting its future growth through the implementation of new and exciting brand strategies.
Namibia Dairies brings UHT milk production home
In other related news, NBL’s sister company Namibia Dairies, has relocated the production and packaging of its Nammilk Full Cream and Low-Fat Ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk ranges from South Africa to its local Avis Factory in Windhoek, Namibia, as of June 2022.
Namibia Dairies Managing Director (MD), Leonie Prinsloo, noted that the decision to outsource production of its UHT milk to South Africa in November 2020, had been mainly due to the reduction in the local raw milk supply that compelled the business to fill the shortfall that threatened its sustainability.
“As a result of the good rains and increased raw milk supply locally, we are excited to bring our hormone-free, high-quality UHT products home again,” said Prinsloo.
As a proud Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group subsidiary that has been in existence since 1997, the company’s objective is to ensure that the business can profitably produce, package, and distribute UHT milk with the highest standards and the best quality, with no change in the current cost to the consumer.
Namibia Dairies, including the !Aimab Superfarm, is one of Namibia’s biggest dairy producers and has been severely impacted by the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ailing economy.
Increased input costs had put severe strain on the business and further encouraged the need for rationalisation and restructuring to ensure its sustainability.
The improved circumstances, along with the continued objective to maximise the capacity of the local plant and focus on quality throughout the value chain, positively impacted the decision to move our UHT milk production back to Namibia and ensure the full capitalisation of the value chain.
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