Claytile – The Company

SABS 227: Burnt Clay Masonry Units certificate… download

The de la Hunt family has been making clay bricks near Stellenbosch in the Western Cape for over 50 years. Pioneered by Garnet de la Hunt, Joostenberg Brick began supplying the local building industry with quality clay bricks in 1970. His son Julian came on board in 1987 to establish a second factory at a site nearby, which not only produced clay bricks, but various other clay masonry products such as quarry tiles. Currently the predominant focus is clay brick production. The Group is, however, well positioned to develop additional clay masonry products to meet the diverse requirements of the Western Cape building and construction industry and to help address the housing crisis in impoverished communities.

The Heavy Clay Products Group

The Heavy Clay Products Group is the largest independent producer of clay building bricks in the Western Cape, with a present production capacity of around 12 million bricks per month. It supplies a variety of customers and projects; from commercial and industrial buildings, schools, police stations and hospitals to residential properties. The Group is focused not only on existing markets, but is particularly interested in the low income housing arena, which faces significant challenges including capacity, quality of workmanship and building materials, and financial constraints. The Group is committed to working together with Government, Business and Communities to make a significant contribution to reducing the huge housing deficit.

The Factory

The factory is a modern, automated plant with reliable and consistent production of high quality bricks throughout the year. This is critical in the Western Cape as bricks made according to the old method of clamp firing (outdoor ovens), are vulnerable to rain in winter which may affect both quality and production. Eight years ago the Group invested a large capital sum in building this factory to ensure continuity of quality and supply.