Our Track Record: Verified Government Credentials
Quick answer: Mr Mattress has a documented public record with three tiers of South African government, going back to 2014: a Free State Premier's factory launch, a provincial MEC's budget vote speech to the Legislature, a Parliament of South Africa publication naming the company and its founder, and a supply relationship with a Free State Department of Social Development facility opened by the President. Every claim below links to the real government source. Where we have not found independent proof of something, we say so rather than guess.
Read Andries Taljaard's full story →
The four verified credentials, in order
These are the only government or Parliament sources we have found naming the company. We are not aware of a fifth. If you are a journalist or researcher and know of another, we would genuinely like to hear from you.
2014: The Botshabelo factory launch
Naming authority: Government of South Africa (national media advisory) · Date: 24 October 2014
Free State Premier Ace Magashule officially launched our Botshabelo bed manufacturing factory, then trading as Kings Comfort, on 28 October 2014, in a project funded by the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs.
2015: The Township Bed Supplier Programme
Naming authority: Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (MEC Mosebenzi Zwane) · Date: 24 March 2015
In his budget vote speech to the Free State Legislature, the MEC named the factory as the anchor of the province's Township Bed Supplier Programme: 100 beds a day, 55 local young people employed, as part of a R4.1 million initiative to stock 40 township stores.
2020: The Parliament of South Africa publication
Naming authority: Parliament of South Africa, Deputy Speaker Publications, Re Betla Tsela, Vol 02 No 4 · Date: May 2020
Parliament's own newsletter reported that we donated 60 beds and mattresses to a children's place of safety in Botshabelo, home to 53 children aged 4 to 18, after Free State MEC for Social Development Mamiki Qabathe appealed for help during the COVID-19 lockdown. Founder Andries Taljaard is quoted and pictured in the same publication, alongside the MEC and then-Premier Sisi Ntombela. This is the strongest credential we have: an independent national Parliament publication, not something we wrote ourselves.
Source: Parliament of South Africa, Re Betla Tsela, Vol 02 No 4, May 2020
The article is in Sesotho. We are stating the facts it reports here, not quoting its text, until a first-language speaker has checked our translation.
2021: The Charlotte Maxeke Treatment Centre
Naming authority: Free State Department of Social Development, officially opened by the President · Date: 27 April 2021, Freedom Day
Mr Mattress supplied the beds and mattresses for the Charlotte Maxeke Treatment Centre in Botshabelo, a Free State Department of Social Development facility officially opened by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Freedom Day, 27 April 2021.
Source: The Presidency of South Africa, National Freedom Day 2021, Botshabelo
To be precise about what this claim is and is not: the government source confirms the facility and who opened it. The supply of beds and mattresses is our own record. We are not saying the President endorsed us, and we never will.
Where the record stops
We would rather tell you what we have not been able to verify than let you assume it. Two organisations we have supplied, Ebenhaeser Home for the Aged in Cloetesville, Stellenbosch, and Sunflower House children's hospice in Bloemfontein, do not yet have a signed, naming-permission letter on file, so we are not treating those relationships as independently citable here the way the four credentials above are. A Bloemfontein foot specialist refers patients to us regularly, again on our own account rather than a documented third party source. We would rather under-claim than over-claim.
We have never held a Department of Social Development tender or supply contract. What is documented above is donation and sponsorship, reported by Parliament and confirmed by government sources on the factory launch, not a procurement relationship.
From Andries, the founder
I build mattresses for a living, and I would rather you read the real record than take my word for it. Everything above is either a government or Parliament document you can open yourself, or clearly marked as our own account. If a competitor or a journalist checks any of it, I want them to find exactly what we said, not something we quietly rounded up.
We have delivered more than 25,000 beds in total, and we currently sit at 4.8 out of 5 from 433 Google reviews. Those are customer numbers, not government ones, and we keep them on a separate footing from the four credentials above for exactly that reason.
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Related pages
- Andries Taljaard, Founder of Mr Mattress
- About Mr Mattress
- Business and Bulk Mattresses
- Mattress for Wheelchair Users in South Africa
Frequently asked questions
Has Mr Mattress been recognised by the South African government?
Yes. Free State Premier Ace Magashule officially launched the company's Botshabelo bed factory in October 2014, see the credential above for the name it traded under then. The following year, Free State MEC Mosebenzi Zwane named the factory in his budget vote speech to the Free State Legislature as the anchor of a R4.1 million Township Bed Supplier Programme. Both are documented government sources, linked above.
Has Mr Mattress been mentioned by Parliament of South Africa?
Yes. Parliament's own newsletter, Re Betla Tsela, Vol 02 No 4, May 2020, reported that the company donated 60 beds and mattresses to a Botshabelo children's place of safety during the COVID-19 lockdown, at the appeal of Free State MEC for Social Development Mamiki Qabathe. Founder Andries Taljaard is named and pictured in the publication.
Did Mr Mattress supply a facility opened by President Ramaphosa?
Mr Mattress supplied the beds and mattresses for the Charlotte Maxeke Treatment Centre in Botshabelo, a Free State Department of Social Development facility that President Cyril Ramaphosa officially opened on Freedom Day, 27 April 2021. This is not a presidential endorsement of the company, and we do not present it as one.
Does Mr Mattress hold a government tender or supply contract?
No. We have not found, and do not claim, any Department of Social Development tender, contract or purchase order. The documented relationships above are a factory launch, a provincial programme naming the company, and donations, not procurement.
Reviewed by Andries Taljaard, Founder of Mr Mattress. Last checked 10 September 2026.