On the 18th April 1973 Grahame Desmond Bendall officially opened Cemcrete’s doors in Johannesburg, South Africa. Having worked at Blue Circle Cement from the age of 16 years as an office boy, he grew within the company to one day become General Manager of the commercial products line.
​After this division was closed he decided to open his own company making coloured cement washes and plasters. In1973, Grahame rented a parking garage in Watt Street, Industria, and employed 2 workers, who helped him do the hand mixing and hand bagging of his inventions. Today we still use his formulations of the products he made all those years ago. Over the next few years Grahame manufactured CemWash, PoolCrete, CemCote, Contractor’s White and Tile Adhesive.
In 1978 Grahame’s son, Brian Bendall, joined the company full time, having spent many university holidays working with his father at the company. Slowly the company grew, more staff were employed, and more products were formulated, including FloorCrete.
​In 1995 Grahame Bendall passed away, at the age of 70. Brian took over the company, and continued in his father’s footsteps in inventing and creating new products to build and grow Cemcrete. Cemcrete grew from strength to strength. In 2006, another factory was needed to accommodate the vast expansion of the diverse product range. Cemcrete had expanded into these factories and warehouses, manufacturing over 70 products, and employing around 120 staff members, including the first third generation family member, Shaun Bendall.
In 2008 Brian Bendall died tragically in a light airplane crash over the Easter Weekend. It was a very difficult time for the Bendall family, but his wife, Dee, and his two children, Shaun and Joanne, made the decision to continue the business. Shaun took over the product development in his father’s and grandfather’s paths and Joanne took over the marketing department.
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​Cemcrete became the cement that bonded a large group of people together. From humble beginnings Cemcrete expanded the product range and skills base to something truly unique. This growth was, and is, a result of all the dedication and hard work of every single person working in Cemcrete. Every person having a particular function to play, fitting together like a puzzle, and the completed picture of the puzzle is the picture of a company - and the company is Cemcrete.