In the rolling hills of KwaZulu-Natal, where eucalyptus trees rise in silent rows, a quiet revolution in South African manufacturing is taking root. At the heart of it is not just pulp or paper, but a model of enterprise development that is increasingly redefining what local production looks like — and who it includes.
Mondi, the Johannesburg-listed packaging and paper group, has long dominated the South African paper market. But beneath the global branding of its flagship product, Mondi Rotatrim, lies a deeply local story — one grounded in forestry, rural livelihoods, and inclusive industrial growth.
Through its enterprise development arm, Mondi Zimele, the company is investing in small-scale timber growers across KwaZulu-Natal. These growers — many of whom own between one and thirty hectares of land — are now supplying a significant portion of Mondi South Africa’s raw material needs. In 2024 alone, the program accounted for 190,000 tonnes of timber, about 10% of the company’s local wood intake. Importantly, over 64,000 tonnes were certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC™), signalling not just quantity but sustainability.
This isn’t corporate philanthropy dressed up as development. It’s a calculated bet on building a vertically integrated, resilient supply chain — one that anchors manufacturing in community partnerships. Growers receive not only high-quality seedlings (5.3 million distributed in 2024) but also technical training, site visits to mills, and access to guaranteed offtake agreements. Currently, 840 smallholders supply certified pulpwood to Mondi’s Richards Bay mill, with plans underway to scale up.
Yet what might seem like a supply-side technicality is now being translated into something more consumer-facing: identity. Mondi has launched a full rebrand of Rotatrim — South Africa’s best-known office paper — to reflect the people and partnerships behind the product. With bold, geometric designs inspired by African art and textiles, the new packaging departs sharply from the sterile look typical of commodity stationery. Instead, it functions as a narrative device, placing local manufacturing at the centre of the brand’s value proposition.
“This is more than a cosmetic update,” says Sandile Ngcobo, Public Affairs and Transformation Director at Mondi South Africa. “It’s about connecting South African consumers to the communities and processes that make their paper. From small-scale growers in rural KwaZulu-Natal to our plant in Merebank, Durban, every part of the supply chain is local — and proudly so.”
Rotatrim has been manufactured at Mondi’s Merebank mill for more than 30 years. The refreshed look comes as global paper supply chains remain in flux post-Covid, with countries like South Africa re-evaluating their reliance on imports. By sourcing domestically and investing in small growers, Mondi is both insulating itself from volatility and stimulating rural economies. The new product also includes a technical upgrade: a thicker caliper for improved stiffness and performance, catering to an increasingly quality-conscious consumer base.
To mark the launch, Mondi is rolling out a national campaign featuring digital storytelling, in-store activations, and a consumer competition. QR codes on the packaging allow buyers to enter prize draws, while radio ads and influencer content tell the story of how a ream of paper now supports thousands of growers, their families, and a broader local ecosystem.
For South African manufacturing, where transformation often remains an aspiration rather than an outcome, the Rotatrim story is instructive. It illustrates what localisation can look like when driven by both market logic and developmental intent. It also quietly subverts the typical value chain dynamic — placing small-scale, often overlooked rural producers not at the periphery, but at the heart of industrial output.
Whether the model can scale further, and whether others in the sector will follow suit, remains to be seen. But for now, the future of South African manufacturing may very well start in the forest.