NAMIBIA – Namib Mills Ltd, the largest grain processing company in Namibia has officially opened a new state-of-the-art bakery plant, situated North Windhoek worth N$134.6m (US$9.2m).

The plant has enabled the company to expand its processing capacity with the launch of a new brand of bread, Bakpro Superior Loaves, as it seeks to cement its market share in the country’s bakery sector.

The Bakpro bread factory, was opened by Namibia’s Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development Minister Tjekero Tweya.

“We are here to witness the official launch of the first-ever bread factory machine whose strategic objective, according to the brand promise of Bakpro, is feeding the nation,” Tweya said.

“In terms of the strategic plan of Bakpro, it envisages to enlarge its brand presence and distribution network in future to all 14 regions of Namibia and its goes without saying that the job opportunities that will come from this expansion will be remarkable,” he added.

The new plant referred to as travelling plant employs world class-technology and it is automated, running the entire process of mixing, fermenting, baking and packaging.

Despite the baking process being fully automated and sterile requiring no human contact, the new venture has created 120 new jobs along the entire production line of these, 20 are upskilled and trained to work in the plant.

The most expensive components of the plant is a N$7 million (US$0.47m) cooling tower. By controlling the cooling process over a set period of time, the quality of the loaf is determined, as well as extending its shelf life which sets a superior loaf apart from a regular loaf of bread.

According to Tweya, the management cadre of Namib Mills Investment Group is strategically aligned with the ideals of the African Continental Free Trade Area as they also plan to establish their brand in other African countries and elsewhere as value-added products to increase intra-African trade and the presence of Namibian consumer brands abroad.

The new bread is presented in either 600g white or brown bread with a bumper 20 slices per loaf, or the 700g superior white or brown bread loaf with bigger portions of 18 slices per loaf.

In a bid to offer the consumer the best product on the market, the labelling also includes a breakdown of the ingredients and the energy value of the bread.

Namib Mills produces flour, pasta, animal feeds and other products.