Rebuilding a Kenyan packing operation from recycled materials

It’s no secret that the business climate in Kenya is challenging at the moment – the local inflation of input costs has placed vegetable production and processing operations under pressure. So how does a large and complex business such as Finlays go about combating these challenges sustainably and fairly for the 1000s of employees who work for us? We’ve had to be bold and undertake a comprehensive restructure and I’d like to tell you our story to inspire others of you who may be having similar challenges:

The initiative saw an aging facility at the airport in Kenya’s capital, which in part was designed and commissioned together with M&S in the 1990’s, relocated to the heart of the business on our farms. Three new factories were built, one on the slopes of Mount Kenya, one in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley and one in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Factory reposition removed a number of handling and transport functions which didn’t add any value but carried a level of cost. Staff have become reconnected with the farm and this manifests itself in more accurate field harvest, waste reduction and consequential cost removal. Freshness of product is now unmatched through a simpler process and rapid chilling which is good for us and good for our customers. An exit from the international airport security cordon removes a level of complexity, particularly as the airport ramps up its security controls in response to increased global security threats.

The facility is almost solely constructed from recycled materials from the old Nairobi factories. The steel structure and iron roof is 100% recycled, deconstructed by cranes in February and resurrected in a different shape on the shores of lake Naivasha in March. Then came the jigsaw;the challenge to salvage the white wall panels of varying dimensions which made up three different factories and consolidate them into one, large,super-efficient shell. The result is impressive and the working environment it provides is capacious which means that staff have plenty of space in which to operate. Variation in processing temperature is minimal as the air-bank is vast and stable - this saves electricity. The facility is lit to daylight lux using 98% recycled lighting which gives staff a first rate visual environment and consequently allows product to be processed to high standards. Even the paving slab path providing access to the facility was relocated from Nairobi and the management offices surrounding the building were heaved onto trucks and repositioned in their new country home.

Visit corporate.marksandspencer.com to learn more.