The FX Group was established when its board upgrading specialist, FX Veneers, expanded into melamine pressing. It was then forwardly integrated into retail through its HDS Cut & Edge stores, and backwardly integrated into panel production when the particleboard plant started up in Lothair, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

The first board emerged from the production line in May 2021. Within three months, it exceeded its expected daily production target and was on its way to manufacturing 400m³ of boards per day.

Group CEO Mohammed Bera explains that although there are automated sections of the line, much of the work is strategically labour-intensive to create job and skills development opportunities that uplift the neighbouring rural communities and Lothair.

Bera emphasises that the chipboard matches the quality of other locally manufactured boards. "We have a calibrated testing facility at the factory and regularly assess and quality-assure the production process against the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) specification for particleboard," he asserts.

The freshly made boards travel to Johannesburg and Pretoria for upgrading at The FX Group's melamine and UV matt finishing factories. Raw and finished panels, along with postformed tops, are dispatched to its network of HDS Cut & Edge retail stores.