Brothers doing it for themselves

Jonganolo Manufacturing is the name of the business and embroidering is their trade, embroidering anything from golf T-shirts to caps and jerseys.

After receiving funding in 2012 to start their business, the two brothers purchased a four-head embroidery machine.

The brothers say they saw a market for the business in the community, which has schools, social clubs and designers who need the service.

“There is a lot of printing done and people forgot about embroidery, hence we jumped at the opportunity to render the service,” says Moeketsi.

He further explains that embroidery is cheaper and quicker to do as opposed to printing.

Mahlabane, whose role is mainly to digitise client’s logos through a software that will enable the machine to embroider the logo as per specification, says the process is neither time consuming nor difficult.

Speaking of the challenges they face, he says sometimes the demand is overwhelming, pushing them to work overtime to ensure they meet customers orders.

“One average we embroider 200 or more items a day and with just the two of us, it gets too much,” he says.

On the other hand they also have a sewing business, where they employ four seamstresses who make anything from T-shirts to jackets.

“Sometimes we get clients who opt for us to make the item of clothing and embroider it for them, so that’s when our seamstresses help in the business.

“Business opportunities are endless in the industry – recently we embroidered T-shirts for unions and we are busy with jerseys for a local school,” says Moeketsi.

Moeketsi and Mahlabane say they enjoy what they do because they bring life to people’s ideas.

The two have big plans for their business, adding that they want to move into a more industrial space and purchase more machinery in order to increase their production level.