October 2012 - Trademax Publications

news
According to Dr Kerrin Myres, a member of the 2012
Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year®
judging panel, Envirodeck stood out amongst the other
finalists for many reasons. “Warren is riding the wave of
the green movement in South Africa, something that only a
handful of entrepreneurs are doing right now. Using a high
quality raw material, he creates original outdoor products
with flair and great design. Envirodeck is a business with a
great future.”
Warren Graver has a passion for products that fulfil
demands for energy saving and recycled sustainability and
his business incorporates this into all products sold.
Envirodeck is focused on adding value throughout the
supply chain, whilst supporting local eco-systems and
focusing operations on sustainability. Envirodeck has
partnered with Carbonworx working towards afforestation
rather than deforestation of natural habitats. To celebrate
Arbour month in September, Envirodeck planted 100 trees
in Umtata, Eastern Cape, providing jobs for local people,
whilst offsetting carbon emissions.
Envirodeck’s green credentials speak for themselves
through its exclusive African partnership with Advanced
Environmental Recycling Technologies (AERT) in the USA.
AERT is a leading global plastics recycling company with a
proven track record and all product is manufactured using
95% recycled content. With a composition of fifty percent
wood fibre and fifty percent plastic this is a product that
saves money and time by not having to maintain the
product whilst protecting our fragile eco systems.
In fact, Envirodeck is the only African supplier of a product
which is completely waterproof and kiln dried, like timber
decking, making installation hassle free. A 16m2 deck
saves approximately 280kgs of CO 2 and 360l of fuel. It’s
also great knowing that over 900 grocery bags that would
otherwise find themselves in landfill sites are required to
make just one board.
Envirodeck’s growth has been phenomenal with over tenfold
growth in the last three years. Graver attributes this
success to providing high performance decking that sets
itself apart from the competition. The biggest challenge to
this innovative industry is providing a product that
performs well and that also looks attractive. Creating a
consistently high quality decking product through
inconsistent raw materials remains the industry’s biggest
challenge and Envirodeck has been able to successfully
bridge this gap. Envirodeck will continue to actively
educate the specifying market as to performance benefits
of composite materials over traditional timber and for the
industry to understand the performance differences
between competing composite products in the industry.
Warren Graver’s passion for the industry and
diversification into other product lines will provide
increased revenue for the business, whilst the demand for
sustainable green building products continues to show
strong growth in South Africa.
For further information on this award winning business,
visit www.envirodeck.co.za.
Small Business Entrepreneur
Winner 2012
// OCTOBER 2012 33