ASHTON – After five years of uncertainty that threatened to devastate this small Western Cape town, the Langeberg & Ashton Foods factory has been sold to new owners who promise to secure thousands of jobs and breathe new life into the operation.
The factory, which will reopen on 1 October as Langeberg Foods (Pty) Ltd, employs over 3 000 seasonal and permanent workers in a town where it forms the backbone of the local economy. For years, residents lived with the fear that closure would mean mass unemployment and economic collapse for the entire Breede River Valley community.
“This factory is everything to us,” says a relieved local resident. “Without it, Ashton would have been finished.”
A town held hostage by uncertainty
The saga began in May 2020 when Tiger Brands announced its intention to exit the deciduous fruit business. What followed was a tense five-year period during which the factory’s future hung in the balance, leaving workers and their families wondering if they would still have jobs.
The stakes were impossibly high. With more than 80% of its canned fruit and puree products exported, the factory wasn’t just a local employer – it was a critical export earner for South Africa. Its closure would have sent shockwaves through the regional economy, affecting not just factory workers but the hundreds of fruit farmers who depend on it to process their crops.
A rescue built on partnership
The deal that finally saved the factory brings together an unusual mix of partners. Norwegian development finance institution Norfund has become one of the principal shareholders, alongside the Ashton Fruit Producers Agricultural Co-Operative (AFPAC), which represents more than 100 fruit producers across the Western Cape.
“This is a unique opportunity to secure jobs and local ownership in a business that is vital to the community and with big growth potential,” says Pindie Nyandoro, Norfund’s Regional Director for Southern Africa.
Perhaps most significantly, the Langeberg Community Trust will hold a 10% stake in the new company. Established with R150 million in funding from Tiger Brands, the trust ensures that dividends and benefits flow directly back into Ashton and surrounding areas to support socio-economic development.
It is a model that puts ownership partly in the hands of the very community that depends on the factory’s survival.
From crisis to optimism
Tiger Brands CEO Tjaart Kruger acknowledged the long road to this point: “The successful conclusion of this transaction marks the end of a five-year journey to find a viable buyer and secure a sustainable future for Langeberg and Ashton Foods.”
He said that the new owners bring “considerable agricultural sector expertise” and a “vested interest in the sustainability of this iconic business, which has employed generations of people from the region.”
For the farmers who have watched anxiously from the sidelines, the relief is palpable. Anthony Dicey, Chairman of the Ashton Fruit Producers Agricultural Co-Operative, says producers are now “looking forward to stability in the industry and the prospects of planting new orchards and sustainable growth to the benefit of all in the value chain.”
New CEO Edwin Kriel struck an optimistic tone about the future: “Ashton is more than just a factory; it is the heartbeat of a community, and this reopening is about creating jobs, uplifting people, and building a stronger, more sustainable future.”
A community breaths again
As operations commence under the new ownership, there’s a sense that Ashton has dodged a bullet. The alternative – mass unemployment in a town where the factory has employed generations of the same families – would have been catastrophic.
Instead, the factory workers, fruit farmers, and residents can look forward to a future where the business that defines their town remains not just operational, but rooted in local ownership and committed to community upliftment.
For a town that has lived under the shadow of potential closure for five long years, that future looks brighter than it has in a very long time.
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