SERNICK (PTY) - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- LIVESTOCK PURCHASER - SERNICK VEEVOERE
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Country Meat Abattoir
David Jacobus Niemann was born in 1983 and raised in Bloemfontein. He matriculated from Sentraal High School Bloemfontein in the Free State Metropolitan in 2001 whereafter he enrolled at the University of the Free State to study accounting. David completed his Bachelor's in accounting in 2004 and his Honours in 2005 at the University of the Free State along with his Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA) qualification.
After university David had to choose an accounting firm where he could complete his articles. Instead of following the traditional path of applying to the ‘big four' firms for his articles, David chose a different direction. He strategically decided on Havenga Rossouw Viljoen (HRV) Consultation Services, an intermediate audit and accounting firm situated in Bloemfontein. Here David saw the opportunity to get a wide range of experience in all areas of auditing and accounting and find an area of interest wherein he could further his career. During his time as article clerk, David made the acquaintance of the Sernick Group as part of the auditing team that worked on the agricultural company's account. He completed his SAICA articles in 2009 along with his board exams and was promoted to Auditing Manager at the firm.
David kept on working with Sernick as a client of HRV and over time a good working relationship transpired between himself and Carel Serfontein, the then director of the Sernick Group. It was during one of his audit visits that Carel offered David the position of Group Financial Manager at Sernick; David accepted and started his career at the Sernick Group in July of 2011. In 2013 he was promoted to the group's Financial Director and three years later David was offered his current position as Managing Director at the Sernick Group's Country Meat Abattoir Division.
During his first four years at Sernick, David worked in every division of the company; this includes the Feedlot, Phase C Testing Station, the Bonsmara Stud and the Feed Factory before moving to Kroonstad where the Abattoir is situated. Not only did this experience give him a good lay of the land but also a firm understanding of the important role each division plays in the company's profile. David has implemented a shared service system that's allowed the company to streamline and consolidate its smaller divisions, thereby creating cost sensitivity, more financial stability and allowing the company to grow. As MD of the Abattoir, he's also responsible for developing new product lines and new research projects on modern slaughtering practices at the Abattoir to improve meat quality. David performs well under pressure and brings a balance to the company through his conservative business outlook that's served him and Sernick well. He enjoys the fast-paced tempo in which Sernick operates and innovates and hopes to one day expand the Abattoir to compete with larger companies.
David believes that Sernick is a dynamic company that's not afraid to innovate which in turn allows the company to be resilient in tough economic times. As Managing Director of the Country Meat Abattoir, he's thankful for the impact the comparatively medium-sized agricultural company has had on its immediate and greater environment. Nevertheless David believes the company is not limited in its size and that the Sernick Group has even more potential that will be unearthed in the years to come as the company continues to grow and diversify.
Job Titles:
- MARKETING - COUNTRY MEAT ABATTOIR
Diederik Erasmus was born in 1980 in Bloemfontein and grew up in a small farming town in the southern Free State, called Petrusburg. Here Diederik completed his schooling and matriculated from the AJC Jooste High School in 1998. Diederik matriculated with distinction and chose to further his studies in computer and information technology (IT) and completed his Microsoft Certified Solution Expert (MCSE) certification within six months. After receiving his MCSE, he started working immediately as an IT specialist and within a year he opened his own business, CPS Computers in Bloemfontein.
Diederik wanted to realise his longtime dream to become a Chartered Accountant and in 2007 he enrolled for his first year at the University of the Free State. In 2009 he completed his bachelor's in accounting and his student training record (STR), KE1 and KE2 in the subsequent three years. In 2011 Diederik began his articles at The CORE Group, previously known as Havenga Rossouw Viljoen Consultation Services. After completing his three-year SAICA articles and board exams in 2014, The CORE Group expanded and offered him the position as director of the CORE Business Development division. Here Diederik was responsible for business planning and managing, valuations and analysis within the division. During his clerkship, Diederik made his first acquaintance with the agricultural company, Sernick Group that was at that stage one of their clients.
Diederik soon realised that his heart was not in auditing, but he saw a future for himself in financial planning and management, so when the opportunity arose, he accepted the position of Financial Manager in 2014 at Sernick in Kroonstad and two years later he was promoted to Group Financial Director. Diederik currently sits on the Sernick Group's board along with five other directors.
During his time at Sernick, Diederik has been able to implement valuable systems that have added to the company's stability, financial viability and allowed the Sernick Group to be resilient when necessary. Though Diederik describes himself as a numbers guy, he has been responsible for putting together a reliable and diligent financial team that allows the company to forge ahead under the guidance of Nick Serfontein. His logical and strategic manner of doing things has made him invaluable to the future of the Sernick Group. Diederik also manages the financials of the group's Emerging Farmers Jobs Fund Project which has been responsible for delivering promising new farmers to the agricultural sector and serves as a successful model of empowering emerging farmers in South Africa.
Diederik believes that for any company to be successful it cannot only be financially strong, it must also add value to its immediate community, environment and the country. He believes that the Sernick Group is setting the example for many South African companies by ensuring food security through sustainable practices, strategic programs and partnerships that empower the immediate and larger community of South Africa.
Nick Serfontein was born in 1948 on the farm Liebenbergstroom near Edenville in the Free State where Sernick's farm operations are now located. He matriculated in 1966 from the Edenville High School as part of a class that consisted of only eight learners. His family had a mixed farming operation and Nick grew up with a keen interest and love for cultivating the soil and rearing animals. He very much wanted to farm but was deterred by his parents who knew from experience that farming was a hard life. Ultimately, they convinced him that there was no future in staying on Liebenbergstroom and he left to study engineering at the University of Pretoria after finishing school. He completed his studies in 1970 and started working at Sapekoe Tea Estates as Chief Engineer, responsible for the planning, design and construction of dams, irrigation schemes and tea processing factories.
After five years, he left Sapekoe Tea Estates and started working at Norse Construction until 1977. He then joined Eksteen, Van Der Walt & Nissen, an engineering firm in Mafikeng as consulting engineer and in 1978, after only six months of being appointed, he became a director at Eksteen, Van Der Walt & Nissen. Serfontein finally found himself in a position where he could pursue his passion for farming while still working, and in 1983 he bought a 250ha piece of land, 30 commercial Bonsmara heifers and started his Bonsmara stud. This was the realisation of a lifelong dream and the start of what would one day become the Sernick Group. The name Sernick is the merging of SER from the surname Serfontein and his name NICK. In 1991 he co-founded EVN Consulting Engineers which was restructured to become the Bigen Africa Group in 1999 of which he was appointed Chairman.
In 1990 Nick decided that cattle farming alone was not enough - he felt compelled to do something that added value to the farm, the community and made farming more cost-effective. During the next 10 years, he acquired more land, including the family farm and expanded the stud. He went on to add the Phase C bull testing station, a feed factory, feedlot and bought the Kroonstad abattoir. Serfontein spent 20 years dividing his time between the farm and his engineering firm. In 2003 he retired from Bigen Africa to devote all his time to Sernick. During this 20-year period, the stud was reduced numerous times to finance the value chain. In 2010 the value chain was completed with Sernick's entry into the retail market. Today the Sernick Group consists of an integrated value chain producing Bonsmara cattle, a feedlot, feed factory, abattoir, meat processing plant and retail butcheries. The Sernick Group currently employs ±550 people and has a yearly turnover of R1.2 billion. During 2016 Serfontein received the following achievements: LNR herd of the year, Free State Farmer of The Year and Mentor of The Year. In 2018 he also received an accolade as Beeld's newsmaker of the year after his open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa went viral.
Nick believes that everything he has achieved through the years can be ascribed to his faith, the belief that dreams can come true and his decision to surround himself with like-minded and dynamic individuals that are passionate about agriculture. In July 2018 he wrote an open letter to the President regarding the matter of land reform. In his letter, he urged the President to include commercial farmers in land reform. He believes that the only way to establish successful black commercial farmers in South Africa is by selecting those with an ability to farm and by giving them training, access to finance and mentorship .
Nick currently serves on the Advisory Panel on Land Reform along with nine other members appointed by the President.