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Our Farm

Our Crops

Our farm is situated about 40km from the west coast of South Africa.  Platkloof cultivates approximately 70

hectares of table grapes, mainly for export to the UK, EU, Canada and the Middle and Far East. 

 

The first table grapes where planted in 1993. These orchards included Dan Ben Hannah and Alphonse Lavallee 

and confirmed that our soil and climate was ideal for table grape farming. A variety of cultivars where added

through the years with the addition of approximately 29 hectares of table grapes between 2012 and 2014.

 

In 2015-2017, Platkloof expanded rapidly with the addition of 33.53 hectares of table grapes.  We invested in an overhead netting system

for the new vineyards, which allows harvesting and crop management whilst protecting the full 33.53 hectares from birds, aligned

with our mission of FARMING QUALITY.

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In 2021 we added 33.60 hectares to what we already have so that makes a total of 89.97 hectares total. 

 

Our Varieties include:​

  • Red Seedless: Crimson Seedless, Allison, Sweet Celebration, Candy Hearts, Tawny

  • Black Seedless: Sable Seedless (Sugra 16), Adora (Sugra 34), Sweet Joy

  • White Seedless: Ivory, Autumn Crisp (Sugra 35), Sweet Globe

Sustainable Farming

We are committed to continuously manage and reduce the impact of our activities on our environment, being fully aware of the symbiotic relationship that we have with our environment and taking responsibility for our actions.

 

We have identified 5 key areas to focus our efforts upon, each with a strategy to reduce the impact on our environment. 

 

These areas include:

  • Air Pollution

  • Water Pollution and Conservation

  • Erosion

  • Impact of the natural habitat on local fauna and flora

  • Energy efficiency and recycling

  • ​Crop Protection & Pest Control

Environmental Conservation Area

 

This area has been identified as a section of land on which no agricultural activities may take place.  This area is situated on the foot of the Piketberg mountain range, and has almost completely been restored to its natural state. We have seen the return of a variety of fauna and flora to this area.

 

Some of the wildlife include the:

  • Bat-eared fox (Bakoorjakkals)

  • Steenbok

  • Cape Mountain Tortoise

  • Fish Eagle

  • Caracal

     

Our Facilities

The new packing facility was completed in 2013 with the capacity to accommodate up to 260 packers.  The pack house design is based on thorough research done to include the latest technology and methods.  We drew inspiration from the process of ‘field packing, and identified the shortcomings of this system which we then countered with practical systems which resulted in a solution that combined the traditional with the unconventional. We implemented some of the concepts of filed packing in our pack house, optimising our quality control process and improving productivity in the pack house.

 

Our pack house had 20 stations, each with a team of 8 packers and one scale, with software developed by Soft Pro. This system enabled us to determine a variety of productivity measures including the productivity and waste per station and detailed pack-data. This system also enabled us to manage and reduce excess weight to as little as 3 berries per box.

 

In 2014 a second scale was added to each station, doubling the amount of stations and reducing the team size to 4 packers per station. This contributed greatly to the accountability and traceability of the product of each team and enabled efficient packing of a variety of pack sizes with the 29 pack lines now available.

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In 2019 a second pack house was built to an exact replica of the first. This added another 260 packers and 20 stations to optimise the productivity even more. 

 

We also have our own Quality Control team supported by our export company’s Quality Control Team and our local PPECB Inspectors to manage the 520 packers currently employed, and the approximate 8500-11000 boxes they pack per day. 

Exsa

Exsa was founded is 1997 and offers a comprehensive technical production extension service to all Exsa Growers.

 

They strive to give excellent service and build good, open and reliable relationships with both, our producers and clients, to assure an honest and trustful partnership, which is aligned with our own strategic objectives.

 

We have been affiliated with Exsa since 2012, and they are responsible for all sales and export of our products to the UK, EU, Canada and the Middle and Far East.

Our Strategic Partners

We are also proudly associated with the Du Toit Group. We rent approximately 70 hectares of farm land to the Du Toit Group which is used for potato and onion production.

Our Grapes
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