{"id":833927,"date":"2025-08-04T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=833927"},"modified":"2025-08-04T11:22:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T09:22:26","slug":"major-south-african-company-could-shut-down-exports-after-operating-for-35-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/833927\/major-south-african-company-could-shut-down-exports-after-operating-for-35-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Major South African company could shut down exports after operating for 35 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Swartland, a South African manufacturer of windows, doors, and timber products, could be forced to close its export business after 35 years of operation due to incoming US tariffs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 1951 in the small wheat-farming town of Moorreesburg, north of Cape Town, Swartland began as a hardware store run by Oupa Hanekom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the decades, it became a national business specialising in joinery and building supplies. The second generation, led by Hanekom\u2019s son Jurgens, expanded the business’s product line and ventured into the export market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the third generation, Jurie, James, and Hans Hanekom, are at the helm and continue the family legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swartland has expanded across four provinces and Namibia, with a distribution fleet of 50 trucks servicing hardware stores across sub-Saharan Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company also owns the Boskor Sawmill in the Southern Cape, which supplies FSC-certified pine timber. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a workforce of over 1,400 employees and exports to the UK and the US, Swartland has grown into one of South Africa\u2019s largest suppliers of building products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, its long-standing relationship with the US market is under threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 30% tariff would be devastating to our export operations, and makes exporting to the US no longer commercially viable,\u201d said John Lamb, Swartland\u2019s chief business development officer, told<\/a> News24. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt really is that \u2018short and sweet\u2019. With a 30% premium, we are no longer competitive with local US manufacturers and other international competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamb explained that about 25% of Swartland\u2019s total production is exported, and 70% of that goes to the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact of the new tariffs, which come into effect seven days after the signing of former US President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order, could be the end for the company\u2019s export business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swartland has been exporting to the US since 1990. This means this side of the business could be forced to close after 35 years in operation, and risk the jobs of the 350 people who work on the exports side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo mitigate 30% is virtually impossible. Most raw materials have world market price parity attached to them,\u201d Lamb said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis only leaves us the labour component that we can reduce in order to reduce costs, and that is contrary to our overall strategy of expanding our workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The governemnt needs to do more, and faster<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Swartland Group<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Swartland is one of many South African companies that have been or will be affected by the US\u2019s new trade stance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jendamark Automation, an automotive technology manufacturer based in Gqeberha, has already lost R750 million<\/a> in contracts due to the tariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago warned that the broader effects of the tariffs could be significant, with over 100,000 jobs in the agricultural and automotive sectors at risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The impact on employment and economic growth cannot be underestimated,” Kganyago cautioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa\u2019s agricultural sector is also bracing for a hit. The country\u2019s largest farm lobby said the tariffs would immediately affect the R35 billion citrus industry, which is currently in its peak picking season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, said that while diversification of export markets is important, it is no substitute for trade with the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiversification should not be viewed as a replacement for the US, but as part of the long-standing focus on export expansion and growth strategy for the South African agricultural sector,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed<\/a> that Pretoria is actively engaging with Washington. \u201cAll channels of communication remain open to engage with the US,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the government is preparing a support package for affected businesses. However, details remain vague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, experts such as Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso said the government\u2019s response needs to be urgent and concrete. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese interventions need to be put in place quickly or we risk catastrophic collapse of manufacturing and farming businesses,\u201d she warned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mavuso added that the Eastern Cape, with its dense automotive industry supply chains, is especially vulnerable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSouth Africa is in a crisis, and the government\u2019s response needs to match this reality,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Swartland, a South African manufacturer of windows, doors, and timber products, could be forced to close its export business because of the US’s 30% tariff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":833933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[15620,853,23285,23286,23118],"class_list":["post-833927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-business-leadership-south-africa","tag-south-africa","tag-swartland","tag-the-agricultural-business-chamber-of-south-africa","tag-us-tariffs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833927"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":833957,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833927\/revisions\/833957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}