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Mathe Group Wins REDISA Recognition Award
Mathe Group Wins REDISA Recognition Award
Dr Mehran Zarrebini, head of British investment group PFE International which is part of a joint venture with the Mathe Group and also owns Van Dyck Carpets, received the reward in Johannesburg. He said that this was a completely unexpected and much valued acknowledgement of all the work that the Mathe Group and its dedicated employees had done to establish a sustainable business.
This is the first time that the awards have been presented by Redisa. REDISA was created in 2012 as an independent body to oversee and facilitate the recycling of the more than 60 million used tyres that have built up in South Africa over the years.
It supports and promotes tyre recycling, providing the collection and depot infrastructure required to collect waste tyres from across the entire country and deliver them to approved recyclers. This is funded via a waste management fee on new rubber charged to manufacturers and importers.
Dr Zarrebini said that the Mathe Group had been working with REDISA since September 2014.
"REDISA has enabled us to focus on our core strength which is the manufacturing of rubber crumb. Prior to being registered with the organization, we had to source and collect tyres from various locations in KwaZulu-Natal. This was very costly and we were unable to secure a steady raw material supply. Since we started working with REDISA, this problem has been eliminated and we can concentrate on manufacturing as well as on developing new and existing customers," he said.
Dr Zarrebini said the growth of the Mathe Group was a true success story. When the joint venture was formed last year, the company employed 12 people. This has since more than doubled to 29 as the small, original operation is now operating 7 days a week for 24 hours at full capacity.
He pointed out that, as recycling of waste tyres for use in secondary products was relatively new in South Africa, it was necessary to develop skills in this area.