The Seaweed People

Taurus Chemicals Cape Kelp (Pty) Ltd harvests and collects kelp and red algae in demarcated areas along the coastline of Gansbaai and the East coast of South Africa. The harvested kelp and algae are used for many purposes, across various industries, including the food industry and farming. Taurus is committed to sustainability and ensures that all of its practices are ecologically friendly. The company holds a concession for the harvesting of kelp and algae from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, who monitor the harvesting closely to ensure that there are no negative environmental impacts. Taurus is also committed to helping the local community, through job creation and financial support of several local schools and initiatives.

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Business Information

About

About

Taurus Chemicals Cape Kelp (Pty) Ltd is a manufacturing and trading organisation specialising in seaweeds and phycocolloids in Southern Africa.  Taurus Chemicals Cape Kelp (Pty) Ltd, trading as Taurus Cape Kelp, harvests and collects brown and red seaweed in demarcated areas along the coastline of Gansbaai and the East coast of South Africa. 
Taurus have been involved in the global industry since 1975.  Taurus is also commited to seaweed product development. There are several teams at Taurus, involved in the various steps of the harvest, including the Fronds Team, the Stipes Team, the LiquiKelp factory and the Gelidium Factory in East London.
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Fronds Team

The Fronds Team go out on boats to harvest kelp leaves in a highly sustainable and ecologically friendly way.

Stipes Team

Workers collect stipes (stems) that wash up onto the beach.

Liquikelp Factory

A raw concentrate is extracted from the freshly-harvested kelp, that is then sent to AfriKelp for further processing.

Gelidium Factory

Gelidium is a genus of red algae which gets picked off rocks on the East coast during low spring tide in the intertidal zones.

Products and uses

Products and uses

Ecklonia Maxima (giant brown kelp)

Fresh kelp fronds is harvested at sea in Gansbaai by boat.  Kelp that is freshly harvested from the sea is used for two main purposes. The fresh fronds are sold as abalone feed to local abalone farms. A raw concentrate is also extracted from the kelp, which AfriKelp uses to manufacture a natural growth stimulant, Afrikelp LG-1, that is used in farming to improve the quality and quantity of agricultural crops.
Beachcast kelp is collected from the beaches of the Gansbaai coastline and is dried in the sun and wind, then milled and graded into three different grades, 25mm chips, 3mm chips and 800G (micron) powder and baled in 20kg bags. Dried kelp is used for many purposes, across industries. Mainly exported in the food industry, the alginate extracted from the kelp is converted into sodium alginate and is used as a thickener, stabiliser and emulsifier, in products ranging from ice-cream to toothpaste. Locally dried kelp is used as a feed additive for animals and a booster in the production of compost tea and as a moisture retainer in agriculture and horticulture. 
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Gelidium (red algae)

Gelidium pristoides and Gelidium amansii are collected along the eastern coastline of South Africa. It is sun-dried before being cleaned and baled in 100kg bales.  Gelidium is exported as a raw material for natural, industrial, and bacteriological agar, a jelly-like substance, which is extracted from the red algae. It is widely used in the food industry, as a vegetarian gelatin substitute, and is also used in the medical field of microbiology as a culture medium.
Environmental Awareness

Environmental Awareness

Taurus is a long-term concession-holder for various species of kelp and algae. Concession areas are marked out by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, for specific time frames. There are a total of twenty-three concession areas and only thirteen fishing rights allocated. The other areas are set aside for small scale fishers. As Taurus relies on the environment for its livelihood, it has a vested interest in making sure that the local kelp and algae are sustainably harvested. This is also monitored by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, which conducts monthly reviews, checking the quantity of each species harvested. There are also regulations regarding how the harvesting is done, such as the rule that the kelp leaves only to be cut 25cm or more from the primary base, to ensure that the kelp is not damaged in the harvest. Also, harvest areas are rotated, to allow the leaves to grow back. Kelp that is washed up onto the shore is also collected in an environmentally friendly way, making sure that enough is left behind for birds and other organisms to live off.

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Community Involvement

Community Involvement 

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Taurus is actively involved in the community and gives financial assistance to a creche in the local township of Masakhane. They also provide financial assistance to Gansbaai Academia High School, Gansbaai Primary School, Okkie Smuts Primary School in Stanford and the Grootbos Football Foundation Trust, offering financial assistance to underprivileged children who are part of their athletics program. 

"Thank you Taurus Cape Kelp PTY LTD for supplying the Okkies Athletes with shade in a very hot Paarl on Saturday. You are a contributor to the two medals of the two athletes included in the Boland team! — Kobus Koekemoer, Okkie Smuts Primary School, Stanford, Western Cape.
History

History

In the past Taurus Chemicals Cape Kelp (Pty) Ltd was involved in beach cast and cultivating of Gracilaria Verrucosa (BXG), red seaweed in Luderitz.  Gracilaria Verrucosa occurred in the lagoons of Luderitz.  To augment natural erratic supplies we cultivated this seaweed on floating net systems in one of the lagoons. The lack of beach cast wash ups caused this division to close in Luderitz as the cultivating of Gracilaria also became very expensive.

A few years ago Taurus supplied raw material of Ecklonia Maxima and Laminaria Pallida kelp from both Luderitz and Gansbaai areas for international medical research.

Company Directors

Company Directors

Nicole-Hart-Afrikelp-MD.jpg

Dr. Nicole Hart (Managing Director)

Adele Geldenhuys Executive Director

Adele Geldenhuys (Executive Director)

.Thabisa Mpazwa Director TCCK

Thabisa Mpazwa

Xolani Lamla

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For Local Sales

For Local Sales

accounts@tcck.co.za

Tel: + 27 28 384-1088

Fax: +27 28 384-1800

P.O. Box 983

2 Oestervanger Street

Gansbaai Industrial

For Export Sales

For Export Sales

info@tcck.co.za

P.O Box 983

Gansbaai 

7220

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Map

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