How we came to represent you – a historical perspective:

OUR HISTORY

1926

After the collapse of the ostrich industry at the beginning of the 20th century, a number of farmers in the Bonnievale region gathered to investigate alternative uses for their long-established lucerne fields and other infrastructure. From this, the Boesmans River Cooperative Cheese Factory was established in 1926. From just 20 members, it grew over time, although it only served dairy farmers in the Bonnievale and Swellendam regions, and produced only gouda cheese.

1970’s

However, during the 1970s this changed. The cooperative undertook an accelerated extension programme and also started producing cheddar cheese. A whey powder factory was also established. Membership and milk intake increased dramatically, supported by new technology that allowed milk to be collected and transported over greater distances.

1986

For years, there was a tendency towards amalgamation amongst smaller cooperative enterprises in the agricultural industry – not least due to the capital intensive processing plants required in the dairy industry. As a result, the then Darling Cooperative Dairy Factory and Zebraskop Cooperative Cheese Factory amalgamated with the Boesmans River Cooperative in 1986. The Darling Cooperative was situated in Paarden Island and besides a butter factory, also operated milk transport in the Western Cape. The Zebraskop Cooperative was situated in Eendekuil near Piketberg and processed the milk of a number of producers in the Piketberg, Porterville and Vredenburg regions to cheddar cheese.

Shortly afterwards, the Cape Dairy Cooperative bought Van Riebeeck Dairies, which was situated in Parow and produced fresh milk and fresh-milk by-products and marketed and distributed these in the Cape Peninsula and surroundings.

1989

In the meantime, the Cape Dairy Cooperative also built a milk powder plant in Bonnievale and was now active over the whole range of dairy products, except for UHT milk. A meeting was held with the United Dairy Cooperative, which was situated in Port Elizabeth and produced and distributed fresh milk and fresh milk by-products in Port Elizabeth, East London and Queenstown. They also had a butter and milk powder factory in Port Elizabeth. Most importantly, they had a UHT factory in Port Elizabeth and a well-established brand name.

An amalgamation followed, which was registered with the Registrar of Cooperatives in 1989, still under the name of the Cape Dairy Cooperative. This cooperative now had a comprehensive range of dairy products with well-established and successful brand names, such as Bonnita, Everfresh and Pure Joy, at its disposal. Further growth followed, so much so that members were also recruited in the northern provinces, and a UHT factory was built on the Rand.

1992

This growth required a lot of capital, especially in an industry where high standards of hygiene have to be maintained. Consequently, it was decided in 1992 to transform the cooperative’s processing, transport and marketing departments into a company in order to allow access to funds outside the agricultural sector. However, the cooperative still maintained the controlling shares in the operating company Bonnita (Pty) Ltd.

The decision was later made to develop the value of the whole enterprise in the interest of the cooperative’s members. Consequently, it was decided to list the operating company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with the Premier Group obtaining the controlling shares at the time.

This growth required a lot of capital, especially in an industry where high standards of hygiene have to be maintained. Consequently, it was decided in 1992 to transform the cooperative’s processing, transport and marketing departments into a company in order to allow access to funds outside the agricultural sector. However, the cooperative still maintained the controlling shares in the operating company Bonnita (Pty) Ltd.

The decision was later made to develop the value of the whole enterprise in the interest of the cooperative’s members. Consequently, it was decided to list the operating company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with the Premier Group obtaining the controlling shares at the time.

1998

After experiencing problems within the Premier Group, they decided to sell their shares in Bonnita to Parmalat International in August 1998. With this transaction the close connection between the cooperative and the company in the form of representation of the cooperative’s directors on the company’s board of directors and Bonnita’s administrative support of the cooperative was terminated.