Tongaat Hulett Troubles

vigras rojara said:
Yup, there must be plenty of other businesses that were reliant on TH that will now go under too...

Hopefully parts of the company can be rescued.
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Doubt it. With the amount of incompetence and corruption it will just die devastating and painfull death. The senior executives will be moved to another department to steal and destroy.
 
ShaunSA said:
You sang about flags and stuff during The Great Covid Con of 2019? :unsure:

I'm starting to think the weed is affecting your mind
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I had no idea you were still talking about that time period. I dont think all the weed in the world could give me those telepathic powers.
 
ShaunSA said:
No one is safe until we are all safe didn't give it away? :unsure:
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As mentioned earlier, I dont know that quote. Only "we are not free until we are all free" Which is a MLK quote (it predates him, but he is known for using it in modern history). I dont know yours sorry. We are derailing this thread badly. Im going to stop responding here. Its dark news for a lot of employees here. Your nanny state vibes were more on topic.
 
RedViking said:
Doubt it. With the amount of incompetence and corruption it will just die devastating and painfull death. The senior executives will be moved to another department to steal and destroy.
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For sure.

I meant perhaps someone will buy assets out of liquidation and take over some of the clients that TH has/had through a new entity.

Hopefully not the existing C-suite though, lol.
 
If the Tongaat sugar mills go under vast swathes of KZN farmlands will go bankrupt, it’ll be catastrophic.
But surely someone will take them over, Hullet was inherently a profitable business just corruption and mismanagement killed it. There's still money to be made there and the mills have been maintained so they are ready to go.
 
airborne said:
If the Tongaat sugar mills go under vast swathes of KZN farmlands will go bankrupt, it’ll be catastrophic.
But surely someone will take them over, Hullet was inherently a profitable business just corruption and mismanagement killed it. There's still money to be made there and the mills have been maintained so they are ready to go.
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I suspect that Illovo might take over most of it. There is also some Indian based sugar companies that would buy things on a discounted auction. But being back in the industry let's first see what's going to happen with the assets. Also suspect there might be a chance of a different take over and re-branding. Killing off a 134 year old company and branding will not be that easy.
Not all the mills and refineries are in good condition. There are one or two that are basically held up by match sticks and cable ties
 
Binary_Bark said:
I suspect that Illovo might take over most of it. There is also some Indian based sugar companies that would buy things on a discounted auction. But being back in the industry let's first see what's going to happen with the assets. Also suspect there might be a chance of a different take over and re-branding. Killing off a 134 year old company and branding will not be that easy.
Not all the mills and refineries are in good condition. There are one or two that are basically held up by match sticks and cable ties
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One of the articles mentioned they'd spent R1.6 billion preparing the mills for the 2026 season but I'm assuming some are so old and worn out they are ready for being decommissioned and replaced/refitted?
 

Tongaat: A ticking time bomb set to go off in April​


The clock is ticking for embattled sugar giant Tongaat Hulett and the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on it. The company has two critical deadlines looming in April: the opening of its mills, and a court case to determine whether the company is placed in provisional liquidation.

The winding up application, brought by business rescue practitioners (BRPs), will be argued in the Durban High Court on 16 and 17 April.

Unless the matter is resolved by consent, judgment might be reserved for weeks or even months.
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groundup.org.za

Tongaat: A ticking time bomb set to go off in April

The company’s mills must open soon for the sugarcane harvest, but its bank accounts are frozen
groundup.org.za groundup.org.za
 
That's if the mills are even ready, the video above mentioned many contractors working on the mills to prep them for the new season aren't getting paid, and hence aren't working.
 
This whole situation is just sad. So many points where this could have been avoided.

Article is a bit old, but still a great read: https://amabhungane.org/analysis-the-violation-of-tongaat-hulett/

Kind of hope that this works out in favour of the farmers and not Vision or SBSA.

Edit: After reading the DailyMaverick article I realise they are much the same thing, my bad
 
xcaliber said:
The ones that stole never are.

Every ****ing accountant should be in prison.
Its such a shame. My granddad worked there his whole life.
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Not just the accountants; the board and higher-ups are more to blame. P.S. and co. did have court dates, but not much came of it. They basically pulled a Steinhoff move.
The bigger farms would do okay, with losses of course; other sugar companies would take up the slack. It's the small operations that would take the biggest hit.
If these mills do close for liquidation, movement of the cane from farm to mill will be longer, ending with penalties to the farmer because the cut cane is too old, reducing their income per tonne quite a lot.
The older the cut cane, the less you get paid for it.

This entire debacle could increase the importation of cheap refined sugar from countries like Brazil and Asia, ending in hindering local production even more. Domino affect if the liquadation court battle is lost
 
airborne said:
That's if the mills are even ready, the video above mentioned many contractors working on the mills to prep them for the new season aren't getting paid, and hence aren't working.
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Most of the mills are in operational condition and ready to get started. The thing is, would they be able to start for the season. With the off-crop ending and the court date set for April, this would be very tight and bottom-clenching for staff, contractors and farmers. Some other mills are starting up this Friday; it's going to be very tight with possible crop rot and losses.
We too are no longer doing any engineering work for TH, it's too high of a risk not getting paid for work done, as you've mentioned other contractors not getting paid. Because TH is sitting where they are, there is nothing one can do.
 
Binary_Bark said:
Most of the mills are in operational condition and ready to get started. The thing is, would they be able to start for the season. With the off-crop ending and the court date set for April, this would be very tight and bottom-clenching for staff, contractors and farmers. Some other mills are starting up this Friday; it's going to be very tight with possible crop rot and losses.
We too are no longer doing any engineering work for TH, it's too high of a risk not getting paid for work done, as you've mentioned other contractors not getting paid. Because TH is sitting where they are, there is nothing one can do.
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I didn't know you worked for them. Strongs.
 
Binary_Bark said:
Most of the mills are in operational condition and ready to get started. The thing is, would they be able to start for the season. With the off-crop ending and the court date set for April, this would be very tight and bottom-clenching for staff, contractors and farmers. Some other mills are starting up this Friday; it's going to be very tight with possible crop rot and losses.
We too are no longer doing any engineering work for TH, it's too high of a risk not getting paid for work done, as you've mentioned other contractors not getting paid. Because TH is sitting where they are, there is nothing one can do.
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It really is a catch 22. I hope someone takes over the mills and provides stability to the area.
 
xcaliber said:
It really is a catch 22. I hope someone takes over the mills and provides stability to the area.
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Jip, the influx of cheap sugar is not helping. Mills mostly service a 60-70 km area. If TH mills shut down for good, well, as mentioned, the smaller farms will fold. Cut cane has a lifespan of 48 hours before deteriorating and producing less and less juice. Fewer mills mean older cane, longer travel distances and big revenue losses.
You can imagine farmers needing to transport crop over 200km instead of 60 km.
 
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