Boltfast by East Coast Promotions

COMPANY PROFILE

2014

Boltfast

27 21 552 1196 | www.boltfast.co.za

company profile

Holding the world in one piece since 1983 Editorial: Christian Jordan Production: Hal Hutchison

In its 31 year history, Boltfast has always offered a comprehensive product range backed up by a highly efficient, skilled team of people. The company is a leader in the supply of high quality nuts, bolts, fasteners, studs, washers and screws, but Managing Director, Daneel Herselman says that all of the company’s success is down to its people… The common fastener is not much to look at; not much to talk about; it doesn’t have much stature; in fact, can you remember the last time you even thought about fasteners or their use? Unless you are in a specific trade and you use fasteners, nuts and bolts all day, why would you think about them? But this is where the excellence of the fastener is most important – in its ability to provide results and performance, without the end user having to worry about anything. And this is important considering the extent to which fasteners, nuts, bolts, screws and all the similar are used in daily life. Think about your home or workplace; there are fasteners in the computer you use, in the desk and chair you sit at, in all of the facilities around you; even in the structure of the building that shelters you. Without these miniature but magnificent inventions, we would probably live a very different lifestyle altogether. Considering all of this, you have to wonder; the size of the majority of fasteners is small but they are so widely used – the production of these pieces of kit must be immense.

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Reports suggest that in the US the fastener industry runs 350 manufacturing plants, employs 40,000 with more than 200 billion fasteners used every year because of its strong ties to the production of automobiles, aircraft, appliances, agricultural machinery, commercial construction, and infrastructure. In South Africa, a nation which also has significant automotive, agricultural, construction and infrastructure industries, the common fastener and its family are used on a similar scale. There are many places to get hold of products like this but one of the industry leading outlets is Boltfast, headquartered in Cape Town. The company was founded in 1983 by former owner, Eric Hasselbach, and acquired in 2007 by Overberg Agri but every day since its establishment, the company has been delivering an ever-increasing product range to clients all over the country. “The vision of Boltfast is to be the leading distributor of industrial fasteners in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa and to be the preferred partner to all our stakeholders. We strive to build relationships and provide solutions to our clients through excellent service and deliver high quality products and

Boltfast

Daneel Herselman

providing our clients with assistance, training and various other services to ensure our client can also grow their businesses. Our core values include mutual respect, trust, honesty and delivering on our promises,” explains Managing Director, Daneel Herselman who joined the company in 2007 from Overberg Agri as the Financial Manager and was appointed as the MD in 2012. “During the years after Boltfast’s establishment, additional companies were acquired as branches to extend our footprint throughout South Africa, these included Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria. Today, Boltfast has branches in Vredenburg, Epping and Montague Gardens in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg and we are well established to provide our service to any company in South Africa and throughout Africa. We are also ISO9001:2008 registered with a level 4 B-BBEE rating and are certified as a value added supplier,” he says.

24,000 PRODUCTS As the demand for differing products grows, the Boltfast

product range grows with it and the company likes to emphasise that quality and service is at the top of its agenda. When asked what is the key to the company’s success, Herselman states: “Focus on excellent client service and building lasting relationships with our clients and also our suppliers to ensure we can deliver on our promises. We are an ethical company with strong values and large focus on going the extra mile for our clients and providing not only products, but solutions. We value our staff through mutual respect and appreciation and will always strive and work as a team to better ourselves.” The company boasts one of the biggest product ranges of any of its competitors and is the largest stockist of stainless steel fasteners in South Africa. The range includes; stainless steel, brass, high tensile, mid steel, socket head fasteners, roofing fastening systems and other specialised products. These products go out to Boltfast’s primary market sectors which include the mining, construction, manufacturing and marine industries and Herselman explains that because of the size of the product range and the differing needs of the various

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company profile

“Thank you Boltfast for your loyal support. We wish you a successful and prosperous future.”

our footprint even further. Africa is a developing continent with large potential for growth and development,” says Herselman.

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industries in different locations, the popularity of the products varies accordingly. “We specialise in all industrial fasteners of all materials and plating and the popularity of the various items are mostly linked to the different geographical areas of the branches. As we are a national supplier to all major industries there is no ‘most popular item range’ in total,” he says. Importantly, the quality of Boltfast’s products is demonstrated by the range of industries and project in which they are used. From small DIY jobs to major national projects, Boltfast products are at home in application. “We have been involved in many large projects over the years, including projects like Medupi and various large construction projects and developments,” explains Herselman. And this is no fluke; there is strong competition in the fastener market in South Africa but time and time again, Boltfast is chosen because of its commitment to quality and service and because of this success the company is expanding into neighbouring countries. “Boltfast is one of the largest suppliers of industrial fasteners in South Africa. There are various competitors in the market with the other large companies including BMG, Bolt and Engineering Distributors, Eureka etc. “Boltfast is already active in the Sub-Saharan countries bordering South Africa and we are always striving to extend

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Although the company has a strong history and now a leading product portfolio, there is no resting on laurels. Herselman makes it clear that continued expansion is the goal. “We have undergone a process of consolidation and restructuring in the last two years and have structured our processes and systems to ensure we can provide our clients with better than expected service. We have also added new related product lines, including the Titan Hardware range, silicon ranges and protective clothing to enable us to provide our clients with a larger basket and to be the preferred partner. We have successfully launched a small packs range for the DIY market and this range is part of a social responsibility initiative where we support an organisation that provides work to disabled individuals in a safe and protected working environment. Through training these individuals are given the chance to then be able to work in companies like Boltfast. “These changes have ensured that Boltfast is wellpositioned to capitalise on future growth opportunities. Our focus for the next five years is to increase our market share and returns through building further on our drive to provide high quality products and building long term relationships with our clients and also suppliers to ensure we can deliver to our clients. We are also looking to increase our footprint further through additional branches and franchise options and to extend our retail and DIY markets. New related product lines will consistently be added in our effort to provide a full package solution to our clients,” he explains.

Boltfast But all of this growth, development and expansion means that the Boltfast people will have to adapt to a busier, more complex working day but Herselman doesn’t foresee any problems, calling Boltfast’s people “our most important asset” and saying that every person has “endless potential”. “Our staff will always be our most important asset and we strive towards providing an environment for our staff to grow and develop,” he says. “Boltfast are always looking for dedicated individuals to also provide the best to our clients. We strive towards the development and training of our staff and have various internal and external training programs and bursaries for long term studies. Our staff are always expected to always give their best and to go the extra mile for our clients and be the best team we can be. I believe that every person at Boltfast has endless potential and together as a team we can overcome any challenge and be the best in our industry.”

THE FUTURE Considering how the company has grown over the past 31 years, it would seem that Boltfast is well equipped to deal with any challenge that is thrown in its path – after all, in that time there has been political change to a democratic nation, two recessions, a construction industry surge and a move seeing the

country change to a ‘medium developed’ economy. As for the fastener industry, and other complimentary industries, there have been two issues that continue to pop up and present challenges – the ‘green’ issue and the price of steel. “The steel prices and availability of quality steel is always a concern, but our excellent teams are constantly monitoring the steel prices, market conditions and availability to make sure we act pro-actively and ensure that we can service the demands of our clients. “I think the ‘greener’ drive should always be seen as a positive change towards building a better and sustainable future and we all must take the responsibility towards changing our companies and also our personal lives to preserve what is around us. Boltfast is in the process of looking at various options and projects to promote our ‘greener’ business,” says Herselman. And as Boltfast continues to grow; becoming more green, more efficient, bigger, more productive, and more helpful to customers; the amount of projects underway in Southern Africa will also continue to grow thanks to a developing economy and the governments NDP. So it seems there will be endless opportunities for Boltfast to expand and as long as the company’s dedicated people remain at its heart, who would bet against this service driven organisation becoming a continental success in the very near future?

Tel: 0861 76 76 76 Email: info@freightmore.co.za Web: www.freightmore.co.za

“We are proud to be associated with Boltfast”

Our services include:

Road Freight Express Road: Provides delivery before 5pm the next day Economy Road: provides delivery before 5pm within 24-72 hours

Air Freight Same day Express: Same day door-to-door delivery Overnight Express: Overnight, time definite door-to-door delivery Normal Air: Overnight door-to-door delivery

Cross Border Cross border deliveries are done via an outsourcing strategy, into bordering countries such as Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Mozambique.

Johannesburg Malcolm Moodie Crescent, Jet Park, 1459 Durban 95, Goodwood Road, Mahogany Ridge, Westmead Pinetown, 3608 Port Elizabeth 289, Grahamstown Road Deal Party, 6210 East London Unit 6, Breezyvale Road Woodbrook, 5201 Cape Town (Head Office) Rome Road, Brackengate, Business Park Brackenfell, 7560

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