COMPANY PROFILE
2013
alnet
50 years and still
catching new markets
COMPANY REPORT
50 years and still catching new markets Editorial – Joe Forshaw Production – Phil Bird
Alnet is 50 this year. The Cape Town based business is highly active in the industry of net and rope production and its products are distributed all over the world. IndustrySA looks deeper into this specialist manufacturing company to understand more about its last 50 years of success.
Manufacturing in South Africa is big business. The sector has seen unprecedented growth over the past two decades and the task of manufacturing goods, building them from scratch, is a great business to be in when done correctly. South Africa has highly active and internationally recognised manufacturing businesses in all sectors from clothing and technology to food and minerals. One of the major positives of a thriving manufacturing sector is the constant opportunities that arise for economic growth. Manufacturing is labour intensive, meaning it requires a large workforce in order to meet big orders on time, but other countries, especially the States and certain regions in Europe, now have fully automated manufacturing operations. While this is cost effective and can provide savings for customers, many people are still fond of the
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‘hand-made’ approach claiming that attention to detail and quality are lost in mass production techniques. In reality, very few products are still made solely by hand but having people involved in the production process, overseeing the machines in a partnership rather than trusting an automated robotic zoo, gives the sense of control and flexibility. The manufacturing sector has the ability to create employment and in South Africa Agriprocessing is the largest of the manufacturing industries and is responsible for over 500,000 jobs and a massive financial contribution to the country’s economy. As we have seen in previous editions, the country has a prevalent textile, clothing and synthetics industry, with longstanding companies exporting significant numbers to countries all over the world. Due to technological developments, local textile production has evolved into
Alnet
a capital-intensive industry, producing synthetic fibres in ever-increasing proportions. Since the mid-90s, about US$900 million has been spent on modernising and upgrading the industry, making it efficient, internationally competitive, and ready to become a major force in the world market. With all of the positives and incentives that are available for working in the manufacturing sector, it is still a difficult market to penetrate. You have to be cost effective, relevant, punctual and flexible and to be all of these things while still managing to be productive and churn out needed products at a profit is a huge challenge. One company that has met that challenge is Alnet. The Cape Town based company was established in 1963 and through its operations in diverse markets has become one of the largest manufacturers of synthetic textiles and
netting in the world. The name Alnet has roots in The Netherlands, made up of a shortening of the name Apeldoorn Lighthouse Net and Twine, one of the prominent Dutch net makers of the 1960s. Established by Apeldoornse Nettenfabrik, the company was recognised as one of the major suppliers of anchovy and pilchard netting to South Africa and Namibia (then South West Africa) at that time. In 1971 the company’s shareholding was acquired by Rentmeester Investments (Rentbel), (now Rentsure Holdings Ltd) and amalgamated with the activities of another fish net manufacturer, PJ Wolmerans and Kie (Pty) Ltd that was acquired by Rentsure. Alnet has four main divisions; production, finance, national sales and export sales and each has a manager reporting to the Managing Director. Products are sold all
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COMPANY REPORT over the world but the main market, where around 80% of manufactured products are sold, is South Africa. It is estimated that the company owns over half of the market for nets and over a third of the market for ropes in South Africa. In 2013, Alnet is celebrating its 50th anniversary and in the last 50 years the company has come a long way. Now boasting seven outlets, a massive product portfolio, a long list of happy customers and a reputation of being a trusted name in many arenas, Alnet is celebrating and planning its first step into its next 50 years. The company produces netting and related products of all kinds for uses in a range of fields. You will find Alnet products used in the agricultural, industrial, domestic, fishing, mining, civil engineering and defence industries. Their use in fishing is obvious and well reported but in other industries the nets are important factors in daily operations but one of those things that can easily go unnoticed – perhaps a testament to their performance and reliability. Offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Namibia (Southern Cross), Walvis Bay and
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St Helena Bay handle the distribution of Alnet products throughout Southern Africa but the African fishing industry as a whole is a multi-billion Rand industry with ports such as Mombasa, Dar Es Salaam, Beira, Djibouti, Suez Canal and Lagos all continuing to grow. These areas could show potential for Alnet if the company choses to further enter the burgeoning African market. In the mining and industrial sectors, Alnet products are used for safety and storage, in the agricultural sector they are used to protect, shade and cool crops and other plants, in the engineering and defence sectors they are used as support, in the hunting sector they are used for camouflage and in the fishing sector they are used to catch and store fish and separate water ways. Of course, netting is not the only Alnet product and these are not the only uses of the innovative synthetics. The company’s product portfolio also includes ropes, awnings, cloths, sheets and cords. Importantly, the products are made from High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) polymers which go through a closely scrutinised production process.
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Congratulations to Alnet on reaching their 50th anniversary 93 Springbok Avenue, Henley on Klip, Meyerton PO Box 145577, Bracken Gardens 1452 Tel: +27 16 365 6760 • Fax: +27 16 365 6722 e-mail: admin@banbury.co.za
It’s a matter of principals
brian@banbury.co.za dean@banbury.co.za
COMPANY REPORT
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Alnet It begins with the production of extremely thin yarns made out of polymers. These yarns are then bound on bobbins or spindles. In the next department the yarns are rewound on beams and in the last production stage a shade cloth is constructed by knitting these yarns according to a certain pattern. The final product is a fully packaged net, wrapped up in usually a 25 or 50 metre roll. These type of manufacturing operations are imitated in the Far East, regions like China, Thailand and Vietnam, and because of the much reduced labour costs and reduced costs of compliance, the product can be offered at a cheaper price so it is a fantastic achievement for Alnet to have taken up such a strong position in the local and international markets. With 50 years of experience, a strong connection to its customers, planned investments into new equipment and recent CSI (Corporate Social Investment) projects proving very successful and raising the profile of the brand locally and nationally, Alnet is perfectly positioned to continue its growth and take on new markets whilst growing its share in South Africa and satisfying its important local clients.
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+27 21 530 2400 www.alnet.co.za
(0)1603 618 000 info@industrysa.com East Coast Promotions Ltd, Ferndale Business Centre, 1 Exeter Street. Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4QB