They say that successful businessmen are born through adversity and forged in fire. Add a pinch of luck, an entrepreneurial spirit, and hard work, and you have the recipe for greatness. These are the attributes we use to describe Carlo.

Carlo’s humble beginnings have taught him to persevere and look for opportunities. At the age of fifteen, he was determined to earn his own money. Armed with a one-page business plan, he went to the former Landbank hoping to apply for financing. This young farmer at heart wanted to invest in his first herd of cattle. With great disappointment, he was turned down because he was too young and inexperienced. This setback did not deter his dream but made him more determined.

His dream to have his herd of cattle did not subside, and he decided to make another plan. Instead of working towards a formal qualification, Carlo decided to prematurely cash out an investment policy to cover his studies once he turned twenty-one. This decision was one of the young entrepreneur’s most significant risks and paid off. He made six times more by investing in cattle instead of waiting for the policy to mature.

With seventeen newly purchased heifers, his dream became a reality. His son’s ingenuity inspired his father so much that he invested in seventeen heifers. The herd was kept on the family’s farm and took little time to expand. By the time Carlo turned nineteen, his herd had calved three times. His newly found success just fired up his ambition, and he knew his dream and vision to become part of the whole value chain was only a matter of time.

Knowing that he would have to be financially more secure to make his dream a reality, he decided to work in the UK but ended up with more life experience than money.

Carlo soon realized that hard work, dedication, passion, and tenacity would guarantee success, but it did not guarantee a smooth and pain-free journey. With only twenty thousand rands hard cash, a bakkie on the brink of repossession and credit card debt of eighty thousand rands, he had to work harder than before to keep the dream and business alive.

To enjoy optimal profit in this industry, you must fill the entire value chain – from produce to slaughter and then from marketing to retail to the public. This is where Carlo identified a gap in the market. At 25, after some detours, Carlo knew what to do.

Starting small, he bought pigs from local emerging farmers and auctions. Man alone, Carlo caught, loaded, transported, and slaughtered them, which he delivered directly to butcheries. This business grew exponentially, and soon it was too much for one pickup and trailer.

Staying ahead of the curve, Carlo diversified his product offering and invested in feedlot beef. Once again, he did everything single-handedly, from loading them on the bakkie to slaughtering them and carrying the carcasses into the butcheries.

As the business grew, he was able to invest in a refrigerated trailer which enabled Carlo to comply with the legal regulations of the South African meat trade. This opened the door to purchasing his very own eight-ton truck soon after. Once again, Carlo proved that he is not afraid of hard work. Driving his truck and with the help of an assistant, Carlo delivered between 20 and 50 beef and pig carcasses to butcheries.

Carne Da Carlo

Carlo is privileged to have his mom as part of his admin team, who has contributed to the steady growth of the business. In the beginning days, they managed to sell one hundred to hundred and fifty pigs together with sixty to one hundred cattle per week to the market.

They also had the excellent opportunity to merge this business with Tangeni Cattle Company (Gert Ehlers ). With our profit-sharing structure, we could market between three hundred and six hundred cattle a week. With the steady increase in business, Carlo established a more permanent managing role for the pork side of the business.

TCM Pork Traders

This business has grown to deliver a steady average of three hundred and fifty to five hundred and fifty pigs per week.

Carlo also had the opportunity to partner with the Erasmus family (Jan and Gloria Erasmus) at Koppies in the Northern Free State. This move enabled Carlo to oversee the entire pork value chain to deliver quality meat to the industry continuously.

Tjop Tjop Voerkraal

Carlo started a project with Johan Pistorius of Pitfontein where they bred 500 sheep and 2500 feedlot lambs to deliver quality mutton to consumers. This operation is dormant due to the ever-rising stock theft and low mutton prices.

Farming Enterprises

Another opportunity crossed Carlo’s path when he established his own cattle herd with more than 100 heifers bred for meat distribution. The company also feed cattle at Ternus and Beefarm feedlot, where calves are raised to secure delivery to the market.

Farmyard Butchery

A business opportunity arose to acquire a butcher shop in Brakpan, on a plot in Withok Estates, when an old friend (late Uncle Aby) sold his business to Carlo just before his demise. The business proved to be quite challenging, and through trial and error and a few managers later, it became evident that a new business model had to be implemented.

After three years of struggling, Carlo approached an old school friend Hermanus Du Preez to join him as a managing director. Although the business barely survived, they both realized there was so much potential to grow it into a thriving entity, and they purchased the property it is situated on.

They have moved most of the other business’ distribution to the property, where the carcasses and other fresh and frozen products are stored in cold storage.

Square 1 Transport

The company owns eight refrigerated trucks for wholesale distribution of four hundred cattle, four hundred and fifty pigs and two hundred lambs weekly. The company also has two trucks for the in-house livestock and distributing raw materials to different feedlots. One livestock trailer can transport up to sixty beef, five hundred and fifty lamb and two hundred and eighty pigs.

Although Carlo has a great team working for him and is actively involved in the daily operational management of all his companies, he does all the negotiations, buying and selling, marketing and logistical planning and keeps an eye on the debtors’ accounts to maintain good relationships with all the farmers.

His workforce consists of the following:

• Three Administration staff
• Two Dispatch managers
• One Marketing Manager
• Six Drivers
• Fifteen Loaders

Carlo believes he owes his success to his industry experience, dedicated team and hard work and the great relationships he has maintained throughout the years. His work ethic speaks of integrity, honesty and going the extra mile regardless of who you do business with.

Let’s Meat

CEO, Carlo Rodrigues Farinha