This past year − if I’m honest the process actually began late last year − stretched me more than I expected. However, after a business disappointment, I remember telling the team: “I’m not sad this happened. It keeps us humble – which is good.”

It reminded us that we’re not entitled to anything − not our successes, nor even our stability. And strangely, acknowledging that brings freedom. When we stop clutching at things, we work with a clearer head and a lighter heart.

Where does this personal reflection leave Dolphin Bay? Stronger, and more resilient. Because when we learn not to hold on too tightly, we make wiser decisions. That is what 2025 required.

Avoiding doomsday

I joked to a colleague recently that “Everything these days is presented as a crisis − the end of the world.” The issues certainly seem aggressive. As I reflect upon this, a memory springs to mind: that of being children and racing into the sea, so excited that we felt boundless – that we could swim as far as we liked, in pure joy. We thought nothing of bluebottles, sharks, or currents.

As we grow older, we see danger everywhere. The ocean hasn’t changed; only our perception has. So why, as adults, do we focus on the anxiety-provoking issues: threats that feel like a looming doomsday?

Doing business is 20, perhaps 30 times harder than it was a decade ago, at every stage of the process, from sourcing raw materials to providing products and services, due to changes in the regulatory environment. Dolphin Bay navigated this exceptionally well this year. We were leaders in the derogation process, starting very early and producing the necessary research, which SAWPA and the industry have adopted. Now a positive conclusion is finally in sight.

There was worry, of course, but not panic, and we had a Plan B in our back pocket. That mindset made all the difference. Doomsday had not arrived.

Ton on my chest

Then came another substantial business threat, one that felt like a ton of worry weighing on my chest.

When we’re in that state, life can be cruel. Is it sensing a weakness, that makes some people start giving one a hard time, when they never did so before? I began to understand, in a very human way, how people can try to escape their trials – even in drugs and alcohol!

In retrospect, the important thing was going through that fire, and realising I’d come through it, because challenges are not going to disappear. Ever. The only thing that can change is our perspective in overcoming them.

Growth in a buoyant market

These personal reflections bring me to the heart of this letter, which is that amid the difficulties, the most important question is how we made decisions at Dolphin Bay. We have always done so based on what’s best for our business, its people, and the sustainability of our industry.  It was this approach, despite the challenges, which enabled us to grow again this year, adding reputable new customers – we choose our customers carefully − and helping our customers to thrive.

The market is buoyant, perhaps overly so. Many believe that the financial markets, too, are overheated, and that 2026 may bring a pullback. But Dolphin Bay is structurally lean and well prepared. We have built our business for resilience, and while we hope that the upbeat trend in the timber industry will continue, I believe we’ll weather any storms to come.

We’ve also seen big shifts in the African timber industry, with new companies emerging, mergers, and restructurings. There’s fantastic energy out there.

In South Africa, we’re seeing genuine reasons for optimism, with land-claim uncertainties easing, efforts to peg inflation at about 3% − which is good for consumers and investments – and capital flowing into infrastructure and sectors including agriculture again. We’re feeling very, very positive.

New frontiers

One of the year’s proudest moments was commissioning South Africa’s first ACQ treatment plant. This milestone was many years in the making − and the product behind it is the only alternative to CCA on the market with no substances of concern under its classification.

And then there’s Pro-Treat, our digital treatment book. What began as a careful, slow-build project − translating years of technical expertise into a usable digital tool – was adopted very quickly after an initial trial period. Most of our customers now use it constantly and they’ve given great feedback, which has shaped Pro-Treat into something far more powerful than we ever imagined and which we shall continue to integrate.  

Pro-Treat is giving our customers a strategic advantage. They’re seeing increased production, fewer over- and under-treatment issues, and are gaining insights into their operations which they never had before.

In 2026, Pro-Treat will become even more advanced, with predictive features, trend analysis, and nudges to operators and managers regarding where their operations can improve, all aimed at helping plants run smarter and more effectively.

We also completed our first Pro-Treat Lite system in 2025. We’re excited to share this with you next year.

Dolphin Bay will continue to provide new technologies like this to our customers, because we want you to be the best. Our innovations have lifted Dolphin Bay into a new space: we’re not just a manufacturer of wood preservatives, or even a provider of services, but a genuine technology partner to the industry.

Our industry has weathered huge regulatory challenges this year, making it stronger, more professional, and set for a more prosperous future.

Slew of regulatory changes

If you felt 2025 was the year of legislation, you weren’t alone. Labour, Environment, Agriculture − every South African government department issued new requirements.

At first, all of this might have felt like a series of industry doomsdays approaching! But once we all started implementing the changes they raised standards in our industry significantly giving us all a leap forward. We’ve already seen this with the latest requirement of PCO registration, which added a robust new layer of professionalism to timber preservation.

Regulation has another benefit: it quietly pushes out the “cowboys”, as it becomes extremely hard to hide behind shortcuts in the manufacturing and treatment processes. Chemical suppliers, including Dolphin Bay, are now jointly responsible for the legal compliance of the companies whom we supply with preservatives – another reason it’s important to have the right customers.

We want business partnerships built on trust and mutual respect. And we want to enjoy our business partnerships!

Becoming a modern industry

Too many people still see forestry and wood treatment as “backward” or “old-school”. They have absolutely no idea how complex our world has become.

From bio-engineering and seed science to yield optimisation, pest management, sawmilling technology, and highly advanced harvesting equipment − our industry is anything but simple. It’s like calling farming an uncomplicated profession while, in reality, farmers are scientists, meteorologists, business strategists, and commodity managers all at once.

Sawmilling modernised years ago. Harvesting did too. Treatment plants, though, were still stuck in the 1990s – with old processes, old equipment. That’s where Dolphin Bay is changing the game. Pro-Treat is just one example.

Our industry is undergoing a massive shift, much like the shipping industry in the era of clipper ships, as we wrote about in an earlier newsletter. Navigating this shift requires innovation, timing, humility, and the sobering reality that the world does change, whether we’re ready or not.

The important question

The real question is this: Are we making a positive impact?

For Dolphin Bay, I can say yes, confidently. We see this effect constantly. And I’m incredibly proud of our team. They’ve handled enormous urgency, unreasonable demands, and a world where every problem is presented as an emergency, very well. They’ve also faced personal challenges, yet they’ve delivered consistently.

And our customers have stuck with us. Some relationships have grown into true partnerships where trust runs deep and instead of intense pressure from either side, there is ongoing collaboration. We treasure these relationships.

Nothing wrong with boring

Looking ahead to 2026, we’re hoping for a little more peace. After a year of extreme regulatory shifts and new systems, we’d like to consolidate the positive progress of 2025; to build quietly and enjoy our work with a strong sense of peace.

There will still be innovations (don’t worry). But there would be nothing wrong with a year that’s a bit… well, steady. We’ve had enough excitement for a while.

We’re also approaching crises differently now. They no longer define us. We’ve learned − the hard way − to swim with more confidence, even when the waves pick up.

At the heart of it, what matters to us is simple: We want to make a difference.

In our team’s lives. In our customers’ businesses. With our raw-materials suppliers. In the way we treat people. In the trust we build.

If you work with Dolphin Bay – in a relationship of trust, with solid communication − your business will be better off. We’ve seen it, over and over. “Knowing we can make a difference” is not just a slogan. It is what we do.

We are deeply grateful for every one of you. We’re aware how fast things can change, and how little in life we truly “own”. So we hold things lightly, work with intention, and remain committed to bringing renewal, stability, and real value to our industry.

Thank you for walking this road with us.

May 2026 be lighter, steadier, and full of good work done with joy.

Warm regards,
Bertus Coetzee
Managing Director, Dolphin Bay