What Clotan Steel does

Clotan Steel (Pty) Limited is a privately owned South African manufacturer of steel roof sheeting, cold formed sections, and slit strip, operating from modern premises in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng since 1983. The company produces a comprehensive portfolio of roofing profiles including IBR, Corrugated, Widespan, C-Tile, SeamTech, and the proprietary Craft-Lock® concealed fix roofing system rated to withstand wind loads up to 280 km/h. Supporting product lines include Voidcon permanent formwork, lipped channels and purlins, light steel frames, flashings and rainwater goods, solar fixing systems, and processing services such as slitting, precision cut-to-length with camber correction, bullnosing, cranking, and curving.

The company's underlying technology centers on cold formed steel roll forming using state-of-the-art slitting and roll forming equipment, with a distinctive capital asset base of six containerised mobile roll formers stationed across Africa that enable on-site manufacturing of roof sheets and flashings at remote project locations. Pre-painted steel products from Arcelor Mittal, Bluescope Steel, and Saffal Steel extend the offering to include Chromadek, Colorbond, Colorplus, and Aluminium finishes.

Clotan Steel's business model is built on custom, quote-based pricing per project, with direct sales to construction companies, building contractors, roofing companies, and project developers. The company generates revenue from one-time product sales (roofing and structural products), professional services (slitting, on-site manufacturing, solar PV installation), and hardware distribution of pre-painted steel coils. Customer segments span industrial, commercial, residential, religious and educational, and agricultural end markets across more than 15 African countries plus Panama, supported by a technical services layer covering design assistance, CAD material take-offs, and site visits.

Name

Clotan Steel

Legal name

Clotan Steel (Pty) Limited

Website

https://clotansteel.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Clotan Steel is a privately owned South African steel manufacturer producing roof sheeting, cold formed sections, and structural products including the proprietary Craft-Lock® concealed fix roofing system, serving construction, industrial, and commercial customers across 15+ African countries via direct sales and mobile on-site manufacturing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Steel Roofing and Building Products

NAICS

Custom Roll Forming (332114), Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing (332322)

SIC

Sheet Metal Work (3444)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Roofing Systems (IMADAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cold-Formed Steel Framing & Studs (IMADACAF), Flashing, Edge Metal & Roof Accessories (IMADAFAJ), Coated & Plated Steel (Galvanized, Galvalume, Tinplate, Electrogalvanized, Color-Coated) (IMAKABAG)

Keywords

• Steel roof sheeting
• Cold formed sections
• Concealed fix roofing
• Metal building products
• Roll forming services

Headquarters

HQ city

Gauteng

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Steel Roofing Products: Sale of manufactured steel roof sheeting products including IBR, Corrugated, Widespan, and C-Tile profiles, as well as concealed fix roofing (Craft-Lock). These are sold as one-time product purchases with pricing based on specifications, dimensions, and material finish.
2. Cold Formed Sections: Sale of cold formed lipped channel, lipped angle, and purlins manufactured to customer exact requirements. Revenue generated from custom fabrication to specifications.
3. Slitting Services: Slit strip and coil slitting services for processing steel coils to customer requirements.
4. Pre-Painted Steel Products: Sale of pre-painted steel coils and products from manufacturers including Arcelor Mittal, Bluescope Steel, and Saffal Steel. Includes Chromadek, Colorbond, Colorplus, and Aluminium products.
5. Solar System Installation: Commercial and industrial solar/PV system design and installation services, working in collaboration with partners in the photovoltaic manufacturing business.
6. On-Site Manufacturing Services: Mobile roll forming services where equipment is transported to project sites for on-site manufacturing of roof sheets, flashings, and other components.
7. Roofing Accessories and Services: Bullnosing, cranking, and curving of roof sheets; flashings and rainwater goods (gutters and downpipes).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Clotan Steel manufactures a complete range of steel roof sheeting profiles (IBR, Corrugated, Widespan, C-Tile, Craft-Lock concealed fix, SeamTech), cold formed structural sections (lipped channels, lipped angles, purlins), pre-painted steel products (Chromadek, Colorbond, Colorplus, Aluminium), permanent formwork (Voidcon), light steel frames, roofing accessories (flashings, rainwater goods), and solar fixing systems. The company also provides processing services including slitting, bullnosing/cranking/curving, and on-site mobile roll forming at project locations across Africa.

Product overview

Clotan Steel is a privately owned manufacturer of roof sheeting, cold formed sections and slit strip operating from Vanderbijlpark since 1983. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of steel building products organized around roofing systems (IBR, Corrugated, Widespan, C-Tile, Craft-Lock concealed fix, and SeamTech profiles), structural products (Voidcon permanent formwork, Lipped Channel/Purlins, Light Steel Frames), accessories (Flashings & Rainwater Goods, Solar Fixing Systems), and processing services (Slitting, Bullnosing/Cranking/Curving, On-Site Mobile Production). The product ecosystem centers on steel roofing and structural solutions for industrial, commercial, residential, and agricultural applications across Africa, with six mobile roll formers enabling on-site manufacturing. Pre-painted steel products (Chromadek, Colorbond, Colorplus, Aluminium) complement the range, while photo-voltaic solar mounting systems provide renewable energy integration capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Craft-Lock®: Concealed fix roof sheeting profile featuring hidden fasteners and interlocking panels for leak-free installation.
• Voidcon
• C-Tile
• SeamTech

Products and services

• IBR Roof Sheeting Square fluted roofing profile widely used in industrial, commercial and residential applications, offering effective covering width of 686mm.
• Corrugated Sheeting Traditional S-rib roofing profile suitable for roofing and cladding applications, commonly used for its versatility and strength, with effective covering width of 762mm.
• Widespan Sheeting More economical roof sheeting profile featuring greater spans and lower roof slopes, saving on material and costs, with effective covering width of 800mm.
• C-Tile Steel tile roof sheeting profile that resembles conventional roof tiles, popular in residential applications with Chromadek/Colorplus finish.
• Craft-Lock Concealed Fix Roofing Concealed fix roof sheeting profile featuring hidden fasteners with interlocking panels for leak-free installation, wind load resistance up to 280 km/h, and enhanced aesthetics. Patented and trademarked system.
• SeamTech Concealed Fix Roofing Concealed fix roof sheeting system for continuous roof applications using seaming technology.
• Voidcon Permanent Formwork Economical innovative permanent formwork system that combined with concrete acts as a composite suspended slab.
• Lipped Channel and Purlins Cold formed lipped channel, lipped angle, and purlins manufactured to customer exact requirements using state-of-the-art slitting and roll forming equipment.
• Light Steel Frames Pre-engineered light gauge steel frames for roof trusses, walls, panels and floors used in construction.
• Flashings and Rainwater Goods Comprehensive range of flashing products and rainwater goods including gutters and downpipes in various specifications and finishes.
• Solar Fixing Systems Photo-voltaic/solar mounting systems for installing solar panels on roofing profiles, including specially designed Craft-Lock clamps that integrate without drilling holes.
• Pre-Painted Steel Products Pre-painted steel coils and products including Chromadek, Colorbond, Colorplus and Aluminium available in various colors and finishes.
• Slitting Services Precision coil slitting services for processing steel coils to customer requirements, including high-speed precision cut-to-length with unique 'camber corrector' technology.
• Bullnosing, Cranking and Curving Services Specialized bending and shaping services for roof sheets to meet curved architectural requirements.
• On-Site Mobile Production Mobile roll forming units that can be deployed to project sites for on-site manufacturing of roof sheets, flashings, and accessories in remote locations across Africa.
• Commercial and Industrial Solar System Installation Commercial and industrial solar/PV system design and installation services provided in collaboration with photovoltaic manufacturing partners, including technical support for customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80 successful Craft-Lock export projects completed since 2004
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Photovoltaic/Solar Panel ManufacturerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClotan Steel works in close collaboration with partners in the photovoltaic/solar panel manufacturing business to provide complete solar system solutions. The partnership enables provision of high-quality, reliable solar systems along with installation services and technical support for commercial and industrial customers.
• Arcelor MittalminorOthersArcelor Mittal is a supplier of pre-painted steel coils to Clotan Steel, used in the company's range of pre-painted steel products.
• Bluescope SteelminorOthersBluescope Steel supplies pre-painted steel coils to Clotan Steel for distribution and use in pre-painted steel product range.
• Saffal SteelminorOthersSaffal Steel is a supplier of pre-painted steel coils to Clotan Steel, included in the pre-painted steel products portfolio.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kingspan Group: Global leader in insulated panels and roofing systems; broad incumbent in metal roofing and building envelopes. Comparable in concealed-fix roofing technology and large-project specification wins, though focused on insulated rather than simple sheeting.
• BlueScope Steel: Global steel and coated-products major supplying Colorbond pre-painted steel (a Clotan input) and competing in metal roofing systems across multiple geographies. Comparable in concealed-fix and coated roofing technologies.
• Safal Steel: African pre-painted and coated steel supplier (parent of Safintra), competing with Clotan in coated roofing products and serving overlapping African markets.
• ArcelorMittal South Africa: Vertically integrated steel producer and pre-painted coil supplier; competes with Clotan downstream in coated roofing while also serving as a key upstream supplier. Overlapping product, customer, and geographic exposure.
• Macsteel Roofing: Macsteel is a major South African steel products group with roofing and cold-formed sections offerings. Competes with Clotan in structural and roofing steel while also operating broader steel distribution.

Direct peers

• Global Roofing Solutions: South African metal roofing manufacturer offering pierced-fix, concealed-fix, and coated profiles. Directly competes with Clotan across industrial and commercial roofing segments in Southern Africa.
• Safintra South Africa: Safintra is a leading South African metal roofing and cladding manufacturer (part of the Safal Group), producing IBR, corrugated, and concealed-fix profiles. Directly comparable to Clotan's roofing profile portfolio and overlapping customer base across Africa.

Regional players

• Ruukki (SSAB): Nordic metal roofing and structural products manufacturer with proprietary concealed-fix profiles. Comparable in roofing technology and light steel framing but primarily serves European rather than African markets.
• Tata BlueScope Steel: Joint venture producing coated steel and roofing products primarily in India and South-East Asia; competing product family (Lysaght, Colorbond) and comparable concealed-fix and pierced-fix roofing profiles, but operating in different geographies from Clotan's African base.
• Voestalpine Steel Division: Austrian steel major with downstream roofing and cold-formed sections. Comparable in cold-formed steel technology and roll-forming capability, but predominantly serves European markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ClotanSteel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clotan-steel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Clotan Steel