MANUFACTURING
ARTISANS OF OUR JOB CREATION
“I have always been motivated by the desire to innovate cheaper, accessible and quality cleaning products for our communities while creating jobs. Batlokwa Detergents offered my co-founder and I, that opportunity” says Phehello Tsotetsi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Batlokwa Detergents.
In the farming town of Frankfort on the banks of the Wilge River in Mafube Local Municipality in Free State Province, young boys pass the time fishing and constructing steel bicycles. Nothing is extra-ordinary about that, however Phehello Tsotetsi (31), co-founder and CEO of Batlokwa Detergents has turned his calling and hobby into an emerging Manufacturing Plant – Batlokwa Detergents, which manufactures products under “Master P” brand.
Batlokwa Detergents was established in 2019 and registered in 2020, concocts forty seven (47) chemicals which they use to manufacture cleaning products such as dishwashers, car shampoos, sanitizers, bleach, bubble baths, washing powers, and many others. The company employs twenty (20) people of which five (5) work in the manufacturing plant and the rest in sales.
The road to incept Batlokwa Detergents has not been easy, it has been as hard as breaking diamonds. Although Batlokwa Detergents engages in testing their products to ensure that every aspect is manufactured as scientific as possible, Tsotetsi pronounces that “is very difficult to convince people that upcoming local brands can be of good quality and competitive as established brands.”
Batlokwa Detergents’ clientele include spaza shops, individual clients and wholesales in the Free State and aims to grow to national. Like many businesses, Batlokwa Detergents was impacted negatively by COVID 19 consequences, especially the lock-down as their door to door and walk-in services were not possible during hard lock-down levels.
Tsotetsi encourages youth to work hard and consider manufacturing as their first business option as manufacturing allows for innovation and trains minds. “Manufacturing is a vehicle that will assist us to re-build our economy, invent more South African products while creating infinite opportunities and jobs”, Tsotetsi affirms.
Batlokwa Detergents may be contacted at: 076 654 9076. Their website is under construction.
