Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company (ICS) was one of the largest meat processing, storage, distribution and marketing companies in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, dominating the South African packaged food sector for almost a hundred years. The company was formally registered and listed as ICS in 1899, originally it grew out of Combrinck & CO. which was founded in 1830 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Combrinck & CO. was then merged into ICS. ICS was one of the largest meat processing and distribution companies in the world. The company originally concentrated on supplying ships, but would go on to develop the first cold-storage enterprise in South Africa in conjunction with the Union and Castle shipping lines.

Sir David Graaff, 1st Baronet Sir David Pieter de Villiers Graaff, 1st Baronet (30 March 1859 – 13 April 1931) was a South African cold storage magnate and politician. Graaff revolutionized the cold storage industry in Africa. He founded the Imperial Cold Storage and Supp ...

was a founder, chairman and major shareholder.

Rhodesian operation

In 1924, the then government of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

, now

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, granted a ten-year monopoly to the company. Enforced by act of government, it also guaranteed the companies operations in Rhodesia for the duration of its monopoly with an up to GB£15 000 per annum guaranteed against losses resulting from its operations. In return Imperial Cold Storage agreed to develop the country's chilled and frozen beef industry. In terms of the act's objective to establish a beef packing and processing industry in Rhodesia the government's partnership with Imperial Cold Storage was a success.

Tiger Brands buyout

Due to the high costs of expansion in southern Africa along with a slump in the demand for meat following the

great depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in 1934 the company was in serious financial trouble. More money was sought from investors to help shore up the companies finances.

Anglo-American Anglo-Americans are people who are English-speaking inhabitants of Anglo-America. It typically refers to the nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who spe ...

corporation was the largest investor and the total capital of the company increased to GB£2.2 million (equivalent to £436,000,000 in 2010Measuring Worth
Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount - average earnings, retrieved on 27/09/2010). Anglo's share in the company would continue to grow as Imperial Cold Storage worked more and more with Tiger Oats, then a subsidiary of Anglo-American corporation. In March 1982 Barlow bought a considerable share of Tiger Oats and a controlling share in Imperial Cold Storage. In October 1998 Tiger Brands (then known as Tiger Oats Limited) bought out Imperial Cold Storage and the company was folded into its portfolio of brands and companies.

References

Other references

* Knowles, Lilian Charlotte Anne & Knowles, Charles Matthew. (1936
"The Economic Development of the British Overseas Empire, Volume 3"
Routledge, USA & Canada, republished in 2005, pg 195 * Graaff, De Villiers. (1993) "Div Looks Back: The memoirs of Sir De Villiers Graaff". Human & Rousseau, Cape Town. * Simons Brooke, Phillida. (2000) "Ice cold in Africa: The history of the Imperial Cold Storage & Supply Company Limited". Fernwood Press, Cape Town.

External links

Messrs. Combrinck & Co.'s New Cold Storage Depot (The Cape Town Guide 1897)

Messrs. Combrinck & Co.'s New Cold Storage Depot (The Cape Town Guide 1897) cont.

Photograph of The Produce and Feather Market Building, Dock Road, Cape Town 'Picturesque South Africa', 1899

COLD STORAGE IN SOUTH AFRICA (Extract from 'Otago Witness', 8 October 1902)
{{Authority control Meat companies Defunct companies of South Africa Food and drink companies based in Cape Town Food and drink companies established in 1830 1830 establishments in the Cape Colony Food and drink companies established in 1899 1899 establishments in the Cape Colony Companies disestablished in 1998 1998 disestablishments in South Africa Food and drink companies disestablished in 1998 Meat packers