INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Key Elements
Market-leading brands
Patents
Intellectual property
Key priorities going forward
Retention of third party certification
Growing market share responsibly through
innovation and the development of
high-quality products
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 14 patents registered in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Indonesia, India, Mauritius, Mexico, South Africa and the USA. It is a proprietor of 369 registered trademarks in Australia, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Swaziland, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. The company has 51 domain names registered to it.
THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATIONS
SHE and food safety performances are benchmarked against global best practices to promote continuous improvement and stakeholder satisfaction. 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 retained certification to either NOSA 5 Star systems or OHSAS 18001 covering occupational health and safety. All 19 main operations are now certified to the ISO 14001 environmental management system. All starch operations, the refinery, and pack stations for Xinavane, Triangle and Namibia operations retained certification for FSSC 22000 or ISO 22000 on food safety
management systems.
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 labelling regulations.
BRANDS
Several 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 business’s major food and animal feed brands:
