About Us
TexTTan Industries is a fiber extraction and manufacturing start-up business located at the East London Industrial Development Zone in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
Initially conceived in 2018 – but challenged though not defeated by legal prohibitions of hemp – it was founded in 2021 by M. Ayanda Bam and Dr. Claudia Beck-Reinhardt. Its mission is to decarbonise the industrial economy by developing and marketing innovative fiber-based products and services primarily to the agriculture, construction, composites, plastics, and clothing and apparel industries.
TexTTan draws extensive expertise from R&D in the materials sciences, agro-processing, textiles, financial services, and engineering as well as more than 100 years of combined team experience in the industrial economy across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. We combine indigenous knowledge with cutting-edge science and innovation to produce high-quality fiber-based products for local, regional, and international markets. We aim to offer hemp-based products across 3 primary segments: (i) non-woven and woven technical textiles, (ii) natural fiber reinforced/ bioplastics, and (iII) animal husbandry. In future, we will also offer hemp (and flax) fiber extraction (decortication) services to help farmers derive greater value from their cultivation.
We distinguish ourselves by being a sustainable-first business driven by a commercial circular-economy business model. From ethically and responsibly sourcing low-carbon raw materials, adopting energy-efficient processing and manufacturing technology, and in future supplying 100% of our power needs from our waste materials. Sustainability is at the core of our DNA. We pride ourselves on being a trusted partner as demonstrated by our strong strategic cooperation, and we believe that no business can succeed without investing in mutually beneficial relationships with people – be it our employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, or communities we work in.
What we are solving
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A reduction of anthropogenic greenhouse emissions that have wreaked havoc on businesses and communities, leveraging the opportunity that natural fibres play in contributing to the move towards a decarbonised and productive global economy.
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A lack of local African capabilities (skills and infrastructure) in decarbonised industrial processing and manufacturing – leveraging local advantages and strategic international partnerships – limiting competitiveness in the global market.
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The revitalisation of the textiles industry in South Africa, particularly the Eastern Cape province that has a long history of being a national textiles hub and while it possesses many of the requisite ingredients, these have been decimated over the last 20 years.
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Significant, unmet and growing demand for new high quality, low-carbon product and process development and innovations to replace synthetics, petroleum-based, and other CO2-intensive materials across industries such as construction, textiles, mobility, and energy.
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Whole-plant innovation, transforming every part of crops – including their and residual agricultural wastes (which can account for 40% of total biomass) into high-value, high-performing products across multiple industry verticals while offering farmers multiple streams of revenue.
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Local industrialisation efforts linked to regional and global markets to contribute to our country’s economic development and growth objectives including reindustrialisation, private sector investment, capacity development, and job creation.
What we stand for
Our Purpose
Our mission is to transform and decarbonise the industrial economy for a prosperous and resilient future. We leverage science and indigenous knowledge to solve complex industrial challenges and bring cutting-edge natural fiber and textiles-based innovations from Africa to the world and from the globe to our backyard. Our vision is to be the African leader in fiber and textiles innovation, competing on the global stage and capturing market share.
Our Values
Robust Learning
We believe in investing in scientific research, learning, and development to offer world class products and to continuously improve the quality, performance, efficiency, and competitiveness of our offerings.
Trusted Partnerships
We believe in developing and constantly nurturing trusted, respectful and collaborative partnership with people (employees, shareholders, customers, communities) without whom our business could not exist.
Sustainability as Innovation
We believe in respecting and conserving our home, and we see environmental sustainability not as a challenge but rather as an opportunity for innovation and disruption that creates prosperity while protecting the planet.
