Turrim Brands is a local company serving businesses, schools and homes via its consumer labels, facility signage and name badges brands that can be found in retail outlets throughout the country. That TOWER label bought in PNA to identify your items, or the fun-filled Sandart activity for children, or the TOWER safety sign you bought from Builders for your factory, or the Badges for Africa name badge worn by school learners? Those are all manufactured and distributed by Turrim.
Owner Stephen Beattie says the business and its brands are well known in the markets they serve and have been serving since 1966 when his grandfather, uncle and father founded the company. Stephen’s father later took over the manufacturing part of the business and it was out of this entity that Stephen acquired the TOWER brand 5 years ago.
Company headquarters and the main manufacturing site is in the Capricorn Business Park in Muizenberg, with smaller factories in George and Durban with a warehouse in Johannesburg. The latter three are all rented premises, whereas the Muizenberg one became an owned property during 2024 with the help of a Business Partners Limited loan. The company employs around 100 people.
“Having our own premises gives us more flexibility and the ability to customise the factory to help our amazing team build great products that add value,” notes Stephen. “And it is an asset for the shareholders.” Importantly, the custom-fitted factory is large enough to accommodate a significant increase in turnover – and Stephen certainly plans to achieve that.
Turrim’s Sandart brand is already available in UK stores, and Stephen says that the other brands in the portfolio will expand internationally in due course. “In South Africa, we are looking at growing the established product categories and continue creating new ones.”
While the label, signage and badge market is highly competitive, it also rewards specialisation and it is understanding this that enables Stephen and his team to keep creating new categories and market segments. For instance, the company’s TOWER brand created the signage-in-retail category in Southern Africa.
“We look at our products through the eyes of our product consumers,” explains Stephen. “We know who our customers are, what their problems are, and we provide solutions to their problems – the product is incidental. We always start with the need.” It is this approach that has led to the development of a range of products that create value to a broad range of consumer market segments from office workers to teachers to home executives and children.
“Our radar is always switched on to pick up on new things. Our TOWER brand used to be aimed at office essentials that make organising a breeze however the product offering has extended beyond that,” he adds.
Stephen’s passionate team of product developers are always at the forefront of global trends and coming up with creative and innovative products for home, school and business needs. Turrim Brands continues to put the consumer at the heart of each brand and as a second-generation family-owned business the company is intertwined with over 50 years of experience and is set to continue its growth and success from one generation to the next.