Austrian specialist foam products maker Greiner Foams International (GFI) has ventured into Africa to form a partnership with the South African polyurethane foam producer Unimattress Company.
The joint enterprise is based on the Unimattress business, located 70kms north of Durban. Today, it is ranked third among national foam manufacturers with a 20% market share.
The partners say they have one main goal for the business they have renamed Unifoam (Pty) Ltd. - to create South Africa’s number one foam company.
Formed in 1997, Unimattress of Isithebe in KwaZulu-Natal province, produced 6,000 tpa of PU foam in 2011 which it converts into products including bedding mattresses. The firm currently employs 230 and recorded annual sales last year worth around €20m.
According to Kremsmünster, Austria-based GFI, Unifoam will retain Unimattress’s former sole proprietor in its executive management.
Today, only one-third of all mattresses produced in South Africa are made out of foam, according to GFI. “The foam market in South Africa has enormous growth potential. Our goal is to raise Unifoam to the number one spot in this market over the medium term,” said GFI managing director Manfred Marchgraber.
The venture partners also aim to expand Unifoam’s potential market into other sectors including automotive components and to export its production to neighbouring countries.
GFI is part of the Greiner Group which is reviewing several other projects abroad, in particular potential schemes in China, India and Brazil, according to Alex Kühner, CEO and chairman of Greiner Holding
