What Rolfes Holdings does

Rolfes Holdings Limited is a privately held South African specialty chemicals group operating through five wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: Rolfes Agri (and Absolute Science), Bragan Ingredients, Rolfes Chemicals, Rolfes Leather, and Rolfes Water. The company manufactures and distributes a diverse range of chemical and organic products to industrial and agricultural customers across South Africa, with end-markets spanning crop farming, food and beverage manufacturing, industrial chemicals, leather tanning, and industrial water treatment. Bragan Ingredients is described as a market leader in the food-ingredients sector, sourcing 80% of revenue from bulk importation of raw materials for distribution to large food manufacturers; Rolfes Leather holds significant market share in SA leather-tanning chemicals; and Rolfes Water offers tailormade water-treatment chemistries bundled with engineering services via equipment partners.

The group is institutionally backed by Phatisa (2020 funding round) and is displayed as a member of the Solevo Group on its corporate website. It operates a national distribution footprint through four certified Bragan Ingredients branches (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth) plus operational sites in Germiston and Jet Park, with the group head office in Waltloo, Pretoria. Each division runs semi-autonomously with its own managing director under Country Managing Director Lerato Pule. The group holds BBBEE compliance, ISO 9001:2015 across Bragan Ingredients, and SANAS ISO 17025 laboratory accreditation via Absolute Science. GTM is sales-led and direct, with no disclosed pricing model, no public revenue figures, and an enterprise customer base across regulated industrial verticals.

Name

Rolfes Holdings

Legal name

Rolfes Holdings Limited

Website

http://www.rolfesza.net/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Rolfes Holdings is a privately held South African specialty chemicals group that manufactures and distributes chemical and organic products through five divisions serving agriculture, food ingredients, industrial chemicals, leather tanning, and water treatment customers nationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Chemicals Manufacturing and Distribution

NAICS

Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (3253), Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers (4246), Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860)

akta.pro primary industry

Food-Grade Additives & Functional Ingredients Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Antimicrobial & Sanitization Chemicals for Crop Production (Greenhouse/Packhouse) (AFABAAAO)

Keywords

• Industrial chemicals manufacturing
• Agricultural chemical solutions
• Food ingredients distribution
• Water treatment chemicals
• Leather tanning chemicals

Headquarters

HQ city

Gauteng

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Chemical Manufacturing and Distribution: Manufacturing and distribution of diverse range of high-quality chemical and organic products across five divisions: Agriculture, Food, Industrial Chemicals, Leather, and Water.
2. Food Ingredients Import and Distribution: Market leader in food ingredients sector importing and distributing food additives and preservatives. 80% of revenue generated from importing raw materials in bulk and distributing to large food manufacturers.
3. Agricultural Products: Develops, manufactures and distributes products for general plant, root and soil health. 71% of products targeted at high value crops, 29% on low value-high value crops.
4. Water Treatment Solutions: Water treatment solutions including total water and risk management, boiler water treatment, influent and effluent, engineering services, cooling water treatment and commodity chemicals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Rolfes Holdings manufactures and distributes a diverse range of high-quality chemical and organic products through five specialized divisions: Agriculture (crop farming, plant and soil health solutions), Food (food additives and preservatives), Industrial Chemicals (solvents, surfactants, thinners, waxes), Leather (tanning chemicals and technical solutions), and Water (boiler, cooling, influent and effluent treatment chemicals). Its food ingredients subsidiary Bragan Ingredients imports and distributes raw materials to large food manufacturers, while its Absolute Science subsidiary provides SANAS ISO 17025 accredited analytical laboratory services.

Product overview

Rolfes Holdings is a leading empowered chemical specialist provider operating through five distinct divisions: Agriculture (Rolfes Agri, Absolute Science), Food (Bragan Ingredients), Industrial Chemicals (Rolfes Chemicals), Leather (Rolfes Leather), and Water (Rolfes Water). The company manufactures and distributes high-quality chemical and organic products to various industries, offering specialized solutions for agricultural applications, food ingredients and additives, industrial chemicals and solvents, leather tanning, and water treatment. Each division operates as a semi-autonomous business unit with its own managing director and product portfolio, unified under the Rolfes Holdings umbrella.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rolfes Agri (Pty) Ltd Develops, manufactures and distributes products for general plant, root and soil health including chemical and organic crop farming solutions, plant nutrition, agricultural remedies, and water quality improvement products; emphasises high-value crops and organically certified solutions.
• Absolute Science (Pty) Ltd SANAS ISO 17025 accredited laboratory providing pesticide residue analysis, chemical and physical analysis of technical materials and formulations, and 5 Batch Analysis for the Rolfes Group and external clients.
• Bragan Ingredients (Pty) Ltd Major South African supplier of raw materials importing and distributing food additives, preservatives, and ingredients for food, beverage, bakery, dairy, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries; ISO 9001:2015 certified across all branches with operations in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth.
• Rolfes Chemicals (Pty) Ltd Provides an extensive range of solution-focused, compliant industrial chemicals and services including solvents, cleaning solvents, surfactants, creosotes, thinners, lacquer, and waxes.
• Rolfes Leather (Pty) Ltd Supplier of leather tanning chemicals and technical solutions to the South African tanning industry, holding significant domestic market share.
• Rolfes Water (Pty) Ltd Offers a wide range of water treatment solutions tailored to industrial applications including total water and risk management, boiler water treatment, influent and effluent management, cooling water treatment, engineering services, and commodity chemicals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% of revenue from importing raw materials in bulk and distributing to large food manufacturers
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Strategic Equipment PartnerscoreOthersRolfes Water has strategic equipment partners aligned to provide full design, service and repair capabilities for water treatment solutions.
• Bragan Ingredients (Pty) LtdcoreOthersBragan Ingredients is a subsidiary company of the Rolfes Group and a major supplier of raw materials in South Africa, importing and distributing ingredients across food, beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, industrial and agricultural markets.
• Rolfes Agri (Pty) LtdcoreOthersRolfes Agri is a South African based company and subsidiary focusing on development and manufacturing of high-quality agricultural products for both local and international markets.
• Absolute Science (Pty) LtdminorOthersAbsolute Science is dedicated to provide highest quality analytical data, dependable, ethical, accurate and independent. SANAS ISO 17025 accredited laboratory providing pesticide residue testing and chemical analysis.
• Rolfes Chemicals (Pty) LtdcoreOthersRolfes Chemicals is a subsidiary providing extensive range of solution-focused compliant industrial chemical products and services.
• Rolfes Leather (Pty) LtdcoreOthersRolfes Leather is a subsidiary and leather tanning chemicals and technical solutions supplier for the tanning industry with significant market share in South Africa.
• Rolfes Water (Pty) LtdcoreOthersRolfes Water is a subsidiary offering wide range of water treatment solutions tailormade to suit any industrial application.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bragan Ingredients (no separate corporate peer): Bragan Ingredients is a Rolfes subsidiary, not a separate peer.
• Tate & Lyle plc: Global food ingredient solutions provider serving food and beverage manufacturers with specialty ingredients. Directly comparable to Rolfes' food ingredient import and distribution model serving large food manufacturers.
• Omnia Holdings: JSE-listed SA specialty chemicals and fertilizers group with agriculture, mining, and industrial chemical exposure. Directly comparable to Rolfes' agricultural inputs and industrial chemicals divisions in the same end markets.
• AECI Limited: South Africa's largest listed diversified chemicals and explosives group, operating across similar specialty chemical, agricultural, and water treatment verticals with comparable divisional structure. Most directly comparable peer given shared SA footprint and multi-vertical chemical platform.
• Solevo Group: Pan-African specialty chemicals distributor of which Rolfes is a member. Operates the same model of distributing specialty chemicals, water treatment, and food ingredients across multiple African geographies and shares principals, procurement leverage, and a similar customer base.
• Ingredion Incorporated: Global food ingredient manufacturer and distributor serving bakery, beverage, dairy and savory customers. Directly comparable to Rolfes' Bragan Ingredients food additives and preservatives business in product category and customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Brenntag SE: World's largest chemical distributor with broad food, industrial, water treatment, and agricultural portfolios. Comparable to Rolfes Chemicals and Rolfes Water divisions' distribution-and-blending model.
• Univar Solutions: Global chemical and ingredient distributor serving industrial, food, and water treatment customers. Comparable to multiple Rolfes divisions in distribution model, customer overlap, and product breadth.
• ICL Group: Global specialty minerals and chemicals company with fertilizer, agricultural, and food ingredient exposure. Comparable in agricultural inputs and food-grade specialty chemicals product mix.
• IMCD N.V. Global specialty chemicals and ingredients distributor operating across food, personal care, pharma, and industrial markets. Comparable business model to Bragan Ingredients as a value-add distributor with deep principal relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rolfes-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rolfes Holdings