Some of the Chen Hsong machines in the production hall at the Maritime-Gantec premises in Joburg. Mould trials and short production runs are handled here, allowing for the full testing of both new moulds and machines; in some cases, production is run for clients who are setting up

The Gantec toolroom in Jet Park in Joburg possesses skills and capacity to design and manufacture most of the moulds required by customers of Maritime-Gantec in southern Africa; in cases where there is very high complexity or for very large moulds, toolrooms elsewhere are contracted

Working partnership – The Maritime-Gantec management team, including Greg Gerasimo, Jarrad Barnes, Marc Gerasimo and Anthony Barnes, bring a range of skills together, from all the main processing technologies to mould design and mould manufacture

Maritime Marketing celebrates 60 years in operation

MARITIME Marketing, which is celebrating its 60th year in operation, has come a long way over the past six decades, to such an extent that one could call it the ‘new’ Maritime. In essence, however, the task at the outset in 1966 – that of supplying convertors with efficient, cost-effective production solutions – remains undimmed and, if anything, the company’s model has improved.

Maritime has down-sized to be more competitive, has branched out and invested in a toolroom, of which it is now the co-owner of, and it also now operates a trial manufacturing plant where all moulds and machines are run and tested, giving it the ability to guarantee the performance of all equipment it supplies.

Maritime’s investment in Gantec Tool & Die in 2019, when it purchased a 50% stake in the Johannesburg toolroom, has set the company and the partnership apart. Such a tie-up between an equipment supplier and a toolmaker has not been practised widely in South Africa, where there are few standalone toolrooms and most active toolrooms are in-plant operations. It was at first seen as a break from tradition from the common practice of ‘either a machine supplier or a toolmaker but not both’. Seven years on, this unique solution is proving successful and popular with customers.

With a history dating back to 1966, when the plastics industry in South Africa was in its mere infancy, Maritime Marketing is one of the oldest equipment suppliers in the SA plastics sector. It’s been a considerable journey for the company, which has had a wholly new management team since Greg and Marc Gerasimo bought out the previous owners of Maritime in 2017. Peter Cawcutt and Volker Hoffmeister, both of whom are sadly no longer with us, were well-known and widely liked gentlemen who had continued with the company culture set out by the original founders way back in the sixties.

Right-size and reshape
Maritime embarked on the transition to right-size and reshape the business.

One of the first steps was to rationalise the range of equipment supplied, which up until that point had involved mainly European machines and ancillaries coupled with a mix of popular Asian machinery. At the time, for example, Maritime was the agent for three different injection moulding machine manufacturers. Tough decisions had to be made but interesting things lay ahead.

Possibly the biggest change at the time was its appointment as the agent for the highly acclaimed and Mitsubishi-engineered Chen Hsong brand, known in the Southern African market as the Jetmaster and Supermaster injection moulding machines. Chen Hsong had during the 1980s and 1990’s been one of the most popular Asian machines in SA. Under Maritime’s stewardship the popularity of the brand has continued and the machines are being used increasingly widely once more.

Further changes were made, a key one being the move to smaller premises in Kyalami in order to restrategize and free up cash for the next phase of the plan.

Tie-up with toolmaker
The Maritime team began to bump into father-and-son toolmakers Anthony and Jarrad Barnes of Gantec Tool & Die. At first this seemed coincidental, where Maritime was supplying the machines and Gantec the moulds, but then it appeared that the companies were servicing many of the same convertors. Synergies began to appear. Eventually, and in what was probably a first in the SA plastics industry, Maritime purchased a 50% stake in Gantec in 2019.

On a similar milestone note, Gantec is celebrating its 20th birthday in 2026. The company was started by Anthony Barnes (ex Ronchelle, Cinqplast) who took the plunge to go on his own in 2006, noticed son Jarrad’s prowess at design and roped him in. The business has been gaining momentum continuously since.

Prior to the Maritime linkup, Gantec had been involved mainly with the manufacture of packaging moulds, with Anthony Barnes having considerable experience with moulds for FMCG containers. With Jarrad and other designers being taught by Barnes Snr on the job, the company has been able to undertake increasingly complex jobs, with moulds for mining, automotive, pharmaceutical and other products being produced, including more complex multi-cavity moulds. Gantec designs all its own moulds but doesn’t necessarily build all, choosing to out-source the manufacturing to specialised toolrooms internationally depending on complexity, timing, and budget.

Numerous turnkey projects undertaken since have involved supplying machinery for new products where Maritime supplies the machines and Gantec the moulds. This recipe has gained traction and approval from customers.

The Maritime-Gantec partnership was further consummated with the decision to move to shared premises, with the companies consolidating at a 2500m² site in Jet Park, Johannesburg. Gantec had previously operated from Spartan and Maritime from Kyalami. The new premises are centrally located for access across Gauteng, employing over 30 staff members.

Trial production
An important part of the service provided by the companies is the small production hall at the plant in Jet Park Road. Eight machines, ranging from 88 to 350 tons clamp force, are currently installed, trial running moulds built by Gantec and used for training for Maritime customers. Hence, every mould is fully water and pressure tested, which has reduced and virtually eliminated mould errors.

In some cases, actual production is run for clients to offer flexible and accommodating options where needed.

“We have hybridised mould production,” said Jarrad Barnes. “We realised we could not do everything. So, we manufacture IP critical moulds or mould inserts locally. And in cases where we design moulds but decide to build the mould offshore, we manage the process for clients, which makes it easier and hassle free for them, giving customers peace of mind and guaranteed after sales support.”

Other processes
Maritime has continued to supply equipment for the other processes, including Tongda blow moulders, Polytime Extrusion equipment, Fomtec vertical injection moulders, Formech vacuum forming and Wensui ancillaries. It has access to numerous other suppliers depending on the project. With the exception of Formech (Manchester, UK), most of the machinery is from the Far East, and it’s been noticed that the Chinese equipment has become increasingly efficient. This also indicates how extensive the shift has been for Maritime.

“We have pivoted along the way,” said Greg Gerasimo, “We took a close look at the continual changes in the SA plastics landscape and adapted Maritime to provide great solutions within the various verticals of plastics processing.”