An electrical power failure is a total no-no and Ian Macfarlane installed a standby power plant which kicks in within a 10 second interval. This puts an end to the nailbiting, hair raising experience of boil overs once the stirring stops and the electricity decides that this is a good time to cut out.

The need to drill for water at the old factory to feed the cooling tower or chilling plant turned into a full time drilling operation. Wayne showed that he had the gift of water divining and the Macfarlane family designed and built a rig mounted on a truck which they operated succesfully across the length and breadth of Gauteng and Mmpumalanga before it became too taxing and they sold off the water drilling operation.

The Macfarlanes put down three boreholes at their new premises which feed off and underground water supply. They have drilled new return holes which means that the water circulates once it has been used for cooling. They used the earth as a conducter to get rid of the heat.

Makeean recently sold off their paint manufactering business and now concentrates on making emulsion polymers and sell to people who are making paint. Macfarlane felt it was a conflict of interest when Makeean Polymers CC was making paint and selling polymers to paint manufacteres. The company now focuses on making emulsion for the paint, adhesives, textile, paper and building industries.

Everything is manufactered in Pretoria and transported fo their branches in Durban and Cape Town. They export to Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia and are looking at the Seychelles as a potential new market.

Asked what had contributed to their steady growth as a company Wayne Macfarlane said that good products, a good team, customer service and tight credit control were some of the pillars on which they were building the company. It is a family based business where everyone on board is multi-skilled and feels that he or she has a stake in the business. Makeean Polymers does all their repairs and maintenance themselves and this includes electrical work and plumbing. They also do their own deliveries in Gauteng. In Cape Town the branch manager, Andre du Plesses, does deliveries in addition to his other duties. Martex Chemicals in Pinetown does the distribution and warehousing for Makeean Polymers in KwaZulu Natal.

Makeean Polymers CC places a high priority on quality control. Before the end of the year shut-down they were working a shift and a half turning out 500 tons of polymer a month. In addition to the acrylic thickeners they also make the main surfactant in the process themselves and have already started to make some of their own raw materials. Makeean Polymers CC entered the Millenium having built its foundations on a solid base of family involvement, a sound value system, fair and honest business principles and a commitment to provide the best possible service.