Caravelle Carpets, said to be the largest automotive overlay carpet maker in Southern Africa, has re-established its operations in South Africa following a R10-million investment in Vereeniging.

Caravelle Carpets, said to be the largest automotive overlay carpet maker in Southern Africa, has re-established its operations in South Africa following a R10-million investment in Vereeniging.


According to a report, the car mat business has grown about 150 per cent in the past four years. The factory, which produces about 200 000 car mat sets a year, was moved to Botswana several years ago, mainly due to labour problems in South Africa.


However, Caravelle Carpets chairman Gary Immelman, who bought the Botswana factory four years ago, says the move back to South Africa was prompted by rising road transport costs and the factory’s remote location from ports and local clients.


Caravelle, which supplies mats to BMW and Volkswagen in SA, is set to expand its export programme. More than half of its production is exported to regions such as the Far East and Caravelle was looking to expand in Europe and Australia.


The company's re-entry into SA could lead to further investment as it is involved with large carpet makers in efforts to develop input products, added Immelman.

Original article from Car