South Africa’s polymer concrete producer: Betcrete

In the words of Marius Fourie, Managing Director and Licensor of Betcrete, the South African polymer concrete product leader, the world has only scratched the surface in terms of what can be done using polymer concrete as alternative to cement based concrete.We have already seen some new and innovative usage coming out of North America, with different products taking flight such as the growth in manufacturing carbon fibre cars and within the polymer concrete industry big plans are being made for extended growth and development. In South Africa, polymer concrete’s usage remains relatively new compared to other global hotspots, but with Betcrete and its lineup of licensees meeting demand throughout the nation and nearby Namibia and Botswana, this looks set to change.

For Betcrete, embracing the many advantages of using polymer concrete is a two-fold solution. Aside from its benefits as a material, the company is staying a step ahead the products it creates, striving to better the lives of many clients, suppliers and end-users in the process.

Why polymer concrete products?

According to Fourie, other than a couple of peers who have elected to make handrails (similar to that of Betcrete) and a couple of copycats who chose to use non-polymer concrete materials to do the same as Betcrete—but have since fallen by the wayside—the company’s real market comparisons lay in timber, steel and aluminium-based products. This is due to the innovative application of polymer concrete going on at Betcrete today.

“Polymer concrete as a market is similarly aligned to those who make baths ad wash basins. It’s similar raw materials but a totally different process,” he says.

“Over the years we have not reinvented, but added and changed and looked at a very strong research and development program. Over time we have developed a new polymer concrete which is a region-based product.”

Betcrete has also achieved A4 status for its window systems, making it suitable for all climate conditions in Africa.

Prior to taking on this new polymer concrete, Betcrete worked on concrete reinforced product lines. Now the company is involved in all manner of projects, notably in housing—a key construction industry throughout South Africa today.

“We mainly make window frames, door frames and the inserts that go with that, such as aluminium opening sections and aluminium doors. We have our own extrusions that we make these inserts from that go into the outer frames of the polymer,” Fourie explains.

“Then we also make mouldings which include garden furniture kitchen cupboard frameworks  and products such as hand railings. Recently we’ve launched railings for pedestrian bridges. We’ve done a few bridges in South Africa now with our products.”

Betcrete produces the polymer concrete frames and mouldings before delivering them to the building client who sets them in the framework of the given project. Once the main construction phase is complete, Betcrete returns and provides the inserts, such as aluminium and glass, which are more costly and a part of a project aesthetic which may be damaged if brought onsite earlier. Projects that have enjoyed Betcrete’s emphasis on quality and cost effective innovative products include the 25th project of ASLA, a company working largely on government housing projects, which will take Betcrete to 15,000 houses worked on with this client. Some years earlier, predating the company’s use of polymer concrete, Betcrete also provided 9,000 windows for a prominent Pretoria hospital. On the company growth side, Betcrete plans to open another franchise early this year.

“We now have the ninth to start up in January in Bloemfontein. It’s a smaller area of the building industry but there’s now enough market share to warrant a factory in that area too,” Fourie says.

“You cannot swallow an elephant at once, but in bite size chunks you can get a long way over time. That’s the way we’ve gone about our business here—slowly out of the blocks. We have made sure that every franchise holder or licensee is in a position to realize profits in their first year of operation. We now have nine licensees in South Africa, plus Namibia and Botswana.”

This conservative and quality-focused approach to growth runs deep throughout the company. In the case of its licensees, Betcrete ensures that each enterprise has a strong and sustainable market before they start manufacturing on their own.

“We call them licensee holders—separate little companies that have bought their licenses to manufacture from me. We have an e-based operational manual online to which they are privy,” Fourie says.

“Through that type of approach, we’ve bulked up a national network of factories, so you can find our products in various projects anywhere in South Africa. That gives us a natural stream for going into Africa now.”

Betcrete’s plans to expand geographically into Africa are good news for all involved, from potential licensees, to suppliers and clients—even to those living in disadvantaged or impoverished conditions.

A step ahead and going the extra mile

When approached about what makes Betcrete a standalone company in South Africa’s polymer concrete products and wider industry today, Fourie says that it is, without hesitation, the people working in the company.

“As a company, our goal is to build a business for the benefit of all of its employees, all of its clients and all of its suppliers. If you look at our vision, it’s to become the most preferred supplier in Africa, that’s part of our scope going forward, but as a business we’d like to maintain the integrity and the value systems we have built up and slowly grow little pockets of opportunities and excellence with each licensee that comes on board,” he explains.

“For us, it’s all about the people that work for us— we feed 850 people out of the Betcrete scenario today. Fortunately, in December we can send everyone home [for the holidays] with the prospect of coming back to a paying job in the New Year. I believe that’s very important.”

Betcrete is involved on numerous social responsibility levels throughout its locations. In the Western Cape, for example, the company works to employ people of historical disadvantage—both gender and disabilities and beyond.

“That has assisted us in really seeing where we can make a difference,” comments Fourie.

“We also have the Gabriella Centre—a responsibility geared toward a group of children who are mentally and physically disabled. We have attached ourselves to them too and we’re busy with an ongoing program of giving them sponsorships to sustain their monthly expenses.”

Betcrete also sponsors and contributes to other areas of community need, such as churches and schools, on a regular basis. Both of these actions and its overwhelming pride and respect for those it works with in industry are central to its strategic goals today.

“We’re the company that wants to make a difference to all people—whether you’re a client, supplier, user or end user—we want to make a difference to the quality of your life,” Fourie says.

With years upon years spent fine tuning, undertaking extensive research and development and growing firmly, Betcrete has become the impressive company as it stands today and the promise it holds for the future is the product of a lot of hard work. If you need a lot of polymer concrete windows produced quickly, you need Betcrete. If you are a housing contractor or developer looking to secure the products and services of a company capable of meeting any requirement, you need Betcrete. And for all of us, in and out of industry, who are looking for ethical, profitable and wholly beneficial ways to get ahead in a future growth market today, look no further.  

www.betcrete.co.za

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