Business
Mexichem becomes Orbia…
Changes at Netafim holding company
N
etafim is a well-known player in South African as
well as international agricultural, landscape and
related markets. The firm recently announced
some important changes are afoot, saying “it has been
almost two years since Netafim and Mexichem partnered
for success. Mexichem completed its acquisition of an
80% stake in Netafim in February 2018.” Following an
extensive journey to rebrand and look at the challenges in
the world that need solving, Mexichem, from September
2019, has a new stated mission “to advance life around the
world” and will be known globally as Orbia.
Following the announcement,
Daniel Martinez-Valle was asked
what his central message to
customers is. He highlighted that
nothing will change in the day to
day operations in the different
business groups. “In the same
breath, a lot will change as we
set out to become much more
customer-centric. We want to
come closer to the customer.”
Netafim’s leadership reiterated
this message. “We would like
to clarify that Netafim’s brand,
purpose, and values will remain
the same, only now they are
strongly connected to Orbia’s
new brand and values. There
will be no change in day to day
operations. We are excited to
continue to drive Orbia and
Netafim’s purpose in the SADC
region,” said Etienne Erasmus,
MD of Netafim South Africa.
Following the acquisition in
2018, Netafim continued its pros-
perous path as the world leader
in precision irrigation solutions.
On 5 September 2019, the
next phase was entered when
Daniel Martinez-Valle, CEO of
the former Mexichem, announced
Mexichem’s new brand, values,
purpose and name. The global
company will now be known as
Orbia and will be driven by its
chosen purpose to “advance life
around the world”.
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Why change?
The change is prompted by
the massive transformation and
growth the company, founded
in 1953, has undergone since
its name change to Mexichem
in 2005. “To become a future-
fit, purpose driven company, we
need to organise ourselves in a
way that serves our customers
best. Every single one of us has
a role to play in addressing the
global challenges we face—
and they can only be tackled if
we work together and shift our
thinking from “me” to “we”,”
Martinez-Valle said.
“It took a lot of work and many
conversations to understand how
we are perceived as a company
and how we can transform
ourselves. It was a long journey
to develop the concept of Orbia.
Today, we are ready to launch, we
are ready to be open to the world,
we are ready to share our ambi-
tion, we are ready to share how
we will solve challenges and we
are ready to work as a team.”
Notably, as Orbia’s represen-
tative in the agricultural industry,
Netafim played an active and
important role in this journey.
The brand story
In his announcement, Martinez-
Valle, placed a lot of focus on the
company’s long-term commit-
SABI | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
ment to people, planet and profit
and the force with which it wants
to continue to impact the world.
It is this global impact that
birthed the name, Orbia. “Orb”
is the Latin word for spherical
globe. “Bia” is a word from Greek
mythology for the personification
of force. Orbia can be translated
as “a force for the world.”
The group says that: “Orbia’s
new name and long-term
business strategy position the
company to respond to global
opportunities to ensure food
security, reduce water scarcity,
reinvent the future of cities and
homes, connect communities
around the world to global data
infrastructure, and expand access
to health and wellness with
advanced materials through inno-
vation and customer-centricity,
elevating the company’s ongoing
commitment to improving quality
of life for people and communi-
ties around the world. Chemicals,
mining, and manufacturing will
continue to be important parts of
Orbia’s overall business, but the
name change reflects a broader,
more inclusive expression of the
company’s global impact.”
Its five business groups are:
Y Y Precision Agriculture
Y Y Building & Infrastructure
Y Y Fluor
Y Y Data Communication
Y Y Polymer Solutions
Through these business groups,
Orbia sets out to address certain
complex global challenges.
The questions Orbia
wants to answer are:
y y How do we feed the
world sustainably?
y y How can we better manage
our water systems?
y y How do we make
cities more liveable,
lovable, and resilient?
y y How do we connect
and empower
communities with data?
y y Can health and well-being
be made more accessible?
y y How do we push
beyond sustainability
to regeneration?
Precision Agriculture -
Netafim
Orbia’s involvement in preci-
sion agriculture is achieved
by Netafim, the global leader
in smart irrigation solutions.
Netafim has 29 subsidiaries
across the globe, one of which
is Netafim South Africa, housed
in Kraaifontein in the Western
Cape. Through Netafim the
challenges of feeding the world
sustainably and better managing
water systems are addressed.
The goals set for this business
group is to enable farmers to
achieve higher and better-quality
yields while using less water, fertil-
iser, and other inputs. This goal is
embodied by Netafim’s driving
slogan: “Grow more with less.”
The Orbia ImpactMark
Orbia says it knows that its
goals are fluid and want to share
their progress as they strive
towards aspired goals, expressed
in the ImpactMark:
Optimise investments
Reduce
greenhouse gas emission
Evolve to an innovative
solutions provider
Reduce waste generated
Upskill the workforce
Women in management
increase.