Bizerba (South Africa) - Bizerba, the market-leading supplier of solutions for weighing technology, slicers and price labelling devices, is expanding its global business activities. With the establishment of a new subsidiary in South Africa, the business is consolidating its presence in the south of the African continent. Around seventy representatives of customers and partners took part in a launch event at the beginning of June, which signified the start of Bizerba’s increased involvement in the region.

The theme of “fresh produce” is gaining in significance in South African trade and amongst consumers. This raises the bar for modern weighing and cutting devices, and at the same time for industrial food processing. “Our modern K- and X-class PC scales offer the customer the opportunity to manage the “fresh” theme efficiently and in line with consumers’ expectations,” says Andreas Wilhelm Kraut, managing partner and CEO of Bizerba. “Overall, PC technology is still not widespread in South African commerce, so from our point of view the time is right for us to get more involved in the region. This has been clearly confirmed by the feedback we’ve had from our customers in the context of the launch event.”

Bizerba serves the market with its own representatives in the areas of sales and marketing, and also relies on collaborations with local partners. This guarantees comprehensive customer support. Along with PC scales and slicers for traders, the themes of check weighing, inspection and price labelling are the main focus in the area of food production and packaging. Bizerba is thus addressing globally applicable requirements with regard to food safety, consumer information and production efficiency.

“For us, South Africa counts as an emerging market. We are therefore pushing ahead with our long-term globalisation plans in this region too by setting up our own subsidiary company,” Mr Kraut explains. The new company is based in Cape Town, although there are also plans to open a branch in Johannesburg in the medium term. Bizerba has more than twenty foreign subsidiaries across the world and, in addition, is represented by sales and service partners in around 120 countries worldwide. The family-run company develops and manufactures its products primarily in Germany, with around two thirds of its turnover coming from outside its home market. Bizerba achieved a new record in turnover in 2013 with sales amounting to 466.1 million euros.