Sans Fibres takes home Cape export award

Ray Smuts THERE'S a lot more to fibre than dieting as Sans Fibres, winner of this year's coveted Maersk Sealand/ CCI Western Cape Exporter of the Year Trophy can testify. Manufacturers of nylon and polyester yarns as well as polyester polymer and PET resin, its products - half of which are exported - feature in 80% of running shoes from the known brands like Nike, Reebok and Adidas and in 40% of the motor vehicle timing belts worldwide. Starting out in 1964 with 100 employees, a production capacity of around 1 400 tons and turnover of only a few thousand pounds, Sans Fibres, formerly Nylon Spinners, has grown to a business of substance with 1 800 employees and an expected turnover of R1,8 billion this year. (It is the second lagest consumer of electricity in the Western Cape). Accepting the award from Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, keynote speaker at the event, Sans c.e.o. Thys Loubser ascribed the company's success to sound client and staff relations. The criteria on which the judges chose the winners included the degree of company commitment to exporting, the proportion of total output devoted to exports, overseas markets reached, sustained export growth, jobs created and the export volume in relation to the size of the company.