Anuka Brown

Anuka Brown is the quality and technical manager at Packaging World, a leading manufacturer of flexible packaging based in Pinetown. “From Woolworths’ chips packets and snack wrappers to coffee pouches and washing powder bags, Packaging World’s products are part of everyday life,” explains Anuka.

Anuka’s passion for packaging began unexpectedly. After studying chemical engineering at the University
of Cape Town, she realised that chemistry was a better it. In 2002, while eight months pregnant and struggling to find employment, she accepted a job at a small packaging company in Pietermaritzburg. “I started when my daughter was two weeks old.” What began as a halfday job quickly grew into a full-time career. “By that time, the packaging bug bit. There was nothing else that could fulfil me the way it did. The smell of solvent, the colour on film, the lamination, every day was something new.”

Over the past 23 years, Anuka has gained experience in almost every aspect of the industry, from printing and lamination to extrusion and end-use manufacturing. She has worked at the only BOPP manufacturing line in South Africa at SRF Flexipak, spent time at Kellogg’s as an end user, and eventually found her way back to the heart of the packaging process. Her broad experience has given her not only technical expertise but also a deep appreciation for the craftsmanship and creativity that go into every design.

PASSING ON KNOWLEDGE
Today, Anuka’s greatest passion lies in education and mentorship. “My biggest dream has been to leave a
legacy,” she explains. So much so, that she is now a mentor for the one year diploma students at the Institute
of Packaging as well as is developing a curriculum for lamination, bagging and pouching and slitting with
Printing SA so ‘we can have more infeed of students into our packaging plants’. “It’s not about the products I’ve done or the projects I’ve worked on, but my legacy is in the people that I have trained along the way.” Through mentorship programmes, she takes students from universities such as Durban University of Technology, offering them invaluable hands-on experience. “I am now giving them my time and putting my knowledge onto paper so that they don’t lose the experience that I’ve gained over the 23 years. To see people that I have trained excel is one of my biggest accomplishments.”

Anuka also acknowledges the mentors who shaped her career. “I know everybody says it’s about women, but we forget about the men along the way that taught us. I was very lucky to have very strong mentors in the men that taught me. They always told me, you need to leave a legacy. You cannot hold your knowledge close to your heart.”

Her technical accomplishments are also impressive. “We did the first holographic print on polyester for Omo,” she recalls fondly. “It didn’t actually make it to the market, but it was so much fun.” Another achievement that she is particularly proud of is winning ‘Gold’ at the SRF Problem Solving Protocols global competition while at SRF. This award reflects her skill in total quality management and problem-solving techniques, which are a great passion of hers. More recently, Packaging World won eight FTASA Flexographic Print Excellence Awards, including six golds and two silver. “From last year winning one, to this year winning eight, was absolutely fantastic. It puts us on the map. It shows that we are driving innovation and we are driving customer satisfaction.”

THE ROAD AHEAD
Despite her achievements, Anuka is candid about the challenges she has faced as a woman in a male dominated industry. “When I first got into a management position and was sitting around a boardroom full of men, it was so easy to tell the only female in the room, can you make the coffee? Can you take the minutes?” she recalls.

“Eventually you get used to the boardroom dynamic and you start pushing back a little bit.” Today, she leads with confidence and encourages young women to do the same. “Believe in yourself. You belong in every room you walk into. Whether you are wearing stilettos or safety shoes, you have the right to be where you are.” Her message to women entering technical fields is one of empowerment and solidarity. “If you see somebody’s crown falling, straighten it up and help them walk on. It’s not going to benefit anybody to put anyone else down.

Be strong, be confident, and pick yourself up when you fall down.” After more than two decades of edication, Anuka is looking forward to a new phase in her life. “I started as an ink technician working strange hours of the morning, getting called out at 2:00 in the morning. I’ve earned my stripes. It’s time for me to now give back.” Her goal is to create pathways for more women to enter the packaging field. “As it is, my lab is full of women. I want to get more women into the field. I want to give them a chance to see who they really are.”

A recent health scare forced her to reflect on balance. “I just had a hysterectomy eight weeks ago,” she says. “During her recovery, she had time to reassess her priorities. “It’s a time to think about work-life balance, about family balance. That 20 days at home showed me how much time I missed with my family. It’s time to reshuffle.” She credits her female boss for providing crucial support.

“It’s very nice to have a female boss because they understand what a woman is going through. She helped
me reflect and see how to balance my work life and my home life together.” Her advice to others is heartfelt and hard-won. “You need to stop. You need to listen to your body. You need to make time for your kids. The world is not going to stop if you are not there. Let go, teach, transfer your skill, and reflect.”

As she looks ahead, Anuka’s mission remains clear. “Ladies out there, show us who you are. Life’s about having fun. You spend more time at work than you do at home. Whatever you do, do it with a good heart, do it with good intentions. Be fair and be fierce, but do not be nasty.”