AQS LIQUID TRANSFER
AQS LIQUID TRANSFER
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With a vast product variety that caters for the mining, industrial, agricultural and utility markets, AQS Liquid Transfer is an importer and distributor of pumps across Southern Africa. Managing Director Gerhard Prinsloo took us through some recent landmarks in the company’s history, and he plans for AQS to permeate even further afield in this most competitive of markets. 2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
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The AQS entity has been a stalwart of the South African pump industry for nearly 25 years, but it was around the turn of the century that the business began showing the signs of what it would eventually grow into. “AQS as we know it today was formed in 2002 from a company called AQS Industries,” recounts MD, Gerhard Prinsloo, “when we identified a pressing need within a specific market segment of the industry. As a result, AQS Liquid Transfer was put together specifically to cater for the Air Operated Double Diaphragm (AODD) market sector.” From here, AQS’s growth has exceeded what anyone could reasonably have expected. “The company started off with the three original directors - those founding partners being Andre Nagel, Peet Snyman and myself - and one additional staff member, and today we are in excess of 150 people,” he
explains. “The values and principles are still the same, however we have changed enormously since the inception of the company. “At first we had a single small office in Centurion, Pretoria, and now we have ten facilities throughout the country. Our product range has grown from that one original, very specific, offering to numerous different types of pumps and spares that we import from all over the world.” At its disposal too is a world-class facility to allow AQS’s qualified team of technicians to service and repair a wide variety of pumps to the highest specification.
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CAUSES FOR CELEBRATION AQS’s core values include its strong partnerships with suppliers and clients alike, a commitment which propels the company to consistently unlock value for every customer, every time, by providing trusted pumping solutions within a culture of
// WE CONSTANTLY DRIVE TO BECOME MORE AND MORE INVOLVED IN AFRICA, BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE THE GROWTH IS AT THE MOMENT // adaptability and passion. Abiding by its mantra of ‘Pumping to a Different Beat’, AQS’s passion and enthusiasm to exceed expectations drives it to do things differently within what is often an all too impersonal industry. It is an approach which has led to many causes for celebration in AQS’s lifetime, as Prinsloo lays out. “Apart from the growth in the business and the people that we have acquired on our journey, one real achievement was overcoming
AQS LIQUID TRANSFER
the important challenge of Broad Based Economic Empowerment. We were delighted with the way we were able to put together our strategy so successfully - it was a step which opened a lot of doors for us. Next to this of course was our ISO Accreditation, which was a vital step, and the incorporation of the IWP Company was also a massive milestone. We knew we had incredible water products, and to streamline those was vital to make one coherent company.” Meanwhile, in 2016 AxFlow, a division of Axel Johson International, acquired a majority stake in AQS Liquid Transfer. Established in 1989, AxFlow has continually focused on meeting the needs of process industries across Europe, which has resulted in stable growth and a presence in 27 countries. The AxFlow group is the largest distributor of positive displacement pumps and related
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products and services in Europe. “Of course, the big recent landmark was the part-acquisition by AxFLow,” says Prinsloo, detailing some
of the impact this has had on business so far. “The biggest change has been the piece of mind that it has brought. All of a sudden we had a ‘big brother’
Technical facility
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in business, and it gave us access to other international suppliers that we would never have dreamed of being able to reach previously.” While the new partnership has clearly opened many doors for AQS, it was equally one designed to be mutually beneficial. “One of the big drivers behind this coming together from AxFLow’s side was to expand into Africa, and that is something which has been on the cards for us for a long time - it is something that we are actively busy with, looking to service wider Africa from here in South Africa, which is not an easy task. “We are active in quite a few countries right now, including Mozambique and Botswana, Lesotho and Zambia, as well as through dealerships in the DRC. It is a constant drive to become more and more involved in Africa, because this is where the growth is at the moment.”
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FOR THE LONG HAUL When asked to give some insight into AQS’s lasting success, Prinsloo in large part thanks the company’s commitment to staying close to its roots. “One of the biggest ways in which a company is measured in
South Africa is its history, and the footprint you manage to build up. Then comes the product, of course, but above everything else is the service you offer. The AQS family is the propellant that drives this service to make the company fly. That is why
AQS LIQUID TRANSFER
// WE HAVE FREQUENTLY DEMONSTRATED AN AWARENESS OF THE NEED TO CONTINUALLY CHANGE AND ARE VERY WELL-EQUIPPED TO DO SO // we are so successful in South Africa, because we are on the doorstep to provide both the tailored service - if you are not physically there and ready to assist then you are not going to make it.” Prinsloo does acknowledge the challenges coming AQS’s way, particularly in terms of unpredictable industry sectors. “The instability in the mining sector in Southern Africa is a big concern,” he says, “although instability has been part of mining for all the years I’ve been involved in mining, which exceeds 30 years. “The current decline in demand for commodities produced by SA mining is my biggest current concern, not excluding the instability in international currency rate of exchange and the demands that
labour put on mining.” However, despite some potential issues, AQS’s expertise will see it flourish as it has time and again until now. “Taking our history into account, we have frequently demonstrated an awareness of the need to continually change, and we are very wellequipped to do so as a result. If you become stagnant, you are only going to fall behind, and so a large part of our day-to-day planning is to plan for change, and we do that very well. “Expanding our footstep in Southern Africa has been and will be a continuous project for AQS in order to maintain growth,” begins Prinsloo’s conclusion on what comes next for AQS, “ While our product additions and expansions will be driven by the needs and trends of the market.”
For AQS, no drastic measures are required; it really is a case of ‘more of the same’ as it looks to build on its solid foundations. “We are focussed on growing on what we have already achieved,” Prinsloo sums up. “We do not need to try too many new things, rather we will develop our past achievements. “We know the market, we know the industry, and so this is where our expertise lies to carry us forward.”
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