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LOCAL MANUFACTURING
follow the same process again this is how he made his
cashflow work until the company was able to build up
some credit and move forward.
Other challenges have been figuring out the sourcing of
the correct consumables to produce their product as well
as companies that can service their quantity needs.
WHAT MAKES THE COMPANY DIFFERENT
“We have the coolest logo” Vorster laughs, but on a
serious note the company is different because they have
the skillset and knowledge to manufacture and advise
on a variety of different size and design grease traps,
which is a unique element of their offering. “Passion is the
major driver of business which so many other companies
don’t understand because they are only driven by their
revenues,” Vorster says.
The company produces
a variety of grease traps,
floor drains and floor
channels.
requires, and make it affordable to local markets. Since
then, the company has experienced a growth rate of more
than 200% per annum and currently employs more than
200 people in various business divisions nationally
WANDERING THROUGH THE DESERT
Building the company came with many challenges, and
the story here is not the typical one where everything just
fell into place. “I come from Boksburg North, I had a lot of
serious personal issues in my younger years and I never
completed my schooling, which was a life challenge in
itself, but, I just ran with this and I have been blessed with
opportunities,” says Vorster. “I’m also very open that I’m
a very religious person and truly believe that God has
seen to me and all the people that are employed at
Grease Traps.
“Breaking into a 30-year monopolised market as a
newbie was a massive business challenge. Walking into
a supplier’s offices or engineering firm and introducing
yourself when all they have known are your competitors
for decades was extremely difficult, and it took a lot of
humility, patience and perseverance to keep on going,”
he says.
Financing was the original major challenge because
banks don’t lend money easily to people who have
nothing or very little, and because the business was too
new to have a credit record. Vorster, using his clever
thinking, went to an electronics retailer, opened an
account and bought two TVs, two microwaves and two
sound systems on credit. He then took these to the local
pawn shop and then they would give him 40% of the
value. With this cash he was able to run the business.
When he got paid, he would go and pay back the loan
at the pawn shop. When he got another order, he would
July 2019 Volume 25 I Number 5
Being in the cleaning industry first and having cleaned all
competitor grease traps, and analysing their design, they
have been able to establish which grease traps work the
best. This also has afforded the company the data to be
able to professionally advise on what designs suit each
industry, as well as what the correct size should be for
the application. Now designers or engineers don’t have
to guess if what they specify will work or not as Grease
Traps readily has information available on this.
On a manufacturing base the company has the largest
footprint on a national level having their own branches
that stock their locally manufactured products. They
also have a national sales team that calls on all their
customers. The company doesn’t just make grease traps,
they also make floor drains and floor channels that are
supplied to hospitals, as well as channels that surround
cooking areas and areas where clients have their pot
wash basins. Other companies in this market also only
manufacture, they don’t have the value-add of grease
trap and pipe cleaning, or the consulting capability of the
Grease Traps team.
The company strives to give a corporate service with a
personal touch and focuses on a market that they believe
their competitors haven’t touched for decades: the walk-
in plumbers who are looking for a grease trap for a small
installation or maintenance. Most importantly, according
to Vorster, the company has achieved in six years what
other companies in the market have taken decades to
get right.
Grease Traps sees itself as a green company in that
they not only produce quality products, but take care
of the environment by removing substances that would
otherwise negatively impact it through FOG, that typically
suffocate various elements of nature. Going green needs
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