Massive American company being liquidated in South Africa

A massive plastic plant is going under the hammer, and stems from the liquidation of Tupperware Southern Africa.

The Florida-based container brand Tupperware announced it would exit South Africa in 2024 as part of a larger liquidation and restructuring strategy.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024 due to declining sales and worsening financial circumstances.  

Regulatory filings showed that the brand’s new owners would focus on eight core markets, which exclude South Africa and Australia.

Tupperware was so popular that it became synonymous with all forms of plastic containers. Other popular brands that became placeholders for a product include Jacuzzis, Jet Skis and Frisbees.

As per the local liquidation, Park Village Auctions (PVA) has invited offers to purchase a significant plastic manufacturing and distribution plant with movable assets.

“This is a unique opportunity to acquire a substantial facility with a comprehensive plant and equipment inventory,” says PVA’s Werner Burger.

“The scale of the operation and assets offered due to the liquidation of a globally recognised entity like Tupperware Southern Africa make this an attractive proposition for various potential buyers.”

The immovable property comprises Erf 141, Vulcania Ext 2, 92 Lemmer Road, Brakpan, measuring 4.1573 hectares.

The property features a large warehouse divided into four sections, a double-storey office building, a security office, a health and safety office, and a covered staff parking area.

The total gross leasable area (GLA) of the property is 22,747 sqm, and a wide array of movable assets, including a complete plastic manufacturing and distribution plant, are available.

Key equipment includes the following:

• A recycling extruder (Nelmor Thermoflite 45 mm barrel, with spaghetti die, cooling tank, and pelletiser)
• Granulators (Rapid 300 with dust extractor and cyclone, and Nelmor G16 with dust extractor and cyclone)
• Seven Matan granule dryers
• An Engel Duo 500 (C06) injection moulder with Viper 40 robot
• Two heated tempering tunnels (5m long x 1.2m wide)
• Two Viper 40 robots,
• A Future Packaging shrink tunnel (Type AP-180072)
• Four Busch vacuum pumps with an AZO hopper dryer
• Conveyor systems throughout the factory.
• A side blow moulder (Type 1002E) with 150 kVA servo motor control
• Two pallet wrappers
• A Demag 10-ton double girder overhead crane (27m span)
• Maha MH500 and TOS SUI 50A lathe machines
• Packaging lines, roller conveyors, and belt conveyors
• Atlas Copco GA55 and ABC compressors
• A water chiller with a heat exchanger
• Storage shelving and racking (such as 650 modules of HD racking)
• Raw material
• Warehouse equipment
• Furniture
• Office equipment.

Offers can be submitted to PVA by no later than 14:00 on Thursday, 15 May, with viewing open from 9:00 to 15:00 on the 6, 7 and 8 May at 92 Lemmer Road.

International companies call it quits in South Africa

Tupperware’s decision to exit South Africa joined a long list of international companies that announced plans to exit or scale back their operations in South Africa.

French-based BNP Paribas stopped operating as a bank in South Africa. The sixth-largest bank in the world scaled back in Africa to focus on Europe and Asia.

After reaching an agreement, UK-based HSBC also announced that it would transfer the business of its South African branch to FirstRand.

Shell also announced its plan to sell its downstream business, which includes its forecourts across the country.

Bloomberg reported that Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Swiss commodities trading firm Gunvor are shortlisted to take over the downstream business of Shell, which intends to keep its upstream business.

UK-based Britbox, a streaming service operated by the BBC and ITV, stopped operating in August. The company noted that many of the channels are already available on DStv.

Regarding retailers, Jumia Technologies, which operated Zando in South Africa, exited the country amid intense competition. The Foschini Group’s Bash bought Zando’s domain.

Moreover, UK-based Blackcircles, billed as the ‘leading online tyre store,’ stopped operating in South Africa in September 2024.