Fond farewell to industry giant ( Wednesday 18 November 2009 )

After 83 years of excellence, Outspan (Pty) Ltd was wound up voluntarily and at a trip-down-memory-lane function in Pretoria recently, former board members and executives paid tribute to the company.

Kallie Schoeman, the last chairman of Outspan International, served on the board of first SACCE and then Outspan for 26 years. He summed up, "The significance of Outspan was the enormously strong foundation it provided to the South African citrus industry over 83 years. And because of this, I'm extremely optimistic about the industry's future."

Reviewing the South African fruit industry history and Outspan's role as the iconic brand in this development, Louis von Broembsen, the company's ex-head of technical and research, said Outspan would be remembered for putting the South African citrus industry on the map. "The fact that the SA citrus industry grew from small beginnings to the second biggest citrus exporter in the world, is thanks to the foresight of its founders and the bold decisions they made. This achievement is even more remarkable when considering the odds stacked against them." Among the odds have been: South Africa's distance from its northern hemisphere markets; climatic diversity across production areas; the wide variety of pests and diseases with which to contend; poor soil, erosion, drought, floods and so forth.

Von Broembsen attributed the initial success of the SA citrus industry to producers working together to form cooperatives which enabled growers to pool knowledge and resources. "These cooperatives were established despite the country's history of divisions in language and geography at the time. The directors of first the Citrus Exchange and then Outspan were producers who tackled problems head-on and put money behind these efforts."

In 1926 citrus growers broke away from the Fruit Growers' Co-operative Exchange to form their own Citrus Exchange (SACCE) and farmers were canvassed to join the co-ops. By 1929 61% of exports were channeled through SACCE and within a year 4 million cartons were exported.

The Niven family gave their citrus brand name, OUTSPAN, to the Citrus Exchange for member use in 1933 and 20 years later SACCE established its own research section. By 1960 export volumes topped 12 million cartons and two years later SACCE established its own office in England, followed by sub-branches on the European Continent. At this stage Outspan was the only brand name for the Exchange's SA citrus exports, supported by highly successful advertising and promotions campaigns.

As the 60s gave way to the 70s, the Middle East and Japanese export markets were opened up. Other milestones in this decade included the opening of the Outspan Citrus Centre in Nelspruit, introducing many new cultivars and hitting the 26 million export carton mark.

Roll on the 90s, when Outspan International (Pty) Ltd was formed as a Citrus Exchange subsidiary in 1992, becoming Outspan International Ltd two years later. And 1997 marked a watershed when all fruit industries in South Africa were de-regulated. The following year Outspan International Ltd and Unifruco Ltd amalgamated as Capespan Group Holdings International Ltd and the South African Citrus Growers Association (CGA) was formed.

A year after the millennium, the Outspan Citrus Centre was taken over by CGA and the name changed to Citrus Research International. Finally, in 2002 the Outspan Foundation Block was taken over by the CGA.

After Capespan Group Holdings was established, Outspan and Unifruco acted as non-operating companies, each holding approximately 39% of the Capespan Group shares on behalf of growers. Because of elements in the structure, this multi-tiered Capespan shareholding contained complexities. Thus, towards the latter part of 2008, Capespan initiated a shareholding simplification process to increase share tradability, unlock shareholder value, further commercialise the group and improve corporate governance. Consequently Unifruco and Outspan were wound up voluntarily in 2009, with Capespan taking over all their remaining assets and liabilities.

So, although the Outspan brand is here to stay, the 6 November commemoration marked the end of a historical Outspan International era in the South African fruit industry, but also heralded a rejuvenated future for Capespan's citrus exports.

CAPTION; Former Citrus Exchange / Outspan International Chairmen (fltr) Milaan Thalwitzer, David Lötter and Kallie Schoeman

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