[Durban, 04 December 2025] – Deep in the rural foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains lies Loskop, KwaZulu-Natal – a village that has quietly become the beating heart of one of South Africa’s biggest back-to-school operations. Here, Bata South Africa’s sprawling 65,000m² factory powers the production of Toughees, the country’s toughest, most trusted school shoe brand since 1954. More than 4 million pairs of Toughees are manufactured in Loskop annually.