South Africa’s third-largest chicken producer, Country Bird Holdings, has just announced a 35% expansion of capacity at its plant in Hartebeesfontein in North West province.
The expansion, the result of R180 million of investment, will increase production at the facility to 1 million birds per week and create 100 new jobs.
Engineering News reported that the upgrade included several technological improvements, including air chilling technology to replace the previous spin chillers which had consumed 1.6 million litres of water daily. CBH also plans a solar plant to reduce its reliance on the state utility Eskom and mitigate the impacts of rotational power cuts known as load shedding.
CBH CEO Brendon de Boer explained that the improvements would bolster the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials and make CBH more competitive by reducing unit costs.
