The Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt (usually abbreviated to KWV) was a winemaking co-operative founded on 8 January 1918 by wine makers from the Western Cape in South Africa. It was converted from its co-operative status into KWV Ltd on 2 December 2002. The name is Dutch for "Co-operative Winemakers' Society of South Africa Ltd" (The Afrikaans would be "Koöperatiewe Wynbouersvereniging van Suid-Afrika Bpk"). Prime Minister Jan Smuts was a strong supporter of the initiative and was responsible for getting it through Parliament. Until the early 1990s, KWV controlled the majority of the wine business. After the end of apartheid in 1994, wine exports increased and surpluses disappeared. Today KWV is a large brandy producer. For many decades, KWV products were exported in toto and could not be purchased locally in South Africa (with rare exceptions. For example, a batch of old fortified wine was released locally in the 1970s as a gesture to the public and was bought up within days). This situation changed in 2004, when the first generally-available brands were launched on the local market. In 2005, several of the remaining brands were launched on the local retail market. In 2004, KWV Limited entered into an agreement with Phetogo Investments, a black economic empowerment consortium, whereby the latter would purchase 25.1% of KWV Limited shares. As of 2005, this has been the largest empowerment transaction in the South African wine industry. The KWV Headquarters and main production complex are situated in the Cape Winelands in Paarl.