Resume: Eben van Tonder

Last Updated Jan 2026

Curriculum Vitae

Updated: January 2026

Eben van Tonder
Innovative Entrepreneur | Meat Technology Specialist | Factory and Logistics Systems Specialist

Residence: Graz, Austria | Onrusrivier, South Africa | Lagos, Nigeria
Email: ebenvt@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Eben van Tonder
Phone: +27 (0)71 545 3029

Profile

Senior meat technology and factory systems specialist with end-to-end experience from concept, design and commissioning to stable production. Extensive background in greenfield and brownfield meat plants. Proven ability to translate technical complexity into commercial value, cost control and operational reliability. Comfortable operating from shop floor to board level, aligning engineering, production, logistics and commercial objectives.

International Experience and Acievements

Extensive work across Africa, Europe, South Africa, Nigeria, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Led the design, build and commissioning of the largest meat processing facility in West Africa for SPAR Nigeria, including line concepts, product development, full butchery operations, SOPs and organisational structures.

Development and implementation of complete stock management system with complete quality and recipe system, detailed block test breakdown and daily management to management dashboards and detailed profitability analysis.

Development and implementation of systems that take factory profitability to the highest international standards, on par with Japan, Korea and other leading nations.

Sourcing most appropriate equipment for any given environment from a spares part and functional perspective.

Wok with leaders in Europe to offer single solution support to factories in terms of sourcing European parts and offering first world support for maintenance in a way that makes financial sense to the client.

Developed systems of functional ingredients and spices that dramatically reduces cost in usage and makes courier options possible for delivery, thereby removing the need for long lead time sea freight possible,

Redesigned meat blocks to incorporate the use of items like bones into retail cuts, thereby dramatically increasing the financial yield of the carcass. This involved the redesign of the deboning process and incorporating techniques like selective par-freezing of meat in the process.

Advisory work to a leading UK food group on curing guidelines and process control.

Deployment of data driven factory systems, including AI supported process monitoring and reporting.

Close collaboration with international supply chains across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Contributor to trade publications on plant design and production strategy in the African context.

International sourcing and development of supply of meat for international markets, notably the Middle-East.

Setting up of abattoirs in Africa.

Developing a system of grading animals where animals are pre-selected for various markets and utilisation, thereby linking price and overall quality in a more concrete way.

Built and scaled Woodys Consumer Brands in Cape Town from 1 tonne per week to 15 tonnes per day with responsibility for sales, pricing, key accounts, supply chains and partner networks.

Developed a cost efficient, high yield bacon system adopted internationally.

Engineered a thawing system bringing meat from −18 °C to 0 °C within twenty four hours without weight loss.

Implemented AI supported logistics and production systems with KPI driven management routines.

Developed proprietary curing systems for ham and bacon.

Developed unique processing methods for sausages.

What Sets Me Apart

Systematic development of customer relationships with focus on margin, reliability and long term supply stability.

Translation of technical specifications and functional properties into customer value and return on investment.

Leadership and coaching of cross functional teams across Sales, Engineering, Production and Quality.

KPI and OEE based operational steering with structured forecasting and reporting.

Total cost of ownership mindset applied to equipment, ingredients and logistics.

Clear communication from shop floor to senior management.

In depth understanding of functional ingredients and meat processing chemistry.

Comprehensive knowledge of the African and Southern African meat industry across the full value chain.

A detailed understanding of the importance of data in the meat plant and the ability to use non-high tech systems to gather the data and AI systems to extract and order the data.

Translation of data to information.

Professional Experience

Independent Consultant Origins Global Meats | International | 2018 to date

Consultancy for data driven meat processing, functional ingredients and scalable brands. Lead project advisor for the build of the largest meat processing facility in West Africa for SPAR Nigeria. Accountable for planning, factory layout, product development, organisational structure and implementation of all SOPs. Interface with ownership, engineering, production, quality and logistics teams throughout design, build and ramp up phases.

ERP Implementation Odoo | SPAR Lagos

System design and implementation of Odoo ERP across Warehouse, Production, Sales and Logistics.

Requirements definition, customisation and coordination with development teams.

Data migration and validation across multiple warehouse locations.
Implementation of end to end stock movement tracking with batch and crate level traceability.

Design of resilient reporting and backup concepts to support offline operation.
Training, go live support and performance validation resulting in real time stock accuracy across sites.

Van Wyngaardt Deli Meats Etlin International | South Africa | 2019 to 2020

Built and led the Food Science function. Introduced new product lines and operating procedures. Delivered technical and operational training. Supported stakeholder management, specifications, quality agreements and cost discussions within project environments.

Woodys Consumer Brands Founder | Cape Town | 2008 to 2018

Founded and scaled a national premium brand for bacon and meat products. Overall responsibility for Sales, Pricing, Key Accounts, Procurement, Production and Quality. Built European and local partnerships. Led contract negotiations, pricing structures, assortment development and capacity planning.

Earlier Roles | 1992 to 2007

Leadership and commercial roles across sales, business development, supply chain and plant operations in manufacturing and chemicals, including Grafoplast, Millennium Marketing and Harvard Chemical Industries.

Key Skills Sales and Business Development

Key account management, new business acquisition and pipeline management.

Price and contract negotiation, framework agreements and service level arrangements.

Value based selling, total cost of ownership argumentation and business case development.

Market and competitive monitoring, opportunity qualification and forecasting.
Strong problem solving capability within functional meat formulation and processing environments.

Technical and Operational Bridge

Translation of technical specifications into use cases and customer value.

Collaboration with Sales, Innovation and Application and Marketing.

KPI and OEE improvement through data and AI supported decision making.

Line and plant layout, ramp up and industrialisation, cold chain, thawing and batch control.

ERP systems with Odoo including implementation, customisation, data migration and reporting.

Additional Procurement Capability

Strategic and project sourcing, category approaches and RFQ and RFP processes.
Supplier selection, development and audits.
Cost analysis, budgeting and total cost of ownership evaluation.
Schedule and quality assurance in close alignment with Engineering, Production and Quality.

Education

Completed part of Bachelor of Accounting Science BCompt in Accounting.
Undergraduate coursework in business administration and accounting with emphasis on financial management, corporate governance and cost accounting.
National Senior Certificate Grade 12. High School Driehoek, South Africa. Graduation 1987.

Publications and Thought Leadership

Author of EarthwormExpress, recognised as a comprehensive technical platform on meat science, processing systems and industrial application.

Languages

Afrikaans fluent.
English fluent.
German A2, progressing towards B1. Able to conduct basic professional and everyday conversations. Ongoing daily study.

Current Focus Areas 2026

Planning and construction of modern meat processing operations.
Development of profitable and cost efficient meat and hybrid formulations.
Integration of AI in factory processes from staffing to quality control.
Build and optimisation of production systems including refurbished and cost efficient equipment.
Throughput increase at a stable cost base.
Training and coaching of teams for performance, quality and ownership.
Practical support from ramp up to series production.

Residence and Status South African citizen. Married to an Austrian citizen. Currently based in Lagos, Nigeria, and Graz, Austria. Lawful Austrian resident.