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Our Story

Our History

Amiran Kenya Limited began its operations at the dawn of Kenya’s independence in 1963. We are a private limited company, and a subsidiary of Balton CP which is owned by CP Holdings Limited, a British company with an international presence across a number of territories namely the United Kingdom, Central and Western Europe as well as Sub-Saharan Africa. With over 60 years of operation, we have been a driving force behind the horticulture and floriculture industries in Kenya. The bedrock of our product offering has been achieved through our partnerships with key multinationals and reputable world–class brand owners. These partnerships have led to our reputation of trustworthiness, dependability, and consistency in the market.

We pride ourselves in understanding the full spectrum of agribusiness because of our holistic approach to farming through our three business divisions: Chemicals and Fertilizers, Seeds, Greenhouse, and Irrigation. Through decades of partnership with our farmers, we have become a “one-stop shop” for all Kenyan farmers’ agricultural needs. We support agricultural sustainability by making farming a simple and rewarding venture by providing all levels of farmers with all that is needed for a successful harvest.

As pioneers in the Agribusiness sector in Kenya, we are a company of many firsts. We are the first company to introduce new innovations and new technologies such as Greenhouses and Drip Irrigation; the first company to get into eye-budding of roses on a commercial scale; the first to introduce advanced technology Chemicals and Fertilizer products to the flower industry.

While playing a significant role in bringing the Kenyan floriculture industry to its place as a global leader, we have also remained focused on the needs of individuals, small-scale, horticultural, and cereal farmers countrywide. Equally, having understood and anticipated our customers’ future needs in floriculture and avocado farming, we embarked on a partnership with Solo Shtil, the biggest rose nursery in Israel, and together formed a subsidiary company – Solo Plant Kenya Limited – in 2000. In 2015, due to the growing need for Agribusiness inputs in Ethiopia, we opened a representative office – Balton Ethiopia.

With close to 60 years of operation, we have been a driving force behind the horticulture and floriculture industries in Kenya. The bedrock of our product offering has been achieved through our partnerships with key multinationals and reputable world–class brand owners. These partnerships have led to our reputation of trustworthiness, dependability, and consistency in the market.

Equally, having understood and anticipated our customers’ future needs in floriculture and avocado farming, we embarked on a partnership with Solo Shtil, the biggest rose nursery in Israel, and together formed a subsidiary company – Solo Plant Kenya Limited – in 2000. In 2015, due to the growing need for Agribusiness inputs in Ethiopia, we opened a representative office – Balton Ethiopia.

Solo Plant Kenya Limited

A need to diversify our product portfolio and reach more markets led us to a strategic partnership with Soloshtil – the biggest rose nursery in Israel. The production of rose planting was transferred to Kenya, where we established Solo Plant Kenya Limited as a subsidiary of both Amiran Kenya and Solo Shtil. It is located in Kabati town, Murangá County. Our success is built on the high quality plants we grow and sell.

Soloplant is an innovative and value driven company that focuses on rose and avocado propagation. The vast experience and knowledge we have gained in rose planting is reflected in the success of the plant nursery. We started off with 1,500 square meters of greenhouse farming and experienced tremendous growth that has now led to one hectare of green housing with a production of 6 – 7 million plants annually for the African market.

We specialize in the propagation of quality top-graft rose-plants and we are the only company in East Africa practicing commercial eye budding on a large scale, grown under microclimatic conditions in “disease – free” computerized greenhouses. It is a unique way of grafting that produces highly successful and strong plants than traditional ways. It was developed by Solo Shtil and has over thirty years’ tradition and worldwide reputation. Though Kenya currently remains our largest market, we also export our plants to Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa, Ethiopia and other parts of the world.

We were the first company to venture into large scale commercial production of avocado seedlings in Murang’a region. Our production of avocados began in 2016, and we are currently selling and distributing our avocadoes to both small scale and large scale farmers across the country. Our success is founded on our very strict selection procedure of raw material as well as our policy on selling seedlings only when they are ready for planting. Our employees who have grown with us since the inception of Soloplant have acquired vast knowledge in this field and hence have added value to our customer’s success.

Rose Propagation

Avocado Seedlings

Balton Ethiopia

In response to the need for quality and reliable agricultural inputs in Ethiopia, we opened a Commercial Representative office in 2015, Balton Ethiopia, based in Addis Ababa.

In this market, we are currently dealing in the export market, focusing on export farms mainly growing flowers and vegetables and covering approximately 2000ha.

We focus on three business divisions namely Chemicals and Fertilisers, Seeds, Greenhouse and Irrigation. So far, we have built 20ha of greenhouses for roses, as well as installed and upgraded different irrigation systems.

Our Management Team

To keep the pulse of the organisation going, we have an experienced team of passionate, energetic and visionary leaders that support an inspirational and dedicated team of over 400 employees.

Our

Executive Team

Our Board is responsible for financial performance, strategic direction, major acquisitions and disposals, overall risk management, business planning as well as capital expenditure and operational budgeting.

Our Executive Team

Our Board is responsible for financial performance, strategic direction, major acquisitions and disposals, overall risk management, business planning as well as capital expenditure and operational budgeting.

Andy Baker

Group Chief Executive Officer

Andy holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Cranfield University, UK.

He joined BCP in January 2016 as Chief Excecutive Officer from G4S, where he spent four years as Regional President, Africa.

Prior to this, he spent several years at DHL in addition to serving as Group COO of Altech.

Andy has 30 years’ experience in general management, having worked on four continents.

Matthew Dunne

Group Chief Operations Officer

Matt joined Balton CP in January 2020.

A Civil Engineering graduate of Bolton University, Matt holds an MBA from Durham University and has more than 20 years’ experience in senior management roles with some of the largest conglomerates in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, including the Alsayer and DAL Group operating in a number of the world’s toughest markets including Iraq, South Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

Kevin Torlage

Group Chief Financial Officer

Kevin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting from the University of Natal, Pietermaritzberg and a Diploma in Accounting.

Kevin is a Chartered Accountant, having qualified in South Africa. He has 28 years of extensive experience in Audit, Management and Finance.

He joined BCP in 2016 from Ageis Defence Services Limited where he was the Finance Director. Prior to this, he held various executive management positions at Barloworld Handling Ltd, Bidcorp plc – London, Stemcor Limited London and Deloitte & Touche.

dave & gerald

Dave Govender

Managing Director

Dave has over 25 years’ experience in Senior Management roles, namely in General Management, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Operations, having worked in 3 different countries with a global multinational – Dow Chemical and Dow Agrosciences.
Dave is a Chemistry graduate from the Durban University of Technology and also holds an MBA from the University of Natal, South Africa.
Dave joined Amiran Kenya in 2020, having previously spent 4 years as a Managing Director for Dow East Africa and 10 years as a Supply Chain Director for Africa, based in Nairobi and South Africa.

Gerald Muema

Human Resources Manager

Gerald is a BA. Human Resources Management graduate from Kenyatta University, Kenya as well as a Diploma holder in Human Resources Management & Industrial Relations from Technical University of Mombasa, Kenya. He is also a member of the Institute of Human Resources Management.
He joined Amiran Kenya in June 2009, and has extensive experience of over 16 years in Human resources management - people management skills and organizational restructuring - gained from his previous employment at Coca-Cola, Kilifi Plantations, Coast Hauliers - Mombasa, Farmers Choice and Teita Estate Limited.

louise & charles

Louise Bland

Administration and Operations Manager

Louise has over 30 years work experience in both the hospitality and agro industries in general & administrative management with a strong grounding in procurement, accounting and internal controls.
She joined Amiran Kenya in November 2019, having previously worked as Chief Administrator with Teita Estates Limited, General Manager at Nomad Beach Hotel and Internal Auditor at Leisure Lodges and Kaskasi Beach Hotel in Kenya.

Charles Williams

Finance Director

mark & frederick

Mark Hill

Technical Manager- Inrrigation and Greenhouse

Mark joined Amiran Kenya in September 2021. His career experience of 25 years has largely been in the agricultural sector in South Africa with his last position held as Digital Farming Manager at Netafim and responsible for the entire range of control and monitoring equipment for irrigation and greenhouses as well as collaboration with headquarters in Israel and other Netafim business units regarding research and development. He previously was the Technical Manager and Automation Technician with the same organization.
He joined Amiran Kenya in September 2021, having previously been the Technical Manager and Automation Technician with Netafim.

Frederick Joubert

Commercial Manager – Irrigation and Greenhouse

Frederik is a multi-skilled Horticulturist with a Bsc. Agric (Hons) - Horticulture degree from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
He joined Amiran Kenya in September 2021, having worked in South Africa as a Business Development Manager at Aerobotics, Horticultural Consultant Director at the Agricultural Development Services and Operations and Technical Manager Avocado Unit at Red Sun Hortitech. He has 30 years’ plus extensive experience in agricultural and industrial management - technical, production, operations, research, sales and marketing - coupled with a demonstrated knowledge of horticultural and agronomy.

ron & diana

Ron Assenheim

Head of Agro Division - Chemicals and Fertilizers

Ron is a Bsc. Agronomy graduate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He also holds an MBA from Peres Academic Centre.

He joined Amiran Kenya in January 2020, having worked in various capacities for 13 years, with the most recent being part of a team that designed, planned, and managed mega projects in different countries. His previous employment was at Tahal Consulting Engineers Limited as professional consultant for the overseas projects and back office Manager.

Diana Orindah

Head of Seeds

Dianah holds a BSc. Horticulture degree from Egerton University (Kenya) and is currently pursuing her MBA in Strategic Management at USIU - Africa.
She has 8 years’ technical and commercial experience in the agriculture industry which include 5 years in the seeds sub – sector, focusing on business development.

She joined Amiran Kenya in 2015 as a Product Development Manager, having previously worked at AAA Growers as a Vegetable Production Agronomist.

ravindra & selam

Ravindra Chaudhari

General Manager – Soloplant

Ravi holds a Bsc. Agriculture degree from MPKV Rahuri University, as well as an MBA (Marketing and Operations) degree from Delhi University, India. He has also obtained an NCFM certificate (Accounts).

He joined Soloplant in December 2021, having previously spent 3 years as Farm Manager at the same establishment and spent 11 years of his employment life in Kenya.

Selam Retta

Country Manager - Balton Ethiopia

Selam is a Diploma holder in Computer Science from Higher Learning College of Education (HiLCoE), School of Computer Science and Technology, Ethiopia. She has close to 20 years work experience, predominantly in floriculture.
She joined Balton CP in Ethiopia in November 2015, having previously worked as General Manager at Roshanara Roses Plc. and Propagation Manager at Sheba Flower Farm in Ethiopia. Additionally, she has also worked at Soloplant in Kenya as a Production Manager and held other positions at Spirits Plc Flower farm and Joy Tech Plc Flower Farm in Ethiopia.

Slide 1

Dave Govender

Managing Director

Gerald Muema

Human Resources Manager

Slide 3

Louise Bland

Administration and Operations Manager

Charles Williams

Finance Director

Charles holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting / Audit from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is also a Chartered Accountant from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
He is an International Finance Manager with over 20 years’ experience in the Oil & Gas services sector, Food manufacturing and FMCG. He holds both regional and country-specific roles across various countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
He joined Amiran Kenya in September 2021 and brings along skills in planning, forecasting, internal controls and policy compliance as well as strong technical accounting and ERP.

Slide 4

Mark Hill

Technical Manager- Irrigation and Greenhouse

Frederik Joubert

Commercial Manager – Irrigation and Greenhouse

Slide 5

Ron Assenheim

Head of Agro Division - Chemicals and Fertilizers

Ron is a Bsc. Agronomy graduate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He also holds an MBA from Peres Academic Centre.

Diana Orindah

Head of Seeds

She joined Amiran Kenya in 2015 as a Product Development Manager, having previously worked at AAA Growers as a Vegetable Production Agronomist.

Slide 6

Ravindra Chaudhari

General Manager – Soloplant

He joined Soloplant in December 2021, having previously spent 3 years as Farm Manager at the same establishment and spent 11 years of his employment life in Kenya.

Selam Retta

Country Manager - Balton Ethiopia

dave

Dave Govender

Managing Director

gerald 2

Gerald Muema

Human Resources Manager

louise 2

Louise Bland

Administration and Operations Manager

charles 2

Charles Williams

Finance Director

mark 2

Mark Hill

Technical Manager- Irrigation and Greenhouse

frederick 2

Frederik Joubert

Commercial Manager – Irrigation and Greenhouse

ron 2

Ron Assenheim

Head of Agro Division - Chemicals and Fertilizers

Ron is a Bsc. Agronomy graduate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He also holds an MBA from Peres Academic Centre.

diana 2

Diana Orindah

Head of Seeds

She joined Amiran Kenya in 2015 as a Product Development Manager, having previously worked at AAA Growers as a Vegetable Production Agronomist.

ravindra 2

Ravindra Chaudhari

General Manager - Soloplant

He joined Soloplant in December 2021, having previously spent 3 years as Farm Manager at the same establishment and spent 11 years of his employment life in Kenya.

selam 2

Selam Retta

Country Manager - Balton Ethiopia

Our Pillars

In a bid to support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), we are aligned to three critical goals.

Environmental
Conservation

Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy and accounts for many livelihoods across the country. However, the effects of global warming have been evident with the precipitating occurrence of droughts as well as flooding. This has resulted in threatened food security due to soil degradation and crop failure.

We embrace and take an active role in educating and practicing sustainable farming techniques. We pledge to increase the quantity and quality of our farmers’ harvest, whilst limiting the impact on the environment with an aim of contributing to global food security. Together we can achieve this through our promise of:

• Increasing our customer’s knowledge and ability to mitigate the impact of climate change through the use of innovative and modern technology that is environmentally safe.

• Improving our commitment to working with local businesses and our partners in order to protect and safeguard the environment by choosing sustainable methods of development.

• Selecting the best farming and technology solutions for our customers while protecting the local environment, communities and nature.

• Developing and providing quality hybrid seeds that are adaptable and capable of dealing with changing climatic conditions and emerging diseases.

• Encouraging the use of organic farming methods.

Technical Know How

We strive to provide timely and technologically advanced solutions that ensure growth and sustainability for our farmers.

Motivated by our passion for empowering people, coupled with a pioneering spirit of introducing new, cutting-edge technologies and knowledge, we are proudly engaged with our customers who invest in enriching the lives of their communities by bringing new services to them.

Our greatest asset is rooted in diverse local knowledge, and putting people and communities’ interests first and foremost. This has been demonstrated through our investment in field agronomists & technicians, and their role in both our large scale and small-scale farmers’ journeys. They regularly offer their professional guidance to farmers through knowledge exchange – training on new seed varieties, soil and seed preparation prior to planting, crop protection and nutrition using globally certified chemicals and fertilizers as well as irrigation and green house solutions.

Technological Advancement

We work in markets that are fast-changing and often challenging. In recent times, businesses across diverse sectors face a myriad of challenges such as lack of adequate infrastructure, climate change and insufficient information knowledge base.

We provide innovation that boosts yields by more accurately identifying and predicting deficiencies in the crop and the soil as well as early warnings on problems like diseases or pests. Our automated irrigation provides efficiencies in the use of water and fertilizers, which in turn keeps production cost and food prices down.

Our state of the art greenhouses ensure that light and temperature control are monitored to produce quality yields.

Exceptional Ethical Standards

We do everything we can to ensure that our impact on society is positive and benefits the wider community as well as the business environment in which we operate.

Our Commitment to Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)

• We ensure that we have complied with all applicable environmental health and safety (EHS) laws, regulations and requirements across our business activities in all countries in which we operate.

• Our selection of suppliers, business partners and contractors puts into consideration their ability to run safe and environmentally responsible operations.

Our Commitment to Anti- Slavery

• We have committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business.

Our Commitment to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)

• We ensure that all health and safety hazards and incidents are promptly reported and investigated and that appropriate control measures are implemented to eliminate or minimize the risk of recurrence.

Our Commitment to Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR)

• We respond to emergencies swiftly and effectively with the foremost goals of preserving life, protecting the organization’s property and restoring day to day operations as quickly as possible.

• We react effectively to a major incident directly affecting the business so that it can, as is reasonably practicable, continue to provide essential services in the event of an emergency.

Environmental Conservation

• Increasing our customer’s knowledge and ability to mitigate the impact of climate change through the use of innovative and modern technology that is environmentally safe.

• Improving our commitment to working with local businesses and our partners in order to protect and safeguard the environment by choosing sustainable methods of development.

• Selecting the best farming and technology solutions for our customers while protecting the local environment, communities and nature.

• Developing and providing quality hybrid seeds that are adaptable and capable of dealing with changing climatic conditions and emerging diseases.

• Encouraging the use of organic farming methods.

Technical Know How

We strive to provide timely and technologically advanced solutions that ensure growth and sustainability for our farmers.

Technological Advancement

Our state of the art greenhouses ensure that light and temperature control are monitored to produce quality yields.

Exceptional Ethical Standards

We do everything we can to ensure that our impact on society is positive and benefits the wider community as well as the business environment in which we operate.

Our Commitment to Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)

• We ensure that we have complied with all applicable environmental health and safety (EHS) laws, regulations and requirements across our business activities in all countries in which we operate.

• Our selection of suppliers, business partners and contractors puts into consideration their ability to run safe and environmentally responsible operations.

Our Commitment to Anti- Slavery

• We have committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business.

Our Commitment to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)

Our Commitment to Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR)

• We respond to emergencies swiftly and effectively with the foremost goals of preserving life, protecting the organization’s property and restoring day to day operations as quickly as possible.

• We react effectively to a major incident directly affecting the business so that it can, as is reasonably practicable, continue to provide essential services in the event of an emergency.