AfriTan Tannery

AfriTan tannery was established in 2002 by Craig van Heerden. It started in a farm shed in Dundee, northern K.Z.N.

AfriTan specializes in the tanning of Nguni hides, sheepskins and game skins. The tannery employs 25 people that take pride in what they do. Craig qualified in tanning of game skins and hair-on hides at the International School of Tanning Technology.

In November 2009 Hanno van den Berg joined AfriTan. Hanno qualified at the School of Tanning Technology and has 7 years of previous tanning experience from one of the leading tanneries in the country .

Due to demand AfriTan has become largely mechanized. This has improved the quality of the hides and the quantity of hides tanned. The tannery is currently tanning 800 Nguni hides and 2000 springbuck skins a month. The tannery has the capacity to tan 3600 Nguni hides a month.

All our Nguni hides that are marketed have a stamp on them, this being our brand mark , stating that in our never ending pursuit of quality, sustainability and reliability the customer is assured of the best. The stamp also reassures customers that what they are buying is genuinely Nguni and not the hides imported from South America (the Texas long horn breed).

Nguni hides are an assortment of rich colours and patterns. The more dominant colours being black, white, brown and in less common instances, a combination of all three or dun (also known as yellow). Each of the varying hide's patterns has a name closely associated to an animal, bird, plant or other natural wonder. Although it is not necessarily limited to this natural association for example, on the odd occasion, a beast may be described by the pattern of the hide itself.

Nguni hides are highly functional and are mostly used as “rugs” in homes and furniture coverings as they are both decorative and warm. In more recent times, hides have been used as cushion covers, handbags as well as in other household items.