Zim tycoon Simon Rudland’s $30m Orangeville plant in Beitbridge goes live to boost local juice, jobs

2By Nigel PfundeBeitbridge — Zimbabwean business magnate Simon Rudland has gone all systems out with his $30 million citrus processing plant in Beitbridge, in a push to grow local manufacturing and exports,Express Mail Zim can report.The Orangeville juicing plant has been operational since July 2005 according to government reports.Vice President Constantino Chiwenga toured the facility and called it a key project for rural industrialisation then.Orangeville is certified to supply juice concentrate to Schweppes Zimbabwe and export to the region. The aim is to cut imports and use more local fruit.The plant currently employs 290 people. Company officials say projections reveal that up to 3 000 jobs could be created as operations scale up.Orangeville has 2000 hectares of citrus planted now and targets 3000 hectares by 2030.

The company is also rolling out contract farming to secure fruit and support out-growers.It can process 90 000 tonnes of oranges per season, with plans to reach 200 000 tonnes by 2030. Over 25,000 tonnes have already been processed since July.Besides juice, the plant extracts orange oil for cosmetics and converts peel and pulp into livestock feed.Matabeleland South Minister Albert Nguluvhe said projects like this help build regional economic resilience.The Beitbridge plant follows Rudland’s $102 million Cut Rag Processors tobacco factory in Harare’s Aspindale, officially opened by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in late 2024. That plant processes raw tobacco into cut rag and cigarettes for export, in line with government’s $5 billion tobacco value-addition plan.Rudland co-founded Gold Leaf Tobacco and has interests in logistics, mining, agriculture, banking and finance.

His companies employ more than 10,000 people in Zimbabwe and the DRC. Through Day River Corporation, his family also holds stakes in Zimre and CFI Holdings on the ZSE.Rudland ‘s business rivals have for long made futile attempts to drag him in South Africa disputes linked to Gold Leaf but it emerged all his businesses are compliant.With Orangeville and Cut Rag, Rudland is shifting capital into processing in Zimbabwe. For Beitbridge, it means moving from just a transit town to a manufacturing and export hub.CutragorangeviewSimonrudland Beitbridge — Zimbabwean business magnate Simon Rudland has gone all systems out with his $30 million citrus processing plant in Beitbridge, in a push to grow local manufacturing and exports,Express Mail Zim can report.

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The Orangeville juicing plant has been operational since July 2005 according to government reports. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga toured the facility and called it a key project for rural industrialisation then. Orangeville is certified to supply juice concentrate to Schweppes Zimbabwe and export to the region.

Company officials say projections reveal that up to 3 000 jobs could be created as operations scale up. Orangeville has 2000 hectares of citrus planted now and targets 3000 hectares by 2030. The company is also rolling out contract farming to secure fruit and support out-growers.

It can process 90 000 tonnes of oranges per season, with plans to reach 200 000 tonnes by 2030. Over 25,000 tonnes have already been processed since July.Besides juice, the plant extracts orange oil for cosmetics and converts peel and pulp into livestock feed. Matabeleland South Minister Albert Nguluvhe said projects like this help build regional economic resilience.

The Beitbridge plant follows Rudland’s $102 million Cut Rag Processors tobacco factory in Harare’s Aspindale, officially opened by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in late 2024. That plant processes raw tobacco into cut rag and cigarettes for export, in line with government’s $5 billion tobacco value-addition plan. Rudland co-founded Gold Leaf Tobacco and has interests in logistics, mining, agriculture, banking and finance.

Through Day River Corporation, his family also holds stakes in Zimre and CFI Holdings on the ZSE. Rudland ‘s business rivals have for long made futile attempts to drag him in South Africa disputes linked to Gold Leaf but it emerged all his businesses are compliant. With Orangeville and Cut Rag, Rudland is shifting capital into processing in Zimbabwe. For Beitbridge, it means moving from just a transit town to a manufacturing and export hub.

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