Tensile Rubber Hoses: Building Local Manufacturing Through Stronger Customer Relationships

Many of the products that keep South Africa moving go unnoticed until they fail.

For Tensile Rubber Hoses, those products are the specialised rubber hoses that carry coolant, fuel, oil and water through vehicles, heavy equipment, generators and industrial machinery. When one fails, the consequences can be significant.

This week’s Future50 business, Tensile Rubber Hoses, has spent decades developing specialist manufacturing capability from its factory in Rosslyn, Gauteng. Owners Wayne Da Costa and Gideon Monyelekgau bought the business in 2014 after working their way through the company over many years, investing their pension savings to secure its future.

Today, Tensile manufactures shaped and customised rubber hoses for transport, mining, energy and industrial customers. One of its key strengths is the ability to produce shorter local production runs, helping customers avoid lengthy import lead times and excessive stock holding.

Their journey also offers an important lesson for established business owners.

Even the best product cannot grow a business if you lose touch with your customers.

Like many manufacturers, Tensile relied heavily on distributors to reach the market. When those relationships changed, customer access disappeared almost overnight. It reinforced a lesson that applies across every industry: distribution partners are valuable, but business owners must continue building direct relationships with the people who buy, specify and use their products.

This week’s Future50 Growth Tip is simple:

Own the customer relationship.

Understanding who your customers are, why they buy and how they experience your business creates resilience and opens new opportunities for growth.

Listen to the full Future50 feature on ECR, Jacaranda or Smile FM’s website to hear iWater Management’s story and discover practical lessons that apply to every growing business.