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AREA F O C U S
Koppies silo is a well-known landmark in Koppies. From above a breathtaking
view of the area and all the dams awaits you as well as the picturesque road
weaving its way around the town.
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OUR AREA FOCUS IS
ON THE FREE STATE
TOWN OF KOPPIES THIS
TIME, WHERE WE CAME
ACROSS A FEW INTE
RESTING FACTS.
AUBREY KRUGER
K
oppies is a small town,
which owes its existence
to a railway station. The town was
declared a settlement in 1909 and
was laid out in 1910 and declared
a municipality in 1926. The
name of the town was Kopjes first,
derived from Honingkopjes, the
name of the farm on which the
town was established.
KOPPIES SILO
One of the places of interest in
Koppies is definitely the Senwes
silo. The silo was inaugurated by
16
JC Heunis, Minister of Economic
Affairs, on 2 September 1976.
Koppies silo has a total of 18
bins, 12 of which have a capacity
of 5 000 tons and the other six
bins have a capacity of 1 300 tons
each. It brings the total silo capa
city of Koppies silo to 67 800
tons.
Senwes silo manager at
Koppies, Ambrosé Viljoen, tells us
that the silo was filled to almost
capacity during the 2014 crop.
It mainly receives white maize,
but also other crops such as yel
low maize, sunflower, soy-beans
and sorghum. Other silos in the
Koppies area are Rooiwal Silo, 13
km from Koppies, followed by
Vredefort, 34 km, Weiveld Silo,
35 km and Heilbron approximate
ly 50 km from Koppies.
PERSONNEL
Two of his staff members have
more than 14 years of service,
Paul Mofokeng (Control Board
Operator) and Andries Mokoena
(General Worker). David
JUN/JUL 2017 • SENWES Scenario
Zondwani (General Worker) has
five years service, followed by
Silo Manager Ambrosé Viljoen
with three years, General Workers
David Moeketsi (three years),
Daniel Morallane (2 years) and
beginner David Diboti (Junior
Grain Grader) with one year ser
vice.
THE BRANCH
Locals say that the first Senwes
branch was opened in the sixties
in Church Street. The Senwes
building, which housed a furni
ture dealer, was bought from a
Jewish gentleman named Rozin.
The building is still standing, with
the old house where the branch
manager used to live, next door.
At the end of the sixties the
branch was moved to the new
premises in Noord Street, where
the old Jewish synagogue was
situated. It is used as a store today
and when you look carefully, you
can still see the old foundations of
the church. Next the branch was
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