For decades corrugated cartons are the most effective packaging means to ensure that cared-for-products are contained and distributed across the world. a small group of commercial farmers realized the importance of the balance between cost and integrity of their packaging requirements. Their vision and need to manufacture corrugated cartons which conforms to their requirements, brought to fruition the concept behind the success story of Houers Koöperatief Beperk.
Our Mission
At Houers, our mission is to provide packaging solutions that protect, preserve, and present our clients’ products with care and reliability. We are committed to delivering cartons that not only get goods safely to market but also reflect the quality, effort, and passion invested in what they hold. Guided by innovation, sustainability, and trusted partnerships, we strive to add value to every stage of the supply chain while supporting the growth and success of the industries we serve.
Accreditations
At Houers we believe that trust is built on more than words. It is earned through action, responsibility, and accountability. Our accreditations reflect this commitment. From our B-BEE Certificate that underscores our dedication to empowerment and inclusivity is our ISO Certificate that guarantees quality and international standards and our FSC Certification that promotes responsible forestry and sustainability. Each accreditation is proof of our promise to deliver with integrity.
Quality Policy
At Houers Pty Ltd, we are committed to delivering corrugated packaging solutions that consistently meet or exceed customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and our own high standards. Customer satisfaction lies at the heart of our work, and we ensure integrity, performance, and reliability in every product we supply.
We believe in the culture of continuous improvement. By setting measurable objectives, monitoring performance, and acting on feedback, we refine our processes and strengthen our systems. Our approach emphasizes prevention over inspection, with quality built into every stage of production.
Every employee plays a vital role in maintaining quality. Through training, accountability and teamwork, we foster an environment where excellence is everyone’s responsibility. Leadership drives this commitment, ensuring that resources, communication, and innovation support the achievement of our quality goals.
By upholding this policy, Houers pledges to deliver products that protect and adds value to our customers’ goods, while serving the industry with integrity, efficiency and distinction.
How Houers Works
The number of farmers who have supported Houers over the years has ensured its viability, says Thalwitzer. The cooperative is still fully owned by farmers, and day-to-day management is in CEO Wimpie Mostert’s hands. The board, with 10 directors, meets monthly.
It also convenes a general meeting at the end of each financial year to discuss, among other issues, Houers’ annual results and rebates. “In essence, Houers supplies corrugated packaging material to the customer, who is also a shareholder in the organization,” explains Mostert.
How it all started
When a group of Letsitele citrus farmers could no longer afford packaging material, they started making it themselves. Today, their business is a major industry supplier. By Alita van der Walt.
In the 1980s, South Africa’s citrus farmers had little scope to grow their profits; they were caught between high input costs and fixed citrus prices set by the Citrus Marketing Board. The highest input cost of all was that of packaging material, but with carton price increases showing no sign of slowing down, many farmers were at their wits’ end. The members of the Lower Letaba Citrus Cooperative (LLCC), a group of independent packhouses, realized that they had to urgently find a practical way of mitigating these costs.“Initially, we decided to expand further up the value chain,” recalls Milaan Thalwitzer, LLCC chairperson at the time. Discussions on acquiring shares in one of the region’scarton suppliers followed, but ultimately these came to nothing.
Then LLCC hit on a novel concept: setting up an independent, farmer-owned carton manufacturing facility. The board took the idea to other subtropical fruit producers, who gave it the thumbs-up. “The farmers were highly enthusiastic and willing to invest their own capital,” says Thalwitzer.A feasibility study was conducted and Houers Koöperatief Beperk (Houers), was founded on 22 April 1982. The first board of directors, headed by Thalwitzer, comprised Edward Vorster, Horst Gubitz, Dennis Thompson, Piet Minnaar, Andries Fourie and Louis van Rooyen.
The company got off to a flying start. In its first year of production, Houers produced almost five million citrus cartons from 500t of paper. Today, it is a major supplier of corrugated cartons to the agricultural market in South Africa, manufacturing and converting more than 40 million square meters of corrugated board per annum.
History of Houers
The Company was founded in Letsitele Limpopo, with limited capital, by a small group of farmers. Their aim: to manufacture corrugated cartons meeting their cost and integrity requirements.
In the first year, Houers produced nearly 5 million citrus cartons from 500 tons of paper.
1987-1994 The company’s first customers were citrus producers (export market). Soon afterwards, it branched out to supply corrugated cartons to other agricultural sectors and to commercial markets.
The company invested in ‘state-of-the-art’ machinery and product innovation, enabling it to handle large volumes and broaden packaging solutions.
Today – Expansion of product range beyond citrus, supplying corrugated packaging for subtropical fruit (such as, litchis, mangoes, avocados) in the region.
The company manufactures and converts more than 40 million square meters of corrugated board per annum.
Presently Houers is recognized as a major supplier to the agricultural market in South Africa, with board commercial reach. Houers operates with a dynamic team, innovation in product development and continuous focus on quality, cost and on-time delivery.