Skip to main content
All Posts By

Redeployable Camp Systems

Our Newly Appointed CEO

By News

Welcome to our newly appointed CEO, Hans Hillebrand

We are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Group CEO, Hans Hillebrand, effective 1 February 2023. Hans steps into the substantial shoes of our late CEO, Louw Bekker, a man whose legacy is tightly interwoven with the identity of our organization. Louw’s contributions have established a lofty benchmark and crafted a resilient foundation for continual growth.

As we move forward, we will honour our traditions and values, while simultaneously exploring the frontiers of potential.

Now, let us introduce you to Hans.

Upon meeting Hans Hillebrand, one can’t miss his strong advocacy for diversity, promotion of employee engagement, and dedication to nurturing innovation. His leadership is grounded in a values-first approach, underscored by his extensive experience in identifying opportunities and fostering a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment.

With Hans joining our ranks, we gain a trove of invaluable knowledge and expertise. His background spans corporate strategy and development, strategic partnerships, business transformation, and operational management. Following a successful tenure in the financial sector, Hans now brings his talent and dedication to The Canvas and Tent Group as our new CEO. His unwavering focus remains on our customers, building trusted relationships through service excellence, and delivering top-notch products that break technological barriers.

Hans maintains that the cornerstone of success is the ability to attract, retain, and inspire a diverse, talented, and engaged workforce. These individuals are the ones who bring our exceptional products to life.

Hans is known for his tireless work ethic, family values, and dedication to personal growth. While being a devoted family man, he firmly holds to the belief, “Change is life’s greatest constant, unlocking a universe filled with opportunities.” This ethos is clearly mirrored in his admiration for leaders who accomplish the seemingly unattainable.

When questioned about how his loved ones might describe him, Hans, with a playful glint in his eye, answers, “Extroverted, creative, possibly enthusiastic — and slightly unconventional? But at heart, I’m an adventurous spirit who cherishes both the majesty of nature and the joy of creative pursuit. I fervently advocate self-fulfilment and aim to make a positive, meaningful impact.”

Hans expresses his enthusiasm about joining the Canvas and Tent family, saying, “I’m humbled by the opportunity to guide this team of committed industry professionals, who’ve evolved an impressive business platform from humble beginnings, 55 years ago.” As a Group, he encourages, “We should acknowledge our achievements with humility. To stay relevant to our clients across various sectors, it’s critical for us to persist in our journey of evolution and innovation.”

The Canvas and Tent Group wholeheartedly welcomes Hans Hillebrand, our enthusiastic and visionary CEO, as we step into this thrilling new chapter of our company’s narrative.

Bushtec Safari is Growing and Offering New Services

By Media

As the camping season continues to heat up, fueled in part by the rising popularity of glamping, B2B companies that support the outdoor hospitality sector are expanding their offerings. One such company is Bushtec Safari, a division of Canvas and Tent, and a well-known producer of canvas luxury tents, camping tents and accessories.

Gary Flaks, CEO of Bushtec Safari, is no stranger to glamping. In fact, it’s something he’s done all of his life.

“What I tell everyone is that when I was growing up as a young kid I was going to what we call game reserves, which is the equivalent of safaris, and I didn’t know it, but I was glamping,” he told WOODALLSCM.com. “We’ve been glamping in South Africa for all of our lives; so it’s not a new phenomenon in those parts of the world, but it has become a new phenomenon here.”

Bushtec Safari offers a variety of tent structures including a model where park owners can share costs with the company.

And it’s a phenomenon that is fueling interest in the company’s luxury tents.

In 2015, Flaks was introduced to Canvas and Tents which was looking to enter the U.S. market.

“We were introduced, and it was just a great relationship and fit right at the get-go,” he noted. “Initially, we were aiming to do our overnight camping brand, which is called Bushtec Adventure. But Bushtec Safari, which is our luxury tent brand, had so much interest growing on that side of the business, so Bushtec Safari really took off pretty quickly and became our main focus, and that has continued to grow.”

When COVID hit, Flaks said it went from a slow upward directory to a more rapid one.

“Right now we are in 22 or so states in the U.S., where we either have tents already installed or they’re in production,” he mentioned. “We’re in Canada and Mexico and we have a lot in the Caribbean and in Costa Rica. We’re in Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and about ten countries in South America, so the U.S. entity handles the whole Western world, from Canada to South America.”

Unlike its competitors, which rely on third parties for at least some of their materials, Bushtec has an advantage in the marketplace because it controls all costs by creating everything themselves at its South African factory.

“The secret of our product is in our canvas and the quality of our parts,” said Flaks. “Our canvas is a proprietary canvas that’s available in the region of South Africa where our factory is. We have our own steel plant and we customize most of our tents. We now have a bunch of standard designs that allow you to add hard doors, windows…etc. You can also custom-make the tents smaller or taller.

“All of our tents have four layers of roofing, so you have a shade and flysheet over the top which is your UV protection and takes the heat off the tent,” he added. “You have a PVC flysheet which is your waterproofing, a canvas fly sheet which is waterproof, fire retardant, military-grade — or what they call “ripstop canvas” — and then the fourth layer is largely aesthetic. It’s a ceiling liner that is more for aesthetics, but also gives you insulation and gives you a feel of luxury and comfort. What we like to say about our tents is that when you’re inside them, you kind of feel bulletproof. You feel the luxury and the comfort of being in a hotel room. However, you still get the whole feeling of the outdoors.”

Business owners interested in seeing Bushtec tents in person can visit Pine Mountain RV Resort, located in Pine Mountain, Ga. However, plans are in the works to build an entire showroom for its products.

“At the moment we’ve got a resort that doubles up as a showroom an hour outside of Atlanta, but we’re building a big showroom there as well, where we’re going to have our warehouse, stockroom, and so on,” Flaks said.

In a nod to the growing interest in glamping, Bushtec now offers businesses the option to buy tents “off the shelf.”

Traditionally, Bushtec tents have all been custom-made. However, over time, they discovered the most popular layouts that people enjoy and they’ve begun producing these layouts which are kept as stock models. This means that business owners can receive their luxury tents more quickly than if they were fully custom-made.

“They’re $25,000 to $30,000 tents,” noted Flaks. “Customers are going to be at around $700 a month for the payments, so with the rates that we’re seeing, park owners will need to rent them out for maybe three nights a month to be able to meet their payments. It’s not a huge stretch to get those types of occupancy rates to be able to meet your obligations.”

Bushtec Safari creates its own materials which helps it control costs.

If park owners want to expand their offerings, but want to test if it will work for their location, they can also try Bushtec’s newest offering, “Wyld.” They’re testing it right now, but early results are promising, according to Flaks. It’s a revenue share program for park owners and it’s tied to an app that Bushtec has created.

“We don’t charge the parks and all they’ve got to do is provide some sites for us to place the tents on,” he said. “They might give us six sites and then the campers basically go onto the app and book the sites from there. The park gets a report and gets paid its percentage of the sale.”

But what if you want to expand (or start) a glamping business and you don’t know where to start? Bushtec Creations could be the answer you’re looking for.

“Bushtec Creations is the turnkey side of the business,” said Flaks. “When we started out, we were kind of just selling our tents and saying, ‘Hey, we’ll offer you the support you need to install them,’ but more and more we had to get “hands-on” with the installation side, both in and out of South Africa, servicing mainly the whole African continent, the Middle East and in Europe. Bushtec Creations will even do land prep, from water articulation right through to taking a raw piece of land and then developing the resort. We don’t do as much of that in the U.S. though.”

Now the company can even supply decking and interior packages.

If raising capital is an issue, business owners will have one more choice to consider, as the company will soon be offering financing through a new division, Bushtec Finance.

“We are close to going live with our financing,” noted Flaks. “Everyone’s going to be able to finance their purchases through us which opens up more doors.”

Besides resources, park owners are keenly familiar with zoning, permit and land use issues that arise every time they want to expand (or build out) more sites. That’s why Bushtec is joining forces with industry leaders such as Ruben Martinez, executive director of the American Glamping Association, to effect change in regulations.

“We’re kind of at the forefront, together with some of our competitors, of trying to get a lobbying group together to essentially write the code, because permitting is becoming a huge hindrance for all of us,” Flaks explained.

HYBRID HOME The company also offers a hybrid solution which can include flatpacks, containerised solutions and prefab structures

PVC fabric structures beneficial for accommodation

By Media

The projects completed by specialists Canvas and Tent demonstrated the beneficial use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for mine-site accommodation, says Canvas and Tent group marketing manager Karen Coetzer.

The company manufactured 65 structures made out of PVC fabric for projects in Madagascar, Botswana and Angola in 2022.

It has been supplying turnkey camps made out of PVC fabric for remote mining operations, including workforce accommodation and on-site mining infrastructure, through its Bushtec Originals brand.

HYBRID HOME The company also offers a hybrid solution which can include flatpacks, containerised solutions and prefab structures

HYBRID HOME The company also offers a hybrid solution which can include flatpacks, containerised solutions and prefab structures

As the world’s “second-largest minerals industry”, the African continent is attractive to mining and exploration companies, which is evident in the increase in demand for mine-site accommodation, says Coetzer.

Increased demand has resulted in the construction period for accommodation having to be as short as possible to ensure that mineworkers are accommodated as soon as possible, while ensuring their safety and the hard-wearing of the accommodation.

The structures are proven, reliable building solutions that endure prolonged use in extreme climates, notes Coetzer, adding that the company also has an insulation system available for any fabric structure to increase interior comfort and energy efficiency in hot or cold climates.

FLYCAMP Flexibility is one of the advantages of Canvas and Tent’s PVC fabric structures, as it allows for the dis- and reassemble of accommodation camps

FLYCAMP Flexibility is one of the advantages of Canvas and Tent’s PVC fabric structures, as it allows for the dis- and reassemble of accommodation camps

Canvas and Tent offers a large selection of options for its PVC fabric structures, such as different models, sizes and configurations, to meet the on-site requirements of any mining operation.

Consequently, the company engages with mine managers, engineers and principal mine planning engineers to ensure that the modular structures and remote camp systems meet such requirements.

Benefits

Flexibility is one of the advantages of Canvas and Tent’s PVC fabric structures, as it allows for the dis- and reassembly of accommodation camps, says Coetzer.

This is especially important for mining operations in Africa, as some projects and sociopolitical environments tend to be unpredictable; for example, the security concerns in some Central African countries, the Sahel in the vast semi-arid region of Africa; and the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique.

Therefore, the ability to establish temporary or semi-permanent accommodation that can be easily relocated if necessary, is ideal.

PVC fabric structures are also cost effective, she adds.

“Temporary or semi-permanent accommodation is often less expensive than permanent accommodation options. This is especially important for mining companies operating in remote locations in Africa where infrastructure is lacking, and the cost of building permanent accommodation can also be prohibitive.”

The PVC fabric structures are also timely, as it takes about four hours to build fully functional accommodation that can house up to eight people in a dormitory style.

Moreover, Canvas and Tent’s accommodation solutions can easily be adjusted, depending on requirements – if an operation requires more workers, more accommodation can rapidly be erected, but it can also be disassembled if required.

Accommodation can range from single rooms with en-suite bathrooms to single rooms in PVC fabric structures with shared ablutions.

Canvas and Tent’s PVC fabric range can also be used and configured for workforce housing; kitchens; dining, medical and maintenance facilities; offices; ablution units; and recreation areas.

The company also offers a hybrid solution which can include flatpacks, containerised solutions and prefab structures.

“Our turnkey solution can accommodate needs as complex as the establishment of a reverse osmosis water-treatment plant. Canvas and Tent also carries out all of the internal and external reticulation such as electricity, water and sewerage systems.”

Mine-site accommodation is crucial, as a large number of artisans and skilled labourers must be housed as close to the operation as possible to ensure that operations run smoothly at all hours of the day, and to safeguard employees, particularly in remote locations, she concludes.

Demobilisation a demoralising task?

By News

For our Installation Team, it’s all in a day’s work.

One of our most valuable resources, the one we brag about extensively, is the remarkable group of people who compose our various team at #WeatherhavenRCS and #CanvasAndTent. The men in our Installation Team, many of whom are trained and experienced artisans in their respective crafts, have installed military and luxury camps across the globe. They make giving excellent service to our clients possible, and you can see from this why we are so proud of them.

Salute, gentlemen!

IDEX 21

By News

Weatherhaven RCS is honoured to announce that the company will be exhibiting at the International Defence Expo #IDEX2019. IDEX is the only international defence exhibition and conference in the MENA region demonstrating the latest technology across land, sea and air sectors of defence. It is a unique platform to establish and strengthen relationships with government departments, businesses and armed forces throughout the region.

 

For more than a decade, Weatherhaven RCS has supplied world class temporary accommodation solutions to the Military industry, while also establishing a stronghold in servicing the mining, construction, aviation and tourism markets. Our highly skilled teams have installed military camps and supplied related products in an array of territories across the globe, including the UK, Ghana, Tanzania, Botswana, Somalia, Antarctica, the DRC and the UAE.

 

The product offering favoured by armed forces across the globe includes canvas products, PVC structures and containerised shelters. Through strategic partnerships, industry accreditation and a strong dedication to innovation, Weatherhaven RCS produces products of superior technological advancement. This is evidenced in the products’ ability to withstand harsh climates, ranging from extreme heat to subzero temperatures, as well as harsh winds.

 

This year, we have partnered with the DTI and will exhibit as part of the South African Pavillion of trusted suppliers and exporters in the industry. We will also showcase our PVC product at the Streit Group stand, which will feature a full military camp simulated experience.