CONLOG
CONLOG
Innovative Solutions to
Everyday Challenges PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder
Conlog is a world leader in metering solutions, a Durban-based developer, manufacturer and distributor of prepaid electricity meters, smart meters and related software applications serving utilities, municipalities and property management companies across South Africa, South America, the Middle East and Africa at large. 2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
C
INDUSTRY FOCUS: POWER
//
More than ever before, over the last decade there has been a perceptible shift in both consumer spending habits towards and consumption of electricity in South Africa. Increasingly, homeowners and property developers are turning to prepaid electricity meters for their properties, due in no small part to the ease with which electricity can be purchased. Additionally, the use of prepaid meters makes electricity consumption infinitely more easy to track, in turn promoting awareness and action with regard energy efficiency. In contrast to the traditional debit order system too, with the prepaid meter the consumer has all the power as to how much is spent on the coming month’s electricity, and remains in control of this expenditure. For these reasons and more, Conlog has striven over half a decade to become a worldwide leader in smart meters and metering solutions. Conlog produces smart meters designed to assist with utility management, revenue protection, load management and demand management, while focussing heavily also on big data
4 / www.enterprise-africa.net
analytics and smart city solutions. Its solutions have been bought and used by more than 70 utilities who are all now reaping the rewards brought by its revenue management systems, together with households across the world which have installed a Conlog prepaid meter to become integrated into the daily workings of the home. Conlog recently celebrated its 50th year in business, having been established in 1965 as an electronics design company. It has been able to retain its position at the very forefront of the industry thanks to its trademark pioneering spirit which has served to keep it relevant to an everchanging market. “Since the inception of the South African prepayment industry in the late 1980s, Conlog has been at the forefront of innovative solutions that meet the needs of utilities across the world,” former Conlog General Manager Dudley Miller told Engineering News in May last year. “In fact, the majority of our revenue comes from outside South Africa’s borders. “This comprehensive and holistic approach enables customers to reap the full benefit of their investment and
ensures sustained success, into the future,” emphasised Miller. “Furthermore, over 70 utilities worldwide utilise our solutions and consider the company their preferred prepayment provider. With systems that are available in English, Arabic, French, Spanish and Portuguese, our products have been able to reach millions,” he added. The Conlog factory, which is located at Head Office, employs mainly women, and its engineering department boasts many experts in their relevant fields, including project management, embedded software engineering, hardware design, validation, mechanical engineering, systems engineering and research and development. It is this policy of constant innovation which has brought Conlog a number of world firsts in the industry, seeing it develop the common vending system and the first commercial scratch-card solution for prepayment. Its heritage of innovation has been recognised with numerous awards, including being named the Best Metering Company for six years out of eight, and ranked within the Impumelelo Top 300 Black Empowered Companies. “Conlog engineers are well equipped with the knowledge and experience required to develop products that constantly outperform the rest,” Miller pointed out. Conlog’s breakthrough into electricity prepayment, where it has gone on to make its name in the ensuing years, came only relatively recently - towards the end of the 1980s. Until this point the company had specialised in a number of diverse fields, beginning in the industrial sector and later branching out into such new industries as lighting, automotive alarms and cruise controls. All of these years of diversification were then channelled into its electricity prepayment solutions, in which it has been specialising now for more than 20 years. In this time, Conlog has grown the world’s largest base of smart meters and prepaid solutions, and developed a footprint which spans over 20 countries across four continents. “We strive for excellence in all areas of our business and are proud of the fact that our meters are manufactured to the highest quality of
CONLOG
standards,” said Miller. “Our focus now is on smart meters, and we are especially excited to witness the value proposition that they will offer society, especially in terms of greater individual electricity empowerment and energy management.” Conlog was recently acquired, in August of last year, by JSE-listed Consolidated Infrastructure Group (CIG), for up to R850-million. “Conlog is an ideal extension to our primary electricity infrastructure operation Conco and further diversifies our earnings into a fast-growing sector,” explained CIG CEO Raoul Gamsu. “Demand for prepaid electricity is increasing exponentially, particularly across Africa, and we believe this transaction offers the group significant upside potential.” Indeed, the addition of Conlog to CIG was forecast to raise group Ebitda - net income - by more than 35% over the financial year. Gamsu also highlights that Conlog’s
solutions are developed specifically for cost-effectiveness and ease of deployment, and adds that its R550-million top line business is effectively managed by a young and dynamic management team, which should dovetail seamlessly into CIG’s decentralised operations model. “Conlog is, importantly, less capital intensive than existing power operation Conco and is strongly cash generative,” Gamsu explains, “which will strengthen our Power division’s business and financial model.” The group’s strategy to operate across a wider geographic footprint enabled CIG to generate 65% of profits after tax from outside of South Africa, of which the flagship Power division contributed 61%. In addition, Conlog’s and CIG’s geographic revenue split align well, with more than 50% of CIG’s profitability generated outside South Africa. Conlog’s own footprint across more than 20 African countries – with pole position in Southern
and East Africa – generates 60% to 70% of its revenue outside South Africa. Locally, Conlog is also one of the top suppliers of prepaid electricity meters. Conlog is also considering expansion into the Middle East and West Africa. In CIG’s interim results published earlier this year, Gamsu summated this neatly. “During the period, our international penetration continued to progress and we saw benefits from the synergies between Conco and Conlog post the full integration of the acquisition. We continue to see opportunities outside of South Africa and will seek to explore these going forward.”
CONLOG +27 31 268 1182 www.conlog.com
ARROW ALTECH DISTRIBUTION, SUPPLIER TO CONLOG OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS,
WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE ELECTRICITY PREPAYMENT SPECIALIST FOR ITS LONG AND BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP.
www.arrow.altech.co.za
www.enterprise-africa.net / 5
CMB Multimedia does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/ or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. Š CMB Multimedia Ltd 2017
AFRICA
Published by CMB Multimedia Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-multimedia.com Sackville Place, 44-48 Magdalen Street, Norwich, NR3 1JU T. +44 (0) 20 8123 7859 E. info@cmb-multimedia.com www.cmb-multimedia.com
Issue No.61
www.enterprise-africa.net
JEGIE PADMANATHAN:
People Are The Power
of Bidvest Prestige ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
CCI South Africa / Thebe Tourism Group / RPP Developments / ALG Estates
A S F E AT U R E D I N
ENTERPRISE AFRICA
AUGUST 2017