Insimbi Industrial Holdings said its board planned to exit its Insimbi Plastics business and to dispose of the subsidiaries’ assets, as part of the plan to move away from non-core operations.

“The closure and disposal of Insimbi Plastics will streamline the operations of the group, ensuring an improved platform to pursue continued growth,” Insimbi’s board said recently.

“The board believes this to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. The closure and disposal of Insimbi Plastics will streamline the operations of the group, ensuring an improved platform to pursue continued growth.”

The company had been engaging with labour unions regarding the closure and expects the relevant processes to be finalised by the end of August 2022.

Insimbi became involved in plastics in 2017 more by coincidence than intent when it purchased Polydrum, a plastic drum manufacturing business which operated from premises adjacent to the Insimbi head office in Wadeville. Polydrum was sandwiched between the Insimbi HQ and a site it had purchased further along the road, so the decision was taken to consolidate the properties into a single Insimbi site and manufacturing hub.

Insimbi Plastic’s blow moulding operations produce plastic drums, swimming pool filters and plastic containers used in the agriculture and chemical industries, while the roto moulding operations allows Insimbi Plastics to produce moulded water harvesting tanks from 500 litres to 5 000 litres, as well as leisure products.

Insimbi Industrial Holdings’ other businesses provide the steel, aluminium, cement and foundry industries with commodities, such as ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, as well as refractory materials.

The group, valued at R400 million on the JSE, says the plastics business manufactures containers for various industries including the chemical, agricultural and food industries. It contributed less than 1% of Insimbi’s R6.06 billion revenue for its year to end-February.