About Us

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Our history

BBI Packers is located 10 km from the town of Hoedspruit in the Limpopo Province, previously known as Bavaria Packers, which was established in 1995. While the packhouse was recognized mainly for the packaging of mangoes up to 2018, new ventures enabled the packhouse to expand to also pack other commodities like citrus and avocadoes.

Fruit calendar

The packhouse is operational for most of the year with the below varieties in the following production window:

BBI packers fruit calendar

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Our Facilities

Citrus facility

The 9,000m2 facility is equipped with some of the most advanced equipment and automation in the industry. The line starts with an automated tipping action with a RCA17 tipper from Mafroda. From here the commodities make their journey through the grading, washing, treatment, wax and drying areas. Fruit passes through a Global Scan IV 6 Camera systems which grades each fruit per size and weight. The facility boasts two such lines which increase the packing capacity, but also ensure that the lines are readily available to suit the customer’s needs.

The commodities are then selected and transferred to the designated packing area. These areas consist of three Automated Speed Packing machines which can pack two cartons simultaneously. Some are designated to the three Jumble Filling machines which auto-fill cartons to the required customer/ market weight.

The remaining commodities are then placed on packing tables whereby they are packed in the required patterns according to market requirements.

Sub-tropical facility

This 3,000 m2 which mainly tips, treats and packs mangoes and avos, is equipped with two 4-lane sizer options: Line 1 has a SEHS Sizer and Line 2 is equipped with an AWETA Sizer.

Drying facility

This facility provides customers with the option to dry and so optimise lower grade fruit which would have been discarded or sold as waste at a lower cost, rendering each fruit consumable and marketable.

The facility can dry up to 450 tons of dried product in a season, which normally stretches over a 4-month period. For more information, visit www.baobabdriedfruit.co.za

Why Us?

Our commitment to pack fruit in the ideal packaging, at the right moment, under the appropriate brand means we help optimise your harvest. We are committed to finding innovative solutions in a constantly changing environment and market space.

SAFPRO

Benefits for all growers

  • We’re a multi-varietal packhouse for soft and hard citrus, mangoes and avos. We pack this range of fruit within the wide spectrum of quality and fruit-sizes.
  • Our geographical location lies favourably in terms of the direction of the port.
  • We are flexible and have capacity to handle unexpected volumes.
  • We are willing and able to handle smaller volumes.
  • We pack double shifts in peak season if necessary, allowing fruit to find their way onto international retail shelves in prime condition.
  • We have long-term relationships with top marketing, branding and exporting companies, such as Core Fruit, Fruitalyst, Citrx, Safpro (not limited to these).
  • BBI is an accredited packing partner for such global citrus brand giants as ClemenGold, LemonGold and Sweet C to name a few. With fruit distributed over the world, BBI understands the intricacies of packing a wide variety of cultivars into multiple brands, destined for numerous retail and wholesale clients – each with its own compliance and packing requirements.
clemengold
Lemongold
Sweet C

The facility packs for renowned retailers, including Woolworths, LIDL, Tesco, Freshmark, just to name a few.

  • Our unique positioning and alignment with 5 packhouses across the country enables us to negotiate for significant economic benefits that are directly passed back to the producer.
    • This also provides us with access to specialist expertise, the latest on quality control, systems and data-driven decision making, new innovations explored via extensive R&D, and experience throughout the value chain from nursery to farm level and beyond.
    • Our centrally developed Guides for Operational Excellence eases the global compliance and accreditation processes and keeps us in line with world-class excellence.
    • Growers directly benefit financially from our collective bargaining Lower input costs derived from economy of scale advantages are shared back to growers, and we carry the capital burden of large volume purchases of packing material and other inputs.
      • One example is the continuous availability of trucks to the ports and storage space at the ports due to large-scale negotiations.
    • As part of the ANB Group (www.anbinvestments.co.za) of companies, BBI shares in the upskilling, employment equity and BBBEE score, as well as social, ethical and environmental accreditations, unlocking international trade opportunities.

Benefits for mango growers

  • BBI has a separate facility dedicated to mangoes and your crop will receive specialist attention.
  • Our own drying facility, Baobab Dried Fruit, offers a value-add alternative for fruit with no other destination.
  • We comply to the cold chain requirements for mango exports.
  • Our well-organised ‘bakkie mark’ (informal trading) is thriving and benefits small entrepreneurs while providing yet another viable outlet for sub-standard fruit.

Benefits for citrus growers

  • We have experience in packing the full range of citrus, from grapefruit to limes (the smallest), including lemons, mandarins and oranges.
  • The packline is designed for soft citrus and our team has extensive experience and knowledge of mandarins.