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The Nuwater / Cape Town Market cycling team again took part in this years Pick ‘n Pay Argus Cycle Tour which took place on the 10^th of March 2013 and hosted over 35 000 cyclists. It is considered the largest fun ride in the world.

The Nuwater/Cape Town Market team was seeded in the Elite Mens group who started when the starter pistol was fired at 6:15am.  The Elite group of 250 cyclists compromised some of the best cyclists in the world from South Africa, Belgium, Russia, Lithuania, and many others.

The route from Cape Town Foreshore, followed the M3, via the coastal route, Cape Point along Chapman’s Peak (3^rd year since reopening) into Hout Bay, over Suikerbossie, down the Atlantic seaboard and finishing at the Cape Town Stadium ….all  in the winning time of 2.39.55 hrs!

Unfortunately, not all ran smoothly, as in Hout Bay there was a pile up involving approximately 150 riders causing a backlog of 90% of the Elite group, thus losing time and placements.  After this delay the Nuwater/Cape Town Market team worked hard to close the gap on the 35 front-runners with team Captain, Ian Mcleod being the driving force directing a fast and furious attack plan.

Despite all of this the Nuwater/Cape Town Market cyclists achieved 25^th Place by Ian Mcleod and 28^th Place by James Tennent, again another achievement for our team.

2012 in review for the team saw them win The Double Century, The Burger Classic, The 99er Classic and place(d) 3^rd in the Pick ‘n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2012

The Nuwater/Cape Town Market cycling team was started in 2007 with the express purpose of giving previously disadvantaged individuals the opportunity to ride with a team and to nurture their talent.  The Nuwater/Cape Town Market team comprising of 6 members was quickly transformed into a highly competitive, professional and cohesive group under the competent management of Hannes van der Walt and Aldrin Smit, who have steered team members, Clinton Barrow, Anton Wynand, Shaun Ward, Theuns van der Bank, Evan Carstens, James Tennent and Ian Mcleod, to great heights.

The Team is sponsored by Nuwater, Cape Town Market and Noble Energy with support from Mitsubishi Motors and Giant Bicycles and is heartily congratulated on their fantastic performance.

The Cape Town Market has launched a hotline number designed to give all stakeholders from producers, to buyers, to agents access to a member of senior management between 8:00am and 4:00pm each day Monday to Friday.

A member of the senior management operations team who will be able to assist with any issue that may need to be addressed will man the hotline. The members are Adrian de Villiers, Belinda Anderson, Billy James, Peter Matthews and Omar Allie.

The number to call is +27 (082) 664 1991 and each member of the senior management operations team will take turns on a weekly basis at being responsible for the hotline. Each member of the team is able to deal with queries, complaints and compliments.

Just another way Cape Town Market is ensuring that we are accessible to our stakeholders and cementing our motto of Fresh Thinking, Fresh Produce, Fresh Approach.

Cape Town Market featured on new CNBC documentary series about exceptional African businesses, ” It’s Africa Time”

Cape Town Market hosted the 2012 TOY RUN for the 2^nd time in the 30yrs of the Toy Run history.  This well-established event, organised by the Italian Motorcycle Owners Club and headed up by Organising Chairman Rodney Ford boasting 10 000 participating bikers, 2000 or more leaving the CTM. This included almost anything on 2 to 3 wheels sporting toys for charity. The Route follwed:- a 45minute ride starting from the market, up the N2 onto de Waal Dr, final destination, Maynardville in Wynberg.

The Start of the Toy Run at Cape Town Market, was organised with superb precision, managed by Head of Health and Safety, Phillip Kaplan (a keen biker himself), with a Disaster Management Team,  Paramedics, Firefighters and SAP who all played a role in escorting bikers in groups of 500 on their journey.

There are 18 Toy Runs in South Africa and 2 in Namibia, supporting 44 different charities.  This year alone the Cape Town Toy Run collected 39 600 toys, items of stationery and sports equipment which get distributed over a week to various chosen charities.

Through the rumble, roar and revving of bikes overflowing with toys, we had a number of our own affiliated riders.

Deon (Market Packaging), Paul (Subtropico), Kade (Fine Bros), Tony(Belville Market), Omar Allie (CTM), Phillip Kaplan(CTM) and Manny (Paarl Market)…..Anyone following Orange County Chopper will recognise the bike Tony was riding!

Looking forward to TOY RUN 2013, perhaps 40 000 toys, who knows!

An exciting FIRST for Cape Town Market, our Forklift Safety Challenge 2012 held on the 23^rd of November, specifically geared towards encouraging safety on the trading floor and appreciating our hard-working hyster drivers.

The competition was open to 120 drivers who present on the floor during our trading hours. Staff of CTM, Agencies, Clients and Cleaning services were all invited to participate.  Of this number 58 drivers entered and 35 got through to the semi-finals.

The semi-finals, a written test, was daunting at first but the results were all good and it was a close shave to choose the 10 finalists.

The 23^rd  Nov arrived and although on a Friday and after hours all 10 drivers were on time, very nervous but ready to take on the Challenge.

Impact Skills Development, a company specialising in training and testing for the industrial market sent two of its finest, Mr Derek Jones and Mr Patrick Bok to help set up the course ( to industry specs) and to judge the drivers. They also supplied a beautiful floating trophy for the winner.

After a dry run of the course, each driver started the challenge with a comprehensive safety check of the vehicle which included, looking under the forklift for obstacles, making sure all the components of the vehicle were in good working condition, indicators, hooters and hydraulic systems. Once done …it was all systems go!

We added a fun element with buckets of water on a pallet to test sensitivity of lifting and movement, loading and unloading. Bins were relocated and stacked and the Forklift was then manouvered backwards with the water pallet to the beginning of the course.  All was to be completed in a reasonable time-limit without knocking anything, and of course…neat stacking.

Adrian de Villiers, using his trusty megaphone supplied a running commentary, giving the drivers support and guiding the proceedings.

Although a competitive challenge, there was a huge sense of support from the other drivers with cheers and much advice as to how to face the various tricky corners.

All our winners received certificates and cash prizes with our first place winner walking away with a cup and his name on the Forklift Safety Challenge Trophy

First Place was given to Kenneth Rossouw (Fine Bros)

Second Place to Xolani Phambaniso (Cape Town Market)

Third Place to Monray Kayser (GN Supplies)

The Cape Town Market Forklift Safety Challenge proved to be a great success and will be repeated as a yearly event, with the concept of making the market a super safe environment for all.

The Fresh Produce Challenge held in aid of charity on Friday 9^th November at Durbanville Golf Club has scored an Eagle.

Starting the day at Durbanville Golf course with beautiful weather, which turned into a true Cape south-easter, did very little to deter the competition and good nature of the 32 fourball golfers.  With 16 Tee-box sponsors, Cape Town Market, at hole 7 had our fresh green theme with fabulous snacks and thirst quenchers readily available. Together with a bit of free advice handed out by our trusty one-armed bandit Terry, our encouraging Bronwyn and photo snapping Tasneem the players seemed to enjoy the well-earned rest stop.

Cape Town Market, a main sponsor for the event had our very own  fourball team of Peter Matthews, Billy James, John Wilson and Kevin Booysen, colour coded in true golfing fashion, scoring well, even surprising themselves.

The organisers, Fox and Brink, scored the biggest points of all, they reached their 10 year goal of R1,000,000 raised for charity in an exciting auction dinner held that evening. With prize bottles of wine, port and whiskey, rugby jerseys, balls and art receiving the highest bids, and then generously being returned into the auction to receive higher and higher amounts all in aid of charities. This means that next year 7 charities will have donated to them R30 000 ea.

An amazing event for such a good cause and generously participated in, made for a fun day and festive evening. The Cape Town Market wishes to applaud and thank Chris Roux, Anene Gunter and the Fox and Brink Group on their achievement of raising R1,000,000 for the various charities through their commitment and dedication for the Fresh Produce Classic.

A first time event sponsored by The Cape Town Market was held at the Wine Estate of Org de Rac, situated in the rolling Piketberg hills to acknowledge the Sandveld potato producers, the buyer, the consumer and of course THE POTATO.

Terence Brown of Potato South Africa hosted an interesting and varied programme for the event, the “Potato Art” competition with some spectacular sculptures by children from Middeldeur Vlei Primary School, one particular creation was Mr Potatoman with mass of porcupine quills for hair. The Hoerskool Piketberg had a potato challenge cook off at their school, where dishes ranged from potato ice-cream to a potato cake.

Joost Engelbrecht, Chairman of the Sandveld Producers Organisation (SAKO), enthused about the region’s environmental bio-diversity. He highlighted that the various cultivars of potatoes were classified due to the regions dominance in the Potato Industry with reference to the quality of produce, all year round production and of course the calibre of the farmer. He also noted that the region is the National holder of both the previous and current Potato Farmer of the Year Awards.

Rob Lowe, CEO of the Cape Town Market, introduced the market with a brief history and working process of a commission markets before amusing visitors with a comparisson of rice and pasta as opposed to the wonderful nutritional and even medicinal values for the POTATO. We were told a potato would help with a hangover, perhaps in preparation for the wine tasting that was offered later?

The Womans Institute, Piketberg Vroue- landbouvereniging (VLV), which had partnered with Potato South Africa a few years ago demonstrated the joint initiative has blossomed to a point where the VLV has empowered women in computer literacy, from just a handful to over two thousand enlightened women. They also mobilized domestic workers, in the region, to establish a “proudly women” organization, with one of their many projects will be assisting their constituency in skills development.

The Cape Town Market agents represented at this auspicious event were Maine Daniels, Nassier Ebrahim and JP Mostert from RSA Neil Schrueder from Boland and Willem Nel and Deon Van Rensburgfrom Fine Brothers who added to the prize money of the Potato Artwork competition. Fox and Brink also very generously supplied all the guests with a 4kg bag of potatoes with was part of a goodie bag that also had in it cookbooks, postcards and plenty of useful information.

The Cape Town Market wishes to thank Potatoes South African and Terence Brown for a well organised and thoroughly entertaining event as well as the speakers for their insights into this valuable industry.

Ivan Venter, younger brother of Jaco Venter  (3^rd place Argus 2012) has won the Engen Dynamic Cycle Challenge that took place in Wellington on Sunday 7^th October 2012.

Ivan is still competing in the under 16 category but is widely considered to be the future of South African cycling.

Ivan is proudly sponsored by Nuwater and The Cape Town Market, both Altius Investment Holding Companies. The cycling team has won numerous races and are often placed in the top 10, the Nuwater/Cape Town Market Team has become a familiar name in the cycling fraternity and with cyclists such as Ivan the team is sure to continue its great performance.

There have been many problems related to marking requirements and especially the net mass of potatoes that have occurred in the last few months. It is expected that Prokon, as official assignee of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), is required to enforce the regulations correctly according to the Potato regulation No. 33735 of 12 Nov. 2010. Sub reg. 3(1) about marking requirements and especially 3 (1) h read together with 8 (6) “misleading information”, where the net weight differs from the mass as indicated on the container.

The Action of the Prokon Quality controller in this regard is as follows:

Where a problem is found with the above, the consignment with the necessary instruction document will be temporarily stopped. Sufficient time will be provided in order for the  necessary corrections to be made. After the quality controller has verified that the correction has been made, then the product will be permitted for sale and removal.

For any queries please contact: Henry van Deventer at Prokon on (012) 325 4579