What we do …
Cape Town based Oriental Bamboo supplies “Truly Green” (FSC & ISO 14001 certified), eco-friendly & verified top quality (CE and ISO 9001 Certified) strand woven & bamboo flooring, outdoor bamboo decking, bamboo panels and bamboo boards to the trade in South Africa and sub Saharan Africa.
If you’re simply looking for a place to start browsing this web site, we suggest you start on this page.
How we got here …
Chinese “hinterland” with bamboo forests in the background
On a sourcing trip to China in 2005, we were shown a few samples of Bamboo flooring. We had never seen anything like it in SA before and were intrigued at the potential for the South African market. So we visited a number of factories to see how the product is made and to learn more about the product. This was the beginning of Oriental Bamboo.
It was really tough in the early days, nobody had heard about bamboo flooring, panels or boards, and the common response was a scrunched up face with a big question mark above the head. Most struggled to envision anything other than the round bamboo poles tied together. We spent a lot of time educating prospects about bamboo, and slowly the efforts paid off as people started recognising the benefits of bamboo flooring, panels & boards. The efforts of those early days competitors such as EcoStrong have also helped to pave the way (and well done to them).<irc=”https://www.oriental-bamboo.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/four-year-old-bamboo-300×225.jpg” alt=”Visiting the bamboo forests – Four year old bamboo tree” width=”300″ height=”225″ class=”alignright size-medium wp-image-708″ />
Over the years we have returned to Asia many times, each time visiting more factories, learning more about the product:
- What works when using bamboo in real world applications, what doesn’t.
- What makes for a quality bamboo product, and what doesn’t.
- Is bamboo really as “green” as everybody says?
- Can I use bamboo boards and flooring in a commercial setting?
- Where can I use bamboo flooring, panels or boards?
- Is bamboo really as hard as advertised?
- What about water exposure and warranties?
- What should I be looking out for when specifying bamboo products?
- How much does it cost – it looks so expensive?
This is an example of a low qaulity factory – this machine creates the T&G profile
Our initial drive was for quality – after visiting some of the lower grade factories – we pushed hard to find top quality factories that we could work with. Factories that would actually partner with us – we are not simply traders, and not just supply product (and forget how to speak English when there were issues on the table). As we secured the quality side, we started looking at the green aspects, and discovered that true greenness & a commitment to quality are natural friends.
We’ve made mistakes (some that cost a lot) and also learned a lot from our clients. They’ve given us feedback on our service, range, product dimensions, the things that really work “out there” and the things that don’t. We’ve used this information, modified our strategies, tweaked our business model, gone back to the factories, worked with them to tailor our products to fit in with our unique African expectations and requirements. We’re always listening, and then tweaking if necessary.
Drop us a line, ask your questions, tell us what you think. We’ll do our best to give you the facts:- minus the marketing or sales hype. So whether you are “just looking”, seriously considering, have specified or have installed, we are keen to hear from you, good or bad.
What makes us keep doing this?
Whilst we’re out there plying our trade, there are heroes in the trenches – we honour you – and will continue to support you in whatever way we can …
- Bosom Buddies
- Thembalitsha Foundation
- Nial Mellon Townships Initiative
- African Children’s Choir
- Mission Link International