IBAS Group was founded in 1996 by Wouter and his wife Mariette Booysen.

Wouter Booysen

Wouter Booysen has been associated with Sasol from 1982 until 1997. He holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering.
At Sasol he was a Mechanical Area Manager (Plant Maintenance) on the Synthol plant. His main responsibility was that of mechanically maintaining the plant.

These plants consist of identical Synthol trains with a capital value of R 2 700 million in 1997. His annual maintenance budget was R 45 million and included a staff contingent of 36 people. His major management activities included reducing annual maintenance cost by 4%, maintaining 98.2% plant availability, managing plant shutdowns, keeping plant lifecycle cost at a minimum and assuring plant integrity and safety.
He is recognised for his ability to innovatively manage and solve technical problems and challenges. He has managed and directed shutdown teams and in so doing reduced outage times and saving R 572 million over five years.

He constantly deals with contractors, suppliers and clients. This experience gives him the required skills and knowledge to define the customer’s needs and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors.
In 1996 Wouter and his wife recognised a definite opportunity for alternative access methods within the construction industry, thus leading to the origination of Industrial and Builders Access Suppliers (IBAS).

IBAS Group was established with just R 7 000 start-up capital. The services and products sold were unknown and often laughed at, yet he managed to turn the company into a profitable venture within one year.

Mariette Booysen

Mariette Booysen had accumulated vast business experience over the past 35 years. Her first business venture was in the direct selling market with “Its A Pleasure” in 1984. In a very short period she proved her business acumen and intuition and excelled to one of the top two sales persons in the then Transvaal (now Gauteng) branch. She kept this position till the company sold its interests.

Her next business project was as a fresh produce sales executive. After establishing a wide customer base in the Secunda area she sold her interest.

In 1989 her strong entrepreneurial spirit allowed her to recognise a business opportunity in the community. From there Slender line was established filling the niche with a desperately lacking and well-received service.

Since 1996, Mariette together with her husband and an excellent dedicaded team have passionately built the IBAS Group to where it is today.