One woman’s dream: Big Brand Marketing Audrey Nobrega is the sole owner of Big Brand Marketing, a toilet paper manufacturer that operates from its premises east of Johannesburg. The small business, SME, has been running for a year and is presently making inroads into the retail market. Registered as Blue Bird. Big Brand Marketing produces 1-ply and 2-ply toilet rolls. The demand is continually growing for a more economical toilet roll and this is it! It was after 8 years of sales of corporate gifts for companies in South Africa that Audrey set her mind on starting up her own business, and selling her own quality product. She was determined to forge her own way into the market. In December 2001, she decided to start a candle making business. While searching on the internet for suitable equipment, she came across a range of machines manufactured and stocked by ZHAUNS ENGINEERING & SPECIALS PROJECTS GROUP. Included in the range was a toilet paper-making machine. After visiting one of ZHAUNS showrooms’ in Killarney, she recognized a fantastic business opportunity: creating a product that caters for everyone! The first 3 months were spent starting up the business. This involved training staff to operate the machinery which consists of a converting machine and 2 band-saw cutters, and the testing of the product. ZHAUNS gave free training and installation. Retail businesses were contacted, appointments made and the product was introduced to potential clients. Six to eight people are employed on an ongoing basis. They all hail from Diepsloot squatter camp which is miles away from the business itself. Audrey finds it satisfying to have provided work for these individuals, who arrived unskilled and rapidly learnt through observation and basic training. One of the employees previously worked as a barman and has subsequently became the in-house technician since acquiring skills through observing a qualified technician. Audrey is very positive and is not discouraged by the competition provided by other toilet roll companies. She believes that when you can reach deadlines, offer a quality product and a good service, nothing can stop you from making it into the market! Her product is being marketed nationally as far as Bloemfontein, Polokwane and Nelspruit. The possibility of a broader reach is a definite long term objective of the business. YOUR BUSINESS (April/May 2004)
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 13:17:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015