Eddie Visser who started his now successful business literally began with just one truck, a chair and a desk under a tree. Picture: Hein Kaiser
Travelling along the extended Beyers Naude Drive, the road from Johannesburg to Muldersdrift, it’s impossible to miss Edan Traders. It’s the spot where a load of trucks are lined up for sale or rent.
It is a landmark that has been there for decades and it sticks in your mind after a few trips. Next to Edan Traders’ entrance there’s a narrow tarred road that becomes a dirt road.
And behind the trucking mecca, Bosheuwel Estate’s gates open to a rustic, sunset-romantic wedding, couples weekend retreat and family chill-out venue. It’s a bit hidden away, a bit bushveld and a bit of simply gorgeous in a barefoot kind of way.
There’s a quiet confidence about the venue. It is super nice, just like the proprietor of both Edan Traders and the venue Eddie Visser, who recently clocked his 69th birthday.
Visser’s a hands-on kind of guy and Bosheuwel Estate is his labour of love. Edan Traders, roadside, is the business that’s made everything possible.
“I started the company 40 years ago under a tree,” Visser said.
It literally began with just one truck, a chair and a desk under a tree.
“When the guy from Telkom came to install the phone, I told him to hammer the line into the tree. That’s where I set up my office – two petrol drums and an old door as a desk.”
At the end of a day’s work, he’d take his phone home with him and plug it in again the next morning when he got back to the tree.
“We started with transport, and then we ventured into buying and selling trucks. Later, we added financing, insuring and maintaining them.
“Now we’ve got a rental division with about 400 trailers and most of them are out on the road every day,” he said.
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Since starting four decades ago, Edan Traders eventually moved out from under the tree to premises in Wynberg and later to its home in Muldersdrift.
Over time he bought up some farms around the area. Bosheuwel Estate was one of the properties.
“We bought the farm when it came up for auction. It needed a lot of work, but over the years we’ve transformed it,” he said.
The old farmhouse was turned into a wedding venue, a restaurant and a bar. Visser then built some cottages for overnight stays and his vision includes an eventual residential estate to be constructed close by.
“People love it here because it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere, but you’re just 30 minutes from the city.
“We had a couple here who had been married for 28 years and they stayed in the honeymoon suite. They loved it so much that the husband even talked about investing in cattle after visiting ours,” he said.
Visser keeps several head of cattle, another of his hobbies.
The huge difference between trucking and hospitality may seem unusual, but Visser sees it as nothing unusual.
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“It’s something different. The farm is more of a hobby for me, something to take my mind off the day-to-day work at Edan Traders,” he said.
Yet what started as a sideline project has grown into a bustling business with weddings, functions and getaways keeping Bosheuwel Estate booked for months ahead.
Visser said he had no retirement plans yet.
“I’ve thought about it, but if you retire you’re just waiting to go,” he said. “I’ll keep going as long as I can. I’ve got great staff, and they’re younger than me, so they’ll carry on when I can’t.”
And he loves his staff.
“I’ve got staff who’ve worked for me for 20, 30 years. One of them has been with me for 28 years. We’re like a family,” he said.
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This family atmosphere extends beyond just the staff, it also influences how the businesses operate.
“We’ve got a real esprit de corps here. If something goes wrong, we sit down and sort it out together. It’s not all about me; everyone has a say and we work through things as a team.”
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Visser said that success is possible for anyone willing to put in the sweat.
“Anyone can create success,” he said. “It just takes one step forward and despite setbacks and challenges along the way, it just takes grit to overcome them. It takes faith and a relentless pursuit of success.”
His greatest wish is that younger people would realise the potential they hold to achieve anything they want to and actively pursue positive outcomes in their lives.
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