Titan Footwear — Operations Plan

The manufacturing facility will be located in the Gauteng Industrial Zone, providing access to major transport corridors (N1, N3, and N12 highways), proximity to OR Tambo International Airport for export logistics, and a large pool of semi-skilled labour. The facility will occupy…

Section 6 · Business Plan

Operations Plan

Production Capacity

500,000 pairs

Designed to scale from 500,000 to 1,000,000+ pairs of footwear per annum at the Gauteng manufacturing facility without major additional capital expenditure.

6.1 Manufacturing Facility

Parameter	Phase 1 (Year 1–3)	Phase 2 (Year 4–5)
Floor Area	3,500 sqm production + 1,500 sqm warehouse	+2,500 sqm expansion
Installed Capacity	500,000 pairs per annum	1,000,000 pairs per annum
Production Shifts	Single shift (8 hours)	Double shift (16 hours)
Workforce (Production)	120 employees	220 employees
Backup Power	500 kVA generator + 100 kWh battery	1 MVA generator + solar PV

6.2 Production Process

The manufacturing process follows a streamlined, vertically integrated flow from design to finished product. Each stage incorporates quality checkpoints to ensure consistent output quality and minimise waste.

Design & Prototyping: CAD-based design, physical prototype development, wear testing, and design approval. Lead time: 4–6 weeks per new style.
Material Sourcing: Procurement of leather (local suppliers), rubber/EVA soles (local and imported), synthetic materials, steel toe caps, lining fabrics, adhesives, and packaging materials.
Cutting: Automated and manual cutting of leather and synthetic uppers using die-cutting presses and CNC cutting machines. Target yield: 92%+ material utilisation.
Stitching & Lasting: Assembly of upper components through stitching, lasting (shaping over foot-shaped moulds), and preparation for sole attachment.
Sole Attachment & Moulding: Direct injection moulding for PU soles; cementing process for rubber and leather soles. Critical quality checkpoint for bond strength.
Finishing & Quality Control: Cleaning, polishing, lacing, final inspection against SABS standards, packaging, and warehousing. Defect target: <1.5% rejection rate.

Figure

Production Capacity Chart — visualised from the accompanying data.

Figure 6.1: Production Volume Ramp-Up and Capacity Utilisation Trajectory. Note: Year 4–5 reflects planned expansion to 1M pair capacity.

6.3 Supply Chain Management

Titan Footwear will implement a dual-sourcing strategy for all critical raw materials to mitigate supply chain disruption risk. Leather will be sourced primarily from South African tanneries (Mossop-Western Leathers and other domestic suppliers), supplemented by imports from Botswana and Namibia where pricing is advantageous. Rubber and EVA compounds, steel toe caps, and synthetic materials will be sourced through a combination of local and international suppliers with minimum 90-day safety stock for critical components.

6.4 Technology & Equipment

The Company will invest in a combination of semi-automated and automated equipment to optimise the balance between labour intensity (supporting employment objectives) and production efficiency. Key equipment investments include:

CNC cutting systems for precision upper cutting with material waste reduction of 30% versus manual cutting.
Direct injection moulding machines (DIM) for polyurethane sole production, delivering consistent quality and 40% faster cycle times.
Computerised stitching machines with programmable patterns reducing operator skill requirements and improving consistency.
Automated lasting machines for high-volume safety boot production.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for production planning, inventory management, and financial control.
Quality testing laboratory equipped with sole bond strength testers, slip resistance testers, and impact testing equipment per SANS 20345 requirements.

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