Bühler Southern Africa closes 2025 with resilient performance, renewed focus on growth

SOUTH AFRICA – Bühler Southern Africa has closed 2025 on a solid footing, reporting continued resilience across its food and mining business units despite global volatility, shifting consumer behaviour and ongoing supply chain constraints.

The region sustained its growth trajectory through steady investment in local manufacturing, skills development and long-term sustainability initiatives.

Reflecting on the year, Marco Sutter, Managing Director of Bühler Southern Africa, noted that agility remained essential for navigating changing market conditions.

 “The past few years have taught us that the ability to adapt quickly is essential. We still develop long-term strategies, but the pace at which we execute them needs to respond to the realities of the market. Fortunately, Southern Africa remains a growing and dynamic region with both challenges and significant opportunities.”

Across the food sector, climate uncertainty, rising input costs and evolving dietary preferences continued to influence production decisions.

 A gradual shift from maize-based staples toward wheat-based foods has gained momentum, driven partly by fluctuating maize quality and pricing. Growing demand for pasta across Africa, coupled with increasing efforts to localise pasta production, has opened new processing opportunities.

“We have seen a strong wave of demand for locally produced pasta. Many countries want to move away from imports and establish their own processing capabilities,” Sutter said.

He added that similar investment activity is emerging in West Africa’s cacao sector, where countries are expanding capacity in roasting, grinding and chocolate manufacturing rather than exporting raw beans.

Heightened food safety risks linked to extreme weather are also reshaping processing needs. Higher aflatoxin and mycotoxin incidence has increased demand for advanced sorting, detection and traceability solutions across value chains.

Automation and digitalization gain momentum

While infrastructure limitations remain a bottleneck, African producers are increasingly seeking automation and digital systems to improve productivity.

Bühler continues to support this transformation with technologies such as SCADA and cloud-based MES systems, as well as autonomous milling concepts already piloted in markets such as the United Kingdom.

“Automation does not replace jobs. It changes them,” Sutter noted, underscoring the company’s ongoing investment in apprenticeships and technical training.

In mining, Bühler maintained strong market share as demand remained steady for high-quality processing equipment, spare parts and reliability-focused upgrades.

“Our customers trust our equipment to perform under demanding conditions. Unplanned breakdowns can be extremely costly, so superior quality and strong after sales service make a measurable difference,” Sutter said.

South Africa as a Manufacturing Hub

South Africa remained the company’s key manufacturing hub for the region, serving markets including Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and the Indian Ocean islands.

Investments in 2025 included new laser welding systems, enhanced vertical storage and broader factory efficiency and safety upgrades.

“South Africa has a strong base of technical skills, especially in manufacturing and fabrication. It will remain one of our key hubs on the continent,” Sutter explained.

Sustainability efforts advanced steadily, with Bühler already meeting or surpassing its resource-efficiency targets across most of the 15 value chains it tracks globally.

Local initiatives included expanded solar capacity in Johannesburg and Cape Town and the installation of a 60 000-litre grey water system to improve water resilience.

“Climate change is no longer a future scenario. It is already affecting crop quality, food safety and global markets,” Sutter stressed.

The year also strengthened the company’s partnerships. Southern Africa hosted customer events in Johannesburg and Madagascar and participated in Bühler Networking Days in Switzerland, which drew more than 1 200 participants.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to Bühler’s Swiss headquarters highlighted national interest in the company’s apprenticeship training model.

Looking ahead, Bühler expects 2026 to bring continued uncertainty driven by local elections, climate risks and international market fluctuations. Still, the company is optimistic.

“We cannot control the external environment, but we can continue strengthening our people, our capabilities and our partnerships,” Sutter said.

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