Gardener’s heaven: SCC Garden Machinery opens in Roodepoort

SCC Garden Machinery West Rand officially opened its doors at its new premises in Ontdekkers Road on Saturday, February 1.

Formerly known as Reef Chainsaw Centre, it now calls Roodepoort home after many years at its former address in Krugersdorp.

The Roodepoort Record attended the special occasion and spoke to Lyndell Cash, who alongside her husband Shawn, is determined to carry on the legacy of her father, Johann Stapel Snr, a legend in the forestry and garden machinery business who sadly passed away in 2023.

Johann Stapel Snr was well known and highly respected within the industry as an expert forester, a passionate training provider, and a man of honour, whose word you could bank on.

“He was the first person to bring the Husqvarna brand to Gauteng when he opened the Reef Chainsaw Centre in Johannesburg in 1986. He built his empire to six shops over the years and remained the sole Husqvarna distributor in the province until 2018,” says Lyndell.

“We grew up in the business and it was only natural for my brothers and me to end up making our livings in the industry, and for our children to do the same.

“We are a family business through and through,” she adds. “It is about much more than simply passing the baton from one generation to the next; it is about living up to the passion and high standards that my late father has instilled in us from a young age.”

Shawn and Lyndell bought out the Johannesburg and West Rand stores in 2023 and relaunched them under the SCC Garden Machinery banner. The name SCC is also about the continuance of family heritage, representing her husband and two sons; Shawn, Connor, and Carter.

According to shop manager Lee-Roy Swanepoel, who has been employed by the family since the age of 16 (he is now 27 with a family of his own), Johann Stapel Snr took him in as a boy simply looking for an income.

“He took me under his wing and today, I don’t just have a job, I have a career,” he says, proudly glancing at his daughter Mia (9) as she prances around in her SCC-branded T-shirt with her position, mini-project manager, printed on the back.

Johan Kruger, national sales manager for Husqvarna adds that he got to know the family as a customer in his former role working for Johannesburg City Parks and Zoos. His transition to Husqvarna saw him becoming a supplier.

“There are very few people today who possess the knowledge and expertise that Johann Stapel did,” he says. “Those that do were most likely taught by him.

“Johann loved nothing more than sharing his knowledge and helping those around him develop as people and as professionals.

“It is wonderful to see the continuance of his legacy through his daughter and her family, and we wish them only the best at their new location.”

The latest addition to the SCC team, Connor Cash (20), aims to not only live up to his grandfather’s legacy but to take it to even greater heights.

“My grandfather taught not only with his words but with his actions. He led by example, always leading from the front. Likely the most important lesson I learned from him is to be a man of your word and to never break a promise.”

The SCC Garden Machinery team stands ready to become a leading supplier of Husqvarna and other brands under their umbrella in the greater Roodepoort region.

Visit them at 207 Ontdekkers Road, Horizon View, for all your garden machinery requirements.