About Us
Derekh is an inspired entrepreneurial business venture which has its values rooted in the life ethics and business philosophy of Jan Serfontein, a visionary man who founded Autofitters many years back. Born in 1953, Jan tragically passed on in 2018, but his legacy lives on through those who continue to build and expand upon what he left behind. When you understand more about Jan, you will understand more about our Group of Companies and by extension, Derekh.
Jan was an opportunity focused person who was driven to provide excellence to customers. His focus on excellence, led him to start Autofitters in 1998. He did this because he saw a gap, one which centred around a lack of service follow through in the automotive industry. What made Jan tick, was that he always went the extra mile. This transitioned beyond being obsessed with providing top-end customer service. His quest for excellence, meant that he made it his business to understand absolutely everything about the products he was working with, and supplying. His long career at 3M had a specific focus on abrasives, and so the ever curious Jan became an abrasives expert who would spend hours researching and testing products in order to ensure that he knew exactly where they could be strategically applied for maximum impact.
Jan made it his business to have a deep understanding of every abrasive and the abrasive’s manufacturing process. This detail driven approach meant he knew exactly how each abrasive worked and this in turn made him a subject matter expert who could easily provide incredible insights into what product should be used where, when, how and why.
Jan only ever sought to deliver excellence into the lives and professions of those with whom we worked, and his word was his bond. If he said that he would get something done, he did, magnificently so; there were never any half measures. Because of this, Jan was much loved and the primary emotional drivers behind the foundational success which he created, are love, kindness, caring, family, nurturing, upliftment, ethics, and responsibility. A core internal driver of his was to help others and he set about doing this by creating an opportunistic framework through which other people could launch businesses and achieve their dreams. The upshot of this was job creation and that fulfilled against one of his core values, helping families to prosper.
Jan Serfontein’s enthusiastic approach to the world of abrasives, was such that it saw him transition beyond what to many would be the “boring world of abrasives.” It was this magic that caused his business to experience explosive growth. This is the magic which has been passed on to Derekh and this is what inspires us each and every day – to practically leverage our passion for excellence and in such a way that what we do and how we do it, makes a tangible difference in the lives of those who do business with us.
“The people who really knew Jan, link him to one powerful word, passion. He lived his business through every fibre of his being, and he loved his people with every beat of his heart”.
JDK Trust
About Us
Derekh is an inspired entrepreneurial business venture which has its values rooted in the life ethics and business philosophy of Jan Serfontein, a visionary man who founded Autofitters many years back. Born in 1953, Jan tragically passed on in 2018, but his legacy lives on through those who continue to build and expand upon what he left behind. When you understand more about Jan, you will understand more about our Group of Companies and by extension, Derekh.
Jan was an opportunity focused person who was driven to provide excellence to customers. His focus on excellence, led him to start Autofitters in 1998. He did this because he saw a gap, one which centred around a lack of service follow through in the automotive industry. What made Jan tick, was that he always went the extra mile. This transitioned beyond being obsessed with providing top-end customer service. His quest for excellence, meant that he made it his business to understand absolutely everything about the products he was working with, and supplying. His long career at 3M had a specific focus on abrasives, and so the ever curious Jan became an abrasives expert who would spend hours researching and testing products in order to ensure that he knew exactly where they could be strategically applied for maximum impact. He made it his business to have a deep understanding of every abrasive and the abrasive’s manufacturing process.
This detail driven approach meant he knew exactly how each abrasive worked and this in turn made him a subject matter expert who could easily provide incredible insights into what product should be used where, when, how and why.
Jan only ever sought to deliver excellence into the lives and professions of those with whom we worked, and his word was his bond. If he said that he would get something done, he did, magnificently so; there were never any half measures. Because of this, Jan was much loved and the primary emotional drivers behind the foundational success which he created, are love, kindness, caring, family, nurturing, upliftment, ethics, and responsibility. A core internal driver of his was to help others and he set about doing this by creating an opportunistic framework through which other people could launch businesses and achieve their dreams. The upshot of this was job creation and that fulfilled against one of his core values, helping families to prosper.
Jan Serfontein’s enthusiastic approach to the world of abrasives, was such that it saw him transition beyond what to many would be the “boring world of abrasives.” It was this magic that caused his business to experience explosive growth. This is the magic which has been passed on to Derekh and this is what inspires us each and every day – to practically leverage our passion for excellence and in such a way that what we do and how we do it, makes a tangible difference in the lives of those who do business with us.
“The people who really knew Jan, link him to one powerful word, passion. He lived his business through every fibre of his being, and he loved his people with every beat of his heart”.
JDK Trust
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Request a Copy of our New Product Catalogue
Meet the Team
Mark Dreyer | CEO
Derekh’s CEO, Mark Dreyer, is an extremely talented musician who loves to apply his creative mind to business. In his earlier years he pursued his dream of being a full time musician but we all know how extraordinarily difficult it is to make a living from the music industry. Back then, to supplement his income back, Mark worked as a waiter, cashier, pizza chef, even as a storeman. He did internal sales and external sales. He tried his hand at Quantity Surveying and B.Comm. Accounts but these didn’t gel naturally with his creative flair. He eventually found a niche for himself in the electrical supply business and was offered the opportunity to partner in an electrical switchgear import and distribution business. Mark started with just 3 employees and ten years later, when he eventually decided it was time to move on, he had built a fabulous business which gainfully employed 17 people. In 2018 Mark joined Autofitters to help drive business development. Six months into his new journey, Mark’s father-in-law, Jan Serfontein the creator of Autofitters, tragically died, leaving Mark to take over the business. Literally thrown in at the deep end, Mark had to rapidly learn much with regards to managing a large labour force and importing products. He started Derekh in 2019 as a natural add-on entrepreneurial business to Autofitters. Derekh currently imports products from China, Taiwan and the USA. To his tremendous credit, the fact that the young aspiring musician Mark was prepared to do whatever it took to keep his dream alive, taught him an invaluable life lesson about tenacity, persistence and that success comes to the determined application of self. A University of Life qualification which now stands him in good stead as he ably leads Derekh, a company which has its values firmly rooted in family, relationships, partnerships, creativity, innovation, service excellence and all round client centricity.
Contact Mark
Meet the Team
Mark Dreyer | CEO
Derekh’s CEO, Mark Dreyer, is an extremely talented musician who loves to apply his creative mind to business. In his earlier years he pursued his dream of being a full time musician but we all know how extraordinarily difficult it is to make a living from the music industry. Back then, to supplement his income back, Mark worked as a waiter, cashier, pizza chef, even as a storeman. He did internal sales and external sales. He tried his hand at Quantity Surveying and B.Comm. Accounts but these didn’t gel naturally with his creative flair. He eventually found a niche for himself in the electrical supply business and was offered the opportunity to partner in an electrical switchgear import and distribution business. Mark started with just 3 employees and ten years later, when he eventually decided it was time to move on, he had built a fabulous business which gainfully employed 17 people. In 2018 Mark joined Autofitters to help drive business development. Six months into his new journey, Mark’s father-in-law, Jan Serfontein the creator of Autofitters, tragically died, leaving Mark to take over the business. Literally thrown in at the deep end, Mark had to rapidly learn much with regards to managing a large labour force and importing products. He started Derekh in 2019 as a natural add-on entrepreneurial business to Autofitters. Derekh currently imports products from China, Taiwan and the USA. To his tremendous credit, the fact that the young aspiring musician Mark was prepared to do whatever it took to keep his dream alive, taught him an invaluable life lesson about tenacity, persistence and that success comes to the determined application of self. A University of Life qualification which now stands him in good stead as he ably leads Derekh, a company which has its values firmly rooted in family, relationships, partnerships, creativity, innovation, service excellence and all round client centricity.
Contact Mark
Marinda van der Merwe | Financial Director
Marinda van der Merwe is Derekh’s Financial Director. She loves structure, is meticulous, practical and super-efficient. Marinda has over 30 years’ experience in across a variety of industry sectors and always excels when she is placed in control of finances, systems, operations – any area where her organisational and planning skills can be put to good use. Marinda, who is extremely customer focused, believes that business is all about relationships and boldly states that you need to be passionate about adding real value into your customer’s lives and not just pay them lip service. She prides herself in always getting the job done efficiently and effectively and her no nonsense, logical, ‘show-me-the-numbers’ approach brings order to the management team and operational protocols of Derekh.
Contact Marinda
Marinda van der Merwe | Financial Director
Marinda van der Merwe is Derekh’s Financial Director. She loves structure, is meticulous, practical and super-efficient. Marinda has over 30 years’ experience in across a variety of industry sectors and always excels when she is placed in control of finances, systems, operations – any area where her organisational and planning skills can be put to good use. Marinda, who is extremely customer focused, believes that business is all about relationships and boldly states that you need to be passionate about adding real value into your customer’s lives and not just pay them lip service. She prides herself in always getting the job done efficiently and effectively and her no nonsense, logical, ‘show-me-the-numbers’ approach brings order to the management team and operational protocols of Derekh.
Contact Marinda
Richard Beadon | Sales Manager
Richard Beadon is Derekh’s Sales Manager. Richard cut his teeth in the factory environment. The massive benefit of this is that he understands exactly what needs to be done at floor level, to ensure business continuity success. His supply chain and logistics management experience together with his practical understanding of how things work he adds tremendous value to our clients and will readily advise them on what to use, when, where, how and why. Therefore Richard brings a mature, responsible professionalism into our world of sales.
Contact Richard:
Richard Beadon | Sales Manager
Richard Beadon is Derekh’s Sales Manager. Richard cut his teeth in the factory environment. The massive benefit of this is that he understands exactly what needs to be done at floor level, to ensure business continuity success. His supply chain and logistics management experience together with his practical understanding of how things work he adds tremendous value to our clients and will readily advise them on what to use, when, where, how and why. Therefore Richard brings a mature, responsible professionalism into our world of sales.
Contact Richard:
Andrew Geddes | Sales Representative
Andrew is your point of call for sales and new business development in Derekh’s offices in Plettenberg Bay servicing the Eastern and Western Cape. Andrew has 25 years experience in Technical Sales and Sales Management. He has excellent business sense and attention to detail and we are delighted to have him as part of the Derekh team.
Contact Andrew:
Andrew Geddes | Sales Rep
Andrew is your point of call for sales and new business development in Derekh’s offices in Plettenberg Bay servicing the Eastern and Western Cape. Andrew has 25 years experience in Technical Sales and Sales Management. He has excellent business sense and attention to detail and we are delighted to have him as part of the Derekh team.
Contact Andrew:
Johan Kenny | Sales Rep
Johan’s extensive background in the domestic and commercial building construction industry spans over 20 years. He has worked with private clients, architects, developers, builders, group buyers, store managers and owners, and regional group managers. His strategic sales and marketing experience on a product level brings a depth of knowledge and wisdom to Derekh’s sales team. Johan focusses on understanding your individual product needs and the delivery of the perfect product solution.
Contact Andrew:
Johan Kenny | Sales Representative
Johan’s extensive background in the domestic and commercial building construction industry spans over 20 years. He has worked with private clients, architects, developers, builders, group buyers, store managers and owners, and regional group managers. His strategic sales and marketing experience on a product level brings a depth of knowledge and wisdom to Derekh’s sales team. Johan focusses on understanding your individual product needs and the delivery of the perfect product solution.
Contact Johan:
Ryan Symons | Sales Representative
Ryan Symons is your contact for all Abrasives and Personal Protective Equipment in the Cape Town area. Ryan’s enthusiastic personality together with his strong ethical drive will ensure you receive a professional and reliable service level. With over 15 years of experience across a variety of career paths and being an entrepreneur and owner of his own businesses, has taught Ryan discipline, together with the fact that people are your most valuable asset. To be discrete, and most importantly that confidentiality and honesty are key in any business and relationship. Family and friends are key ingredients in Ryan’s life to stay grounded, and to keep in balance with life’s stresses, long walks on the beach are the medicine he relies on.
Contact Ryan:
Ryan Symons | Sales Rep
Ryan Symons is your contact for all Abrasives and Personal Protective Equipment in the Cape Town area. Ryan’s enthusiastic personality together with his strong ethical drive will ensure you receive a professional and reliable service level. With over 15 years of experience across a variety of career paths and being an entrepreneur and owner of his own businesses, has taught Ryan discipline, together with the fact that people are your most valuable asset. To be discrete, and most importantly that confidentiality and honesty are key in any business and relationship. Family and friends are key ingredients in Ryan’s life to stay grounded, and to keep in balance with life’s stresses, long walks on the beach are the medicine he relies on.
