Quantum Foods is a diversified feeds and poultry business providing quality animal feeds and poultry products to South African and selected African markets and is the largest producer of eggs in South Africa.
The Group is listed on the JSE main board in the “Farming and Fishing” sector under the share code QFH.
Quantum Foods has fully integrated egg and broiler businesses with access to superior genetics in both fields. The animal feeds business unit has state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and a strategic alliance with an international company to ensure cutting edge technology transfer.
Quantum Foods’ head office is situated in the town of Wellington in the Western Cape.
Nova Feeds has been providing nutritional solutions for over five decades.
Our foundations are built upon partnering with generations of farmers, understanding their unique specie requirements and formulating feed solutions that are the most nutritional for farming success.
Proud of our production heritage which began with our first mill, in the early sixties, in Malmesbury, our pedigree spans Bokomo and Pioneer Foods.
The company was originally established as a means to benefit from the bran off-take of the Pioneer Food Group’s milling business – today it is a self-contained business and has four focus areas:
- Animal Feeds
- Layer and broiler farming
- Eggs
- Related business on the African continent
Nova Feeds is a provider of scientifically formulated feeds to the South African market, including exports to neighbouring countries.
The main feed categories produced include poultry (broiler and layer), dairy, pig, ostrich and sheep feed. These are produced in production plants located in Malmesbury, Pretoria, George, and Paterson.
Each mill supports a wide regional delivery footprint, with experienced Technical Advisors available to assess, advise and partner with farmers in an effort to service the market with an outstanding feed solution. The Malmesbury site consists of two factories, bringing the total number of feed mills to five.
These mills are highly automated and are equipped to manufacture a wide variety of feeds for optimal animal nutrition. Integrated quality and safety systems are in place at all mills to ensure the consistent output of high-quality products for livestock consumption. During 2019, Nova Feeds entered into a technology agreement with Nutreco, ensuring access to world-class research and feed formulation benchmarking.
Nova Feeds has extensive expertise in the production and formulation of feeds for monogastric livestock (such as poultry) and ruminant livestock (such as cows).
The main feed categories include poultry (broiler and layer), dairy, pig, ostrich and sheep feed. Feed is supplied to the integrated poultry farming operations and the external feed market.
Dairy feed represents the largest component of external sales, followed by poultry, pigs, ostrich and sheep feed. Nova Feeds remains the leading supplier of dairy feed in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, supplying feed to some of the country’s leading dairy farmers. To unlock value for customers, there is a strong focus on customised feed solutions and high levels of technical service.
Nova Feeds has a proud heritage that dates back to 1963, with the first factory built in Malmesbury, and has since grown to one of the leading feed suppliers in South Africa.
Feed Ranges
Premium Formulated Feeds
Nova Feeds manufactures a variety of feeds, including:
- Dairy
- Cattle
- Poultry
- Ostrich
- Sheep
- Pig
Nulaid, the egg-layer division of Quantum Foods, is the largest egg producer in South Africa and the only national producer.
It has been voted as the number one egg brand in South Africa (Ask Afrika Icon Brand Surveyor egg category award for nine consecutive years).
Quantum Foods African Operations
Quantum Foods owns the rights to import pedigree grandparent layer stock of the Lohmann breed and distribute next-generation parent stock exclusively in South Africa and non-exclusively to some southern African countries.
Day-old parent chicks are reared and placed on the Group’s parent layer farm near Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng, as well as on a rented facility in KwaZulu-Natal. Fertile hatching eggs are incubated at the Group’s commercial hatchery in Bronkhorstspruit. Female day-old chicks are either sold or placed on the Group’s six commercial rearing farms.
Layer parent stock, hatching eggs, day-old pullets and point-of-lay hens are sold under the Bergvlei Chicks brand. The Group distributes nationally and into Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and eSwatini – with strategically located commercial rearing farms ensuring extensive distribution coverage.
Nulaid has six regional grading and packing stations.
The Group owns 12 commercial layer farms. The farms are located in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and North West provinces. Free-range eggs are produced on two of the farms. Packing facilities are located near Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Pinetown, Bloemfontein and Johannesburg, as well as the recent addition in East London which commenced operations in 2020.
Eggs are distributed nationally as graded, ungraded or in liquid form. Graded eggs are sold under the Nulaid, Safe Eggs and retailer-own brands. Ungraded eggs are sold mainly under the Quantum brand.
Graded eggs are eggs that have been sorted in the packing facilities according to weight, (for example medium, large, extra-large, jumbo). Fresh and pasteurised liquid eggs are produced in egg breaking plants, where the shells are removed from the product for sale. Fresh and pasteurised liquid eggs are predominantly sold to industrial customers.
Quantum Foods’ pasteurised eggs are produced at the grading and packing facility in Gauteng and distributed to other provinces through the Group’s packing facilities.
Product Range
- Nulaid offers six product ranges:
- Nulaid Eggs
- Free Range Eggs
- Canola Eggs
- Pasturised Liquid Eggs
- Quantum Eggs
- Safe Eggs
Until September 2021, Quantum Foods owned the rights to import pedigree grandparent broiler stock of the Cobb 500 breed, which supplies next generation parent stock for its own requirements and non-exclusively for some customers in some other countries in Africa.
Day-old commercial broiler chicks are produced at the Group’s three hatcheries. The day-old chicks are transferred to commercial Company-owned and contract-grower broiler farms or sold to the open market.
In the Western Cape the broiler business consists of livestock supply to abattoirs as well as DOC supply to customers. In Gauteng, the broiler business sells DOCs and rears broilers as a contract grower.
Until September 2021, Quantum Foods owned the rights to import pedigree grandparent broiler stock of the Cobb 500 breed, which supplies next generation parent stock for its own requirements and non-exclusively for some customers in some other countries in Africa.
Day-old grandparent chicks were imported and placed on the Group’s grandparent farm in the North West. Next-generation parent day-old chicks continue to be produced at this facility.
From mid-2022, Quantum Foods plans to purchase day-old parent chicks. These day-old parent chicks will be placed on the current grandparent farm, which will be converted to a parent rearing and layer farm, and on the three parent rearing farms in the Western Cape. This will increase parent production capacity and support growth.
The reared parents are then placed on six (seven in 2022) parent layer farms. Of these seven farms, five are owned by the Group and the remaining two are contracted farms that supply the Group with fertile hatching eggs.
Day-old commercial broiler chicks are produced at two hatcheries in the Western Cape and one in North West. The hatchery on the current grandparent farm will be used for the production of day-old commercial broiler chicks from 2022. The day-old chicks are transferred to commercial Company-owned and contract-grower broiler farms or sold to the open market.
Zambia
Quantum Foods operates a broiler and layer breeder business (selling day-old chicks) and a table egg business. In Lusaka, there is a parent breeding facility, a hatchery and a feed mill. The breeding facility produces day-old pullets and day-old broiler chicks. Day-old pullets are supplied to the Chingola layer rearing farm as well as to the external market, while day-old broiler chicks are all sold. The table egg business, comprising a layer rearing farm, layer farm and feed mill is located in the Copper Belt. Both of these facilities sell feed to the external market.
Quantum Foods Zambia’s head office is located in Lusaka. The distribution capacity of the Zambia business is enhanced by a network of over 30 small retail shops that sell eggs, day-old chicks and feed. The majority of eggs are sold through these shops which ensure easy access for the consumer.
Uganda
Operations in Uganda comprise a broiler and layer breeder business, a feed business and a table egg business.
The Kampala sites comprise parent breeding facilities for broilers and a hatchery. The layer breeders are housed on a farm in the Migyera region. The hatchery produces day-old pullets and day-old broiler chicks.
The day-old pullets are either transferred to the Masindi layer rearing farm or sold to external customers, while day-old broiler chicks are all sold. The Masindi farm includes a feed mill, layer rearing and egg-laying facilities. Eggs are either sold directly from the Masindi farm or through a network of small retail shops.
Mozambique
These operations comprise a table egg business that supplies both the retail and informal markets. Feed is procured from a third party, and the farm is stocked with point-of-lay birds that are produced by the Group in South Africa. Eggs are sold under the Galovos brand with the retail market being the main area of focus.