CEO's Inaugural Visit to the Cameroon Plantations and European Offices
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David Li, the CEO of Corrie MacColl and our parent company, Halcyon Agri, recently visited the Cameroon plantations and a few of the European offices as part of his inaugural trip since joining the Halcyon Agri Group in Singapore. The visits, delayed due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, provided an opportunity to meet the regional teams and strengthen the communication chain between the company’s head office and the wider network.
Hevecam plantation – Niete, Cameroon
The visit included a tour of the 53,000 hectare concession with a focus on the plantation areas and the on-site factory. David met with the local management teams, prefects and the early-morning tappers.
David also visited the community hospital during an eyecare campaign in partnership with the Kacheu Medical Foundation. With only 70 ophthalmologists serving the population of Cameroon, many are at risk of blindness due to a lack of medical care and funding. The Kacheu Medical Foundation tackles this issue by providing free eyecare consultations, glasses and cataract operations. During the eyecare campaign hosted at Hevecam, over 420 free consultations and 13 cataract operations were provided for Hevecam employees, their families and the neighbouring communities.
Hevecam’s partnership with the Foundation forms part of the company’s wider commitment to supporting the local communities, both within and beyond the plantations.
Sudcam plantation – Meyomessala, Cameroon
The visit to the 45,000 hectare concession included a rubber tapping demonstration, and a tour of Sudcam’s modern latex factory.
Technical and agronomical developments were discussed, including the Easyweigh rubber measurement system, a digital weighing tool that harnesses iris recognition technology. This automated method of biometric identification harnesses near-infrared light and pattern-recognition techniques to identify each person through a high-contrast photo of their iris.
The employment of this technology, attached to a simple wooden structure in the field, will significantly increase convenience and efficiency for the tappers, eliminating the need for manual input of their personal details and rubber production figures.
Commercial office – London, UK
The London office houses employees across a broad range of business areas – finance, commercial, marketing, HR, and systems and processes. The team therefore shared an overview of their areas of responsibility and how these fit into the wider Corrie MacColl organisation. The team also discussed upcoming opportunities that will drive progress both internally and for our customers.
Commercial office – Zaandam, Netherlands
The Zaandam office is well established within the company’s ecosystem, with its team specialising in both trading and logistical services. The team discussed the leading position of the wider CMC Europe business, as well as strategies to boost our customer offering.
David was also joined by team members from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the ‘world’s most trusted sustainable forest management solution.’ FSC certification ensures that the natural rubber and latex supply chain meets stringent social and environmental criteria.
Our customers currently benefit from access to FSC-certified product, helping them to reduce risk in their supply chains and strengthen their corporate responsibility credentials. In addition to our Chain of Custody Certificates, our Hevecam plantation in Cameroon is preparing for an application of FSC Forest Management certification over 15,000 ha of land.
Kelvin Terminals – Terneuzen, Netherlands
As the largest latex tank terminal in Europe, David’s visit to Kelvin Terminals included a tour of the tank hall and the laboratory facilities. The team also demonstrated the four new 200m3 latex tanks, recently installed as part of a capacity expansion.
The facility can now accommodate approximately 25 trucks per day as its capacity reaches a total of 7,500mT. This equates to approximately 40,000mT in yearly volume, or 80,000mT as the combined in-and-out yearly total.
