INTELLECTUAL Property
 |
Intellectual capital | |
| KEY ELEMENTS |
PROMINENT MARKET POSITION OF CORE BRANDS | ||
 |
|||
| KEY PRIORITIES GOING FORWARD |
BUILD ON ESTABLISHED POSITION AND REPUTATION TO GROW MARKET SHARE | ||
| RETENTION OF ALL RELEVANT THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATIONS | |||
Tongaat Hulett’s intellectual property is protected through employment contracts and confidentiality agreements and/or license agreements with external parties. These agreements establish ownership of and rights to trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, innovations and inventions resulting from any dealings with the company. In the sugar operation, a portfolio of patents is managed by a knowledge management specialist in consultation with patent attorneys. Protection of patentable ideas is achieved by immediately obtaining provisional patents, with targeted national and international patenting.
Tongaat Hulett holds 13 patents registered in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Indonesia, India, Mauritius, Mexico, South Africa and USA. It is a proprietor of 316 registered trademarks in Australia, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Swaziland, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. The company has 50 registered domain names.
THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATIONS
Tongaat Hulett continues to benchmark its performance against global best practices to ensure the sustainable management of broader issues, including SHE and food safety. Operations subscribe to various internationally-recognised management systems and/or specifications that include NOSA, OHSAS 18001, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, FSSC 22000 and ISO 22000.
All operations are certified to either NOSA five-star systems or OHSAS 18001 covering occupational health and safety. Of the 19 operations, 17 are certified to the ISO 14001 environmental management system with the remaining two being at an advanced stage of implementing their management systems. A total of four out of five starch operations and part of two out of eight sugar processing operations are certified to FSSC 22000 food safety management systems in accordance with the current requirements of the business.
PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
Tongaat Hulett complies with the relevant safety, health, environmental and quality legislation in each of the countries in which it operates, while striving to implement industry best practice. The production facilities have been certified under the ISO 9001:2008 quality management system. In South Africa, the operations have adopted Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), where appropriate. Downstream products supplied to the pharmaceutical industry are required to meet the standards of the Food and Drugs Act.
Tongaat Hulett ensures that appropriate information is provided to its customers. All product labels contain information about the product, in compliance with the respective country legislation and labeling regulations. In addition to protecting the company, product labeling informs consumers about the product’s nutritional composition and ingredients.
BRANDS
A number of Tongaat Hulett brands hold prominent positions in their respective markets in different product categories and geographic locations. The company’s objective is to grow its market share responsibly through innovation and the development of high-quality products.
The following table provides a summary of the major brands:
 |
Huletts®
White sugar |
Over 120 years in the market
Market leader in South Africa Recognised as one of the top five Icon Brands in the ASK AFRIKA survey over the past three years |
 |
Sunsweet®
Brown sugar |
Market leader in Zimbabwe |
 |
Voermol®
Animal feeds |
Market leader in the molasses and pith-based animal feeds industry in South Africa |
 |
Blue Crystal®
White sugar |
Market leader in Botswana |
 |
Marathon®
White sugar |
Market leader in Namibia |
