World Mobile Plants

New logistics plan for collecting used cooking-oil to produce clean biodiesel

About World Mobile Plants

World Mobile Plants (WMP) is the trading name of the South-African company Nampo Master Plant Limited. It is a small company, established by a Dutch entrepreneur named Carlo Bakker. The company has the ambition to create jobs and improve the health of people in South Africa. Among other things, their aim is decentralizing energy in rural areas and local communities by building transportable bio diesel plants. By producing biodiesel from various sources such as waste cooking-oil, WMP wishes to make a contribution to a cleaner environment. The social impact of WMP is: 

• local employment and income generation
• community involvement
• improving quality of life
• transfer of knowledge and skills
• positive environmental impact

‘Miss Collect'

Per year about ten million litre finished cooking-oil in Soweto should be removed properly because of the risks for the environment. That is why WMP started the unique CSR project under the name of ‘Miss Collect'. In this project the oil from thousands of restaurants in Johannesburg will be collected by disadvantaged women so that they will be able to earn an income. The collected cooking-oil is to supply a small mobile biodiesel manufacturing plant that is already in place in Bothaville. 

Business case

In the near future WMP has the goal to create a chain of 70 mobile biodiesel manufacturing plants in the southern part of Africa. To realise this goal, WMP asked SharePeople for the help of a team of experts with experience in organisational development, logistics and technology. WMP has found a partner in Imtech N.V., a European technical services provider in the fields of electrical engineering, ICT and mechanical engineering. A team of 4 Imtech professionals worked on the business case for a period of 6 months, of which 14 days at location in South Africa. Together with the local partners, the team was asked to work on:

• A technical-logistical plan for collecting the used cooking-oil by unemployed South African women in Soweto.
• Optimising the production process of the present plant and passing on the technical know-how required for this.
• A feasibility study on the possibility of producing this sort of plant locally in South Africa on a large scale.

Results

Analysis 

The Imtech team closely co-operated with professionals working for greenFusion, a South African partner of WMP. Through desk research important background information was gathered about the life cycle, conversion process and quality aspects of cooking-oil. Also, the team made an inventory of similar collecting initiatives in Johannesburg. In South Africa the team visited similar organisations, interviewed women in Soweto and visited the restaurants and small informal businesses that provide the oil. One of the most remarkable findings was that there already are very well organised township bodies that can deliver the used cooking-oil to Miss Collect and get payment in return.

Advice

The team delivered a final report containing advice on the technical en logistical aspects of the collection of used cooking-oil. Some of the practical recommendations given in this report are:

• Start the process of setting up the oil collection process with a pilot in a defined area within Soweto
• Make sure that the large quantities of volume flow of used cooking-oil come from contracts with fast-food chains
• Make use of existing organisations
• Start awareness and marketing campaigns as soon as possible
• Miss Collect would function best if the organisation itself would own the biodiesel
• The Miss Collect model should for a large part be based upon self-regulating organisations

Impact on the overseas partners

The programme has given WMP a concrete proposal about logistic details regarding the implementation of an oil collecting organisation. In general, the partnership with Imtech has strengthened the local entrepreneur in his negotiation position regarding possible investors and other possible partners. Also, the results of the Imtech and greenFusion teams were integrated in a larger plan, which WMP uses to apply for funds for the starting phase of Miss Collect.

‘The South African Ubuntu spirit is: if you share what you have, it comes back tenfold. The logistic team acted as a bounce board for our ideas and gave us fresh ideas. They made me realise we should use existing companies and the existing infrastructure for our plans.' (Kagisho Dichabe, Director, greenFusion)

Impact on the European professionals

This programme has contributed to personal development and strengthening of leadership capacities. Also, it has given Imtech employees the opportunity to be involved in socially responsible business activities.

‘Participation in this programme has created better insights in the career I desire for the future, I realised that social responsibility will have a greater part in my life.' (Bart de Lange, Sr. Account Manager, Imtech Automation Solutions BV)

‘I will never forget about the Ubuntu spirit (taking care of your community) and I will surely propagate this in the Netherlands.' (Veronique Duivelshof, Product Marketing Management, Imtech Technology)

Impact on the European company

The programme has stimulated employee engagement and has given an opportunity to concretise Imtech's CSR-programme. Also, it has created PR opportunities for Imtech regarding image building amongst stakeholders, clients and possible employees.

‘It is relatively unique for a technical company such as Imtech to provide active support to a CSR project of this size. Nearly 50 Imtech employees are involved in this initiative, either directly or behind the scenes. Our goal is to underline Imtech's CSR policy, to mobilise employees to get involved in other CSR initiatives, to further expand our know-how regarding environment-friendly biodiesel production and to present Imtech as a modern, involved employer' (René van der Bruggen, Chairman Imtech)

Follow up

The project proposal for the start-up of Miss Collect has been reviewed by a large Dutch donor organisation. Unfortunately until now the result has been negative. Also, due to the worldwide economic crisis fuel prices have gone down, including the price of biodiesel. This has made WMP decide to postpone the large scale collection of used cooking-f for biodiesel production, until prices rise.

Still, the plan is that in 2009 the implementation will start and it is foreseen that Miss Collect will be self-sustainable within a period of 3 years.

Imtech will continue its SSDC programme in 2009 in partnership with SharePeople and will support another company or organisation in South Africa, in the field of renewable energy. In the meantime Imtech is being involved in the start up of Miss Collect.

Apart from that, through the exchange programme Imtech has identified possibilities for commercial expansion. In order to expand business in South Africa, Imtech would partner with a local black economic empowered (BEE) company, which would also strengthen this company. Options are being considered.

For more information, please visit http://www.miss-collect.org/.