Frequently Asked Questions

You get the 14 videos (with subtitles) showing how a coffin and raised flatlid casket is built, you get the coffin and casket training manuals, a template for the coffin side panel ends, the business package to kickstart your business, list of existing manufacturers and a list of suppliers.

The 7 coffin templates is in the exact shape of the 7 different coffin sizes. The template is copied onto a piece of chipboard and then cut out, this will form the base of the jig that you will be making. Once the jig is complete you build the coffin around the jig. It is thus important that the jig is in the exact shape of the coffin that you will be building around it. This process is covered in the training video.

The coffin side panel ends is in the shape of a ship and sometimes difficult for some students to get right. With the template you can simply mark and cut the ends.

A coffin is the rounded box that is angled down at the head and feet (like a boat). See image here. A casket is a square box with a fancy lid. See image here.

View a complete list of what you get here.

It depends what quality/size tools and machinery you purchase. Your biggest outlay will be the electric woodworking machine (like a table saw) and a compressor. If you purchase a cheaper table saw from a place like Makro or Game for about R3,500.00 and a smaller compressor for about R1,500.00, plus the other tools for about R2,000.00, then you can start with about R7,000.00. On the other hand, you get industrial saws that cost between R8,000.00 and R50,000.00. Our suggestion is to start small, get your customer base established and then grow with your business. Keep overheads as low as possible. Also look around for good used equipment.

This is impossible to answer. Prices differ from area to area and it also depends on many other factors i.e. what wood do you intend using (chipboard, supawood, pine, foil, hardwood etc etc), plus the cost of the handles and trimmings (these also vary from R60.00 to R1,600.00). Your biggest outlay will be the cost of the wood, so you have to source a supplier close to you that will give you the best price. Most wood suppliers work on the basis that "the larger the quantity you purchase the lower the price" i.e. they give you discount if you purchase large quantities. When making your first coffin and casket, work out the exact cost price of the product, then add your markup (usually between 30-60% on coffins and up to 100% on caskets). When competing with other manufacturers in your area find out what their prices are. Speaking to undertakers about pricing can be misleading, as some of them add up to a 1000% profit to their products.

To build your own casket with a rounded (dome) lid is not easy. You either have to be a very skilled and experienced carpenter to shape the rounded lid, or you have to purchase an expensive saw that can cut wood into the desired shape. At the outset it is recommended that you simply buy dome caskets from an existing manufacturer, add on your own markup and sell it to your customer (you get a list of manufacturers with the manuals). Once your business is established you can explore the possibilities of manufacturing dome caskets. We will supply you with a dome manufacturer that you can use for your own customers (buy the domes, add on your profit and sell to your customers).

You will be selling to both the public and to undertakers. While undertakers will pay you as little as possible for your products, the advantage is that they usually order substantial quantities at a time, whereas you will receive a single orders from a family. The advantage of public is that word spreads quickly, especially if you have supplied a few families with a good, nice looking and inexpensive coffin or casket. In short, you will have two pricelists, one for undertakers and one for the public. You may have to negotiate a price with interested (smaller) undertakers in your area. Don't try and do business with the larger undertakers, as they are usually part of a huge franchise with their own factories. These undertakers are expensive and the public is looking for cheaper and alternative products.

Over and above the manufacturing side you could also sell tombstones, supply flowers, transport bodies, supply meat, food and tents at funerals. The ultimate would be to have a manufacturing side plus your own undertaking business. While you don't have to register the manufacturing side, you will have to register as an undertaker and adhere to a list of requirements followed by an inspection, before the license will be granted.

There is a huge demand, not only in South Africa but also the surrounding countries (Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique). All you need to do is supply a good product at the right price, combined with some basic marketing (internet, agents on commission basis, flyers, newspaper). Eventually you wont have to do any marketing, other than your own website. Having your own website is a cheap and effective marketing tool.

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