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Article by Nampak 8 January 2013

Nampak Liquid gets a new Sales & Marketing Director

Michelle Stead is the newly appointed Sales and Marketing Director of Nampak Liquid – Cartons. Taking over from Johan De Smidt, who relocated to the UK recently, she also has responsibility for the Nampak Rigid Plastics marketing portfolio.

Moving forward, her primary roles are growing the Nampak Liquid – Cartons businesses and getting the Alternapak offer up and running. As such she will be directly responsible for all sales of Nampak’s liquid cartons – both the well-known Pure-Pak gable-top range (under licence from Elopak, [Status]) as well as the Alternapak brick-style packaging.

Nampak has signed a cooperation agreement with Alternapak, which is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of aseptic reels for brick-style packaging. The two companies are working together to develop the opportunity for long-life juice and milk in South Africa, as well as the rest of Africa.

After completing a three-year sales and marketing diploma at the Durban University of Technology (formerly known as Natal Technikon, [Status]), Michelle started her packaging career at Consol Plastics, where she worked for 12 years. During this time, she gained considerable exposure to a wide variety of diverse industries, including agricultural chemicals, motor oils, paints and pharmaceuticals.

In 2007, she joined Nampak Liquid plastics division as the Regional Sales Manager for Gauteng, where she primarily focused on juice and milk.

Michelle was closely involved in the implementation of Montic Dairy’s extended shelf-life (ESL, [Status]) milk in plastic, which she describes as one of the highlights of her career. “Since it was the first implementation of ESL milk in plastic, in the country, the experience was hugely valuable,” she says. “The launch also involved a unique mono-layer design, including a handle in the centre of the bottle and ‘turned-up’ corners for extra strength. In many ways, it was the beginning of the ESL trend in South Africa, and I was very privileged to be at the centre of it.”

As a result, she is able to share her experience and knowledge with other dairy brands that are considering the possibility of unlocking the value of ESL, as a means of growing their businesses in the future.

Michelle is married to Glenn and they have two daughters. In her limited spare time, she likes playing golf and road-running, as well as being in the bushveld.
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