In 2019 Sonae Arauco invested a whopping R200 million upgrading our one-of-a-kind factory in White River. This upgrade included installing a state of the art Dieffenbacher Melamine Press – the first of its kind on the African continent.
This is not only a massive investment for Sonae Arauco, as it has markedly increased our capacity to produce high-quality wood-based decorative boards, but it is also a huge investment into South Africa’s – and White River’s – economy. This is because we are able to create more jobs and produce more high-quality wood-based products to keep up with an ever-increasing demand, which in turn leads to an increase in consumer spending. This investment therefore enables us to positively contribute towards sustainable, long-term economic growth and development for the company, as well as for South Africa.
- The new plant has increased job creation, especially in the White River area, as it has centralized our operations to one place.
- Our new melamine press has given us the technological flexibility to diversify and grow our product offering, thus creating an increase in demand for our products.
- Increased production capacity thanks to our new factory and melamine press’ unparalleled efficiency means that we will be able to keep up with an increase in the demand for our wood-based decorative panels.
- Our world-class melamine press produces value-added wood-based decorative boards of an exceptionally high quality and allows us to focus on supplying both our local and export markets.
At Sonae Arauco, we see the importance of investing in the economies of the countries we operate in and, as such, we are looking forward to the new era of economic growth that this investment will bring.
Read our previous article here