KwaZulu-Natal Business 2016-17 edition

Mondi Group
South Africa
INTERVIEW
Ron Traill, Chief Executive Officer of Mondi SA, talks
about how the group achieved its recent strong results
while ensuring sustainable development of their
forests and local communities.
Ron Traill, CEO of Mondi
South Africa
BIOGRAPHY
Ron joined Mondi in 2003 as
managing director of the Štetí
pulp and paper mill in the ˇ
Czech Republic, also assuming
responsibility for the Mondi
packaging paper business in
Ružomberok, Slovakia. He
then relocated to SA, being
appointed CEO of the South
Africa Division in January 2008.
Ron has over 34 years’ experience
in the paper industry. He
began his career as an industrial
engineer with DRG Packaging
Group, working in its Scottish
paper mill. He went on to hold
a succession of posts within
the company, leading ultimately
to his appointment as general
manager. Following DRG’s acquisition
by Sappi in 1990, he
worked for 10 years in a number
of general management roles.
What makes KwaZulu-Natal such a good business
location for Mondi South Africa?
Durban is a large business hub with good road and rail infrastructure
for our domestically focused business. The location and proximity of
the largest port in Africa offers strategic advantages for our export
products while the province’s northern and central areas offer a very
good climate and environment which is well-suited to a commercial
forestry business. Our Richards Bay mill is also very well situated to
export products from the Richards Bay port.
Mondi South Africa had exceptionally good financial
results. How important to your financial performance
was the successful repositioning of your business?
There are three strategic value drivers for our business in Mondi
South Africa. Firstly, maintaining a high-quality, low-cost asset base,
keeping a strong focus on performance and the development of
our people.
We have a philosophy of continuous improvement and a constant
focus on operational excellence. The fundamental principle behind
operational excellence at Mondi is the desire to do more with less.
We continue to invest in and manage our business to ensure that
our manufacturing operations maintain their high-quality and low-cost
advantages and are well-positioned for growth opportunities. In 2016,
we will be focusing on the completion of our strategic investments
in the woodyard and brown kraftliner production at our Richards Bay
mill. The ability to produce both white top and a brown liner will offer
us additional market flexibility. In our graphic paper and newsprint
business at Merebank the focus remains on continuing to run our
operations well and delivering consistent quality to our customers.
In our forestry business, the modernisation of our operations
has been a key focus in recent years. We are dependent on low-cost
timber from sustainably managed forests. Our research activities
focus on increasing the resistance of our trees to pests and diseases,
improving their ability to withstand drought conditions and
67 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2016/17