About Us
About Us
The Bumbo® brand was born in South Africa at the turn of the 20th century and while the popularity of its pioneering solutions to everyday parenting challenges spread around the world, Bumbo® continues to manufacture its unique range of products without compromising on quality. We consult with parents, caregivers, orthopaedic and paediatric specialists to ensure the utmost safety, quality and comfort of our products. Our design mantra is Simplified, Elegance, Functionality, Quality and Care. I sincerely hope that your Bumbo® experience will reflect these qualities we strive to achieve.
Johan Nicolaas Buitendag, CEO.
Quality, comfort and safety without compromise.
This is our promise to you. Every Bumbo® product is designed and created with this promise in mind.
In the best interest of your child
All of our Bumbo® products are created with your child’s best interest in mind. Our seating, bathroom and accessories ranges are made from the highest quality materials in the industry. The Bumbo® range of products is designed to offer comfort and support for each of your child’s important milestones. Our products are there for you each step of the way from making changing diapers easier to the day your baby starts learning to sit up by themselves supporting them, and making playtime more fun. When your baby starts potty training, our products are there to help you through memorable times.
Design with a purpose
We didn’t have CAD and 3D model printers at our disposal back when we first got started. I began by sculpting a model of what would become the first “Bumbo® Floor Seat”, under the watchful eye of my father. Our company manufactured pressed tools for parts used in the automotive industry. To find the perfect softness for his new invention, my father started experimenting with foam material used in the manufacturing of modern-day car seats. The further development of this foam material led to him winning the Chairman’s Award for the Best Advance in Technology from the South African Bureau of Standards in 2002.
Making products that last
My father instilled a sense of pride, honour and accomplishment in me. His lessons have served me well, not just in a personal capacity but also in the way in which we do business at Bumbo®. Sadly, he passed away in 2011 but his legacy lives on through his teachings. Bumbo® now also has a European head office and distribution centres in the Netherlands from where the Buitendag family originated. Our goal has never changed over all of these years, we still strive to create long-lasting quality products that will serve you and your family for a long time. All Bumbo® Products comply with European (EN) and USA (ASTM) safety requirements and quality standards.
So, where did it all begin?
History
My sister Antoinette’s son Daniel was born in 1996. Ouma and Oupa were filled with excitement at the first opportunity to babysit the latest little member to the Buitendag clan. Daniel was the friendliest little guy while you held him in your arms, but oh, boy! Don’t you dare lay him down!
My father realised, when he reached out for Daniel, the little guy would grab his fingers to try and pull himself upright with all of his might.
Daniel wanted was to sit upright, a position from where he could see and explore this wonderful new world into which he was born.
Oupa, being an engineer in the motor industry at the time, applied his inventive genius to help little Daniel out. He built a wall of pillows around Daniel, to prop him up comfortably, and Daniel was full of smiles and happy noises as a result. But, alas, the silence was short-lived as the pillows gave way and Daniel sounded his alarm of disapproval.
I was working with my father at our small family engineering business when, on that fateful morning, he approached me with his latest invention, “A baby seat that no household should have to cope without!”