SWARTLAND
New Doors Opening
for Veteran Swartland Business PRODUCTION: David Napier
Building materials supply business, Swartland has been a stalwart in South African industry for almost 70 years. by utilising a diversification strategy, the company has managed to continue growing where others have found difficulty. Enterprise Africa speaks to Jurie (Chairman), James (CFO), and Hans (CEO) Hanekom, the brothers and management team at Swartland to find out more about future growth.
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In July 2018, the Hanekom brothers at the helm of the Swartland building materials supply business, told Enterprise Africa that a diversification strategy was helping to cement the company among the top names in the industry. Today, that strategy continues and Swartland is delighting its customers by offering an ever-increasing product range, distributed around the country with maximum efficiency. Founded in 1951 as a small DIY store in the town of Moorreesburg by Oupa Hanekom, diversification has been at the heart of the company’s growth for more than 68 years. In May, Swartland completed the
acquisition of Hydro Doors and Gates, a steel garage door manufacturer; and by the end of the year, Swartland will begin production at a new polystyrene factory in the Western Cape, marking further expansion into two new markets. CEO Hans Hanekom puts the company’s ongoing success down to its willingness to change and adapt. “It’s purely down to our diversification,” he says. “If we didn’t have additional products in additional product categories, and we just went with our traditional products, we would be in line with everyone else. We haven’t posted wild profit figures, but we have done better the building industry and the SA economy as a whole because of
the fact that we have diversified and our new products have plugged holes left by the economy. “Five years ago, if we had stuck with what we were doing and not invested in diversification, we would be telling a very different story now. We would be no different to any other player in the SA building industry.” Previously, he spoke about the business moving through a transition, becoming more of a distribution group rather than being recognised as solely a manufacturing company. This evolution continues as the ambitious Swartland continues to seek out growth opportunities. “Our strategy will most definitely
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