IndustrySA Issue 52

JUly

2015 ISSUE 52

WWW.industrysa.co.za

Bringing power to the people Founded by leading entrepreneur and philanthropist, Vivian Reddy, Edison Power now stands as the oldest electrical contracting company in South Africa and with a history that spans across three decades, it remains whole-heartedly committed in becoming the country’s leading electrical company in the not too distant future…

Netflorist A rosy future

J&E Cash ‘n Carry Celebrating 70 years

Boltfast Nuts and bolts of the industry

Kelm Engineering Professional, superior, reliable

NON-STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE

RISK FINANCE

AllLife

Centriq

SOLUTIONS

MOTOR FLEET

INSURANCE Paladin

CAR HIRE INSURANCE BrokerserV

Manwood

EMPLOYEE AND RISK BENEFITS

HCV

INSURANCE IUM

Blue Diamond

AVIATION

MARINE

INSURANCE

INSURANCE

Azriel Aero Aviation

Nautical

EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Xelus, Total Risk Administrators

KEU

EXCESS BUYDOWN

INSURANCE Beyonda Group

MOTOR STAND ALONE SAU

Ad Ultimum, IUM, Paladin, Paradigm

WHY LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE? We’re all different. We think, work and live differently. At Centriq, we see insurance in the same way – differently. It’s this way of looking at you and your clients that makes us a partner you can trust and turn to, whatever your clients’ insurance needs, from assets to liabilities to people. Over the years, we’ve built relationships with leading UMA business partners in our industry that position us to offer each insurance broker and their clients unique solutions provided by dedicated and competent people – that’s the Centriq difference.

EDITOR’S PAGE

EDITOR Harriet Pattison SUB-EDITOR Ajuanne Payne WRITERS Colin Chinery Alex Montgomery Rebecca Bingley Richard Hadley Stephen Lewis Sarah Dickens Mark Douglas ADVERTISING SALES SALES DIRECTOR Andy Williams SALES EXECUTIVE Holly Graham STUDIO STUDIO DIRECTOR Martyn Oakley DESIGNER Harvey Tarlton ACCOUNTS Mike Molloy, Jane Reeder ECP LTD MANAGING DIRECTOR David Hodgson FINANCE DIRECTOR Scott Warman 2a Ardney Rise, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 3QH, United Kingdom If you would like more information about ways in which IndustrySA can promote your business please call +44 1603 411568 or email andy@industrysa.com East Coast Promotions Ltd 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. © East Coast Promotions Ltd 2015

Welcome to issue fifty two...

This month we look at the oldest electrical contracting company in South Africa - Edison Power Group. Steeped in a rich history of entrepreneurism, true dedication and commitment to the people of South Africa, founder Vivian Reddy adopted the mantra, ‘Whatever you do, you’ve got to do your best’, following a chance encounter with lifelong hero, Neil Armstrong, on a visit to Japan. With nothing but a bakkie and R500, Reddy set up what was to become one of the leading companies within the electrical industry in South Africa today.

Stories such as these are not only humbling and restorative of faith, but they help to paint a bigger picture of South Africa as a nation, of one that is empowering and supportive.

We were lucky enough to speak with Hazel Chimhandamba this month, Head of Group Sponsorships at Standard Bank, following the news that Standard Bank has renewed its sponsorship of the Joy of Jazz Festival, taking place later this summer.

With acts including, The Yellow Jackets, Chicago-born jazz singer, Dee Alexander and The 3 Cohens, Chimhandamba explains why the arts is so integral to South Africans and why it continues to adopt such a prestigious legacy.

“The arts forms an integral part of our culture and its appreciation by the young and the old is vital in unlocking the opportunities that lie in the arts fraternity; art creates employment, drives social cohesion and contributes to the national GDP, but this is not possible if we do not breed and nurture artists and those who consume art.”

The Joy of Jazz Festival takes place 24th-26th September 2015.

Get in touch with us here @industrysa or via email.

Harriet Pattison editor@ecp-ltd.com

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CONTENTS

58

3 EDITOR’S PAGE Giving Power to the people

6 NEWS All that’s happening in South Africa

14 EnTREPRENEUR Empowering women

16 Innovation CSIR: Celebrating 75 years of innovation

20 Lifestyle SA A luxurious legacy

22 Influential SA Celebrating South Africa’s artists

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CONTENTS

26 Edison Power

66 Kelm Engineering

Powering a nation

A high skills set

34 Netflorist

72 Electro-mech Engineering

E-commerce in full bloom

Building the foundations

42 Revive Electrical TRANSFORMERS One of South Africa’s best

78 Cerebos

50 Boltfast Holding the industry together 58 Heavy Industry Logistics No weight too heavy

Adding some flavour

84 safal steel Strong industry leaders 88 Imperial General Motors Innovation on the horizon

92 j&E Cash ‘n Carry A family-run business

COMPANY PROFILES

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NEWS All that’s happening in South Africa

West Coast One reaches commercial operation

West Coast One, the 94MW wind project located 130 km north of Cape Town in the Republic of South Africa (RSA), owned by ENGIE and together with partners Investec and Kagiso Tiso Holdings, has reached commercial operation.

The consortium was selected as preferred bidder for this project in May 2012 and signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Eskom Holdings, the Republic’s state-owned utility, in May 2013. Construction of the wind farm, which consists of 47, 2 MW turbines, started in mid-2013.

Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman and CEO of ENGIE said: “South Africa is an important market for ENGIE and we are a committed long-term investor in the African continent. The West Coast One wind farm supports South Africa’s objective of increasing renewable generation and promoting local economic development. This project demonstrates ENGIE’s ability to deliver important renewable projects and underlines our commitment to developing sustainable sources of energy.”

The total investment cost of the wind farm was EUR 160 million funded by a mix of equity and debt, which has been provided by local banks. West Coast One will offset an estimated 5.6 million tonnes of CO2 over the 20-year duration of its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

This project follows the start of operation of the 300 MW Tarfaya wind farm in Morocco in 2014,

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Africa’s largest wind power project, which is owned

by ENGIE in partnership with Nareva Holding.

The RSA Government is implementing a 20year plan that makes provision for 42% (17 GW) of new generation to come from renewable energy with 8 GW allocated to onshore wind. A successful ‘Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme’ is in place, with a number of projects already closed.

In addition, ENGIE is actively developing further projects in South Africa. In 2013, the Group signed the Power Purchase Agreements for two greenfield open-cycle gas turbine power plants of 335 MW (Dedisa) and 670 MW (Avon), which are located in the Eastern Cape Province and in the KwaZulu-Natal Province respectively. In 2015, an ENGIE-led consortium with South African partners, was nominated ‘preferred bidder’ for the 100 MW Kathu Solar Park in the Northern Cape Province.

ENGIE currently has 19 GW of renewable generation capacity in operation worldwide, of which more than 4 GW is wind.

ENGIE holds a 43% equity interest in the West Coast One project, while Investec owns 34.5% and Kagiso Tiso Holdings has a 20% interest. The remaining 2.5% will be allocated to a Community Trust, with the purpose of developing and sustaining the surrounding community.

NEWS

South African Airways Group wins three Skytrax awards The South African Airways Group this year walked off with no less than three awards confirming the group is on the right strategic path which is showing in customer satisfaction results.

South African Airways (SAA) acting CEO, Nico Bezuidenhout, received three awards on behalf of the SAA Group this year.

South African Airways was named Best Airline in Africa for the thirteenth consecutive year.

Feedback from SAA’s customers also ensured that SAA walked away with the award for Best Airline Staff in Africa for the fourth time.

Awards for Best Airline Staff are special and coveted accolades, representing the combined quality performance of an airline’s front-line staff, across the on-board cabin staff category and together with the airline’s airport staff.

Mango, SAA’s low-cost carrier, received the award for Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa.

“Receiving three customer satisfaction awards on behalf of the Group, in front of an audience of peers in the aviation industry at an auspicious event such as the Paris air show, was a most satisfying experience. These awards are dedicated

to the people working at SAA and Mango who with hard work and perseverance have shown detractors that the SAA Group is going from strength to strength. Excellent Customer Service is one of the five strategic objectives of the Group’s Long-Term Turnaround Strategy, these awards confirm our efforts are paying off,” said Nico Bezuidenhout, SAA Acting CEO. The Skytrax awards are the brainchild of an independent aviation research organisation and have now become an institution on the annual events calendar. Awards for 2015 were presented at the 51th International Paris Air Show, the world’s leading aviation and space industry event.

Skytrax awards are directly based on customer surveys, making them the benchmarks of airline excellence and based on a consumer satisfaction survey conducted each year by Skytrax.

This auspicious event on the aviation calendar follows soon after IATA’s annual general meeting held earlier this month in Miami, where the world’s top airlines gathered.

Bezuidenhout confirmed to member airlines that SAA is making good progress in its targeted turnaround and is continuing to reduce costs.

© Chris Parypa Photography | Shutterstock.com

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NEWS All that’s happening in South Africa

R30m boost for five South African universities

Five South African universities, which were previously under-resourced, have received a R30 million boost for health research.

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) made the announcement during the launch of the Research Capacity Development Initiative for Selected South African Universities at the SAMRC headquarters, in Cape Town last month.

The principal investigators of the valued projects at various universities had presented their thoughts about the programme before they were awarded by the SAMRC Board.

The five universities benefiting from the initiative are: University of Fort Hare, University of Limpopo, Walter Sisulu University, University of Venda and the University of Zululand.

The universities have provided compelling proposals that are aligned with institutional research strengths and priorities.

The proposals currently cover an array of areas in health research such as HIV, indigenous medicines, cancer, environmental health and non-communicable diseases.

The universities will receive clinical or health

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research funding worth up to R1 million per institution per annum for five years. Discussions will soon be underway with the sixth institution for the same amount over five years.

SAMRC President Professor, Glenda Gray said this initiative comes after the SAMRC recognised that some universities in South Africa were not accessing funding from the council.

“The council, noting this gap, addressed this anomaly by funding health research that is conducted by researchers at previously underresourced institutions.

“This research will be rewarding for science, it is pertinent to the country’s burden of disease and a game changing for research,” Professor Gray said.

SAMRC Vice President Professor Jeffrey Mphahlele thanked the principal investigators for developing research in their own institutions and contributing to science as a whole.

“I would like to challenge them further though, I’d like them to be a part of the SAMRC legacy and in the long run see some of these projects graduating and joining the SAMRC extramural research,” Professor Mphahlele said.

NEWS

Millions injected to develop Kliptown Speaking at the launch of the Kliptown Development Project, in Soweto, in June, Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Parks Tau, said more than R600 million has been injected as an investment between the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Provincial Government to further develop Kliptown.

He said government remains committed to Kliptown, not only as a historic place but also as a living, dynamic community where people have survived under oppression and now flourish in freedom.

“We are succeeding in uplifting and improving our people’s living standards. To realise this goal, our government has over the last decade invested a total of R802 million in the redevelopment of Kliptown.

“These funds came from the Gauteng Provincial Government and the City of Johannesburg. These funds were largely spent on housing developments, informal trading facilities, development of heritage sites, storm water upgrades, and social amenities such as parks and complete streets,” Mayor Parks Tau said.

He said in the current Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, the City of Johannesburg continues the development of Kliptown with a further investment of R677 million between itself and the Gauteng Provincial Government.

He said the funds are intended to support the human

settlement development projects to be implemented by the City’s Housing Department.

“Work on the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication will be on strategic interventions, supporting the activation of this public space and improving the functioning of community and urban management systems.”

In 1996, government developed a plan for Kliptown, in which the Greater Kliptown Development Framework proposed ways of boosting Freedom Square -- now the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication (WSSD), as a historical tourism site, with a museum, public spaces, a park, a range of shops and informal trading sites.

The Mayor said that today, Kliptown now boasts a new taxi facility, improved access to roads to the area, rehabilitation of the wetlands and construction of housing and community facilities.

He said the housing programme in Kliptown since 1994 has seen 2600 units being built.

“These included fully subsidised freehold housing units, also known as RDP Houses and social housing units, managed by the City’s Social Housing Company.”

Since 2010 a lot of projects have been executed by the City of Johannesburg in the area with costs amounting to R60 million. Mayor Parks Tau said the investment has improved the lives of residents whose dignity was trampled upon over long and bitter years of apartheid.

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NEWS All that’s happening in South Africa

Providing power through Hydrogen fuel cell technology Hydrogen fuel cell technology is being used successfully to provide standby power in some schools in the Eastern Cape. The power generated by the fuel cells is used to support basic energy requirements, for example, charging stations for tablets, fax machines and computers.

The use of hydrogen fuel cell technology is part of a pilot project led by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The DST has partnered with the private sector in a pilot project to use hydrogen fuel cell technology in three schools in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape. The schools include Arthur Mfebe Senior Secondary School, St Marks Junior Secondary School and Mvuzo Junior Secondary School.

Anglo American Platinum sponsored three platinum-based fuel cell systems, including installation and ongoing maintenance and operations. Air Products is supplying the hydrogen fuel requirements, while Clean Energy Investments (South African company co-owned by the DST and Anglo American Platinum) commissioned the fuel cells to bring standby power to the schools.

Air Products conducted feasibility assessments and erected hydrogen storage facilities according to international standards to supply the fuel cells at the three schools. All the fuel cell power systems have been operating since September 2014.

Speaking at the launch, the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, noted that the Cofimvaba initiative demonstrated that collaboration between the public and private sectors was essential to improving living conditions in society.

“Success stories from other countries, like Japan, indicate that active public-private partnerships are critical in supporting the uptake of emerging technologies. The knowledge and experience gained from the Cofimvaba pilot project and others taking place throughout the country will not only promote awareness of the technology, but will assist in creating a market for technologies that are being developed through the Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Programme,” said Minister Pandor.

HySA focuses on the development of high-value hydrogen fuel cell technology products that promote

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the beneficiation of the platinum group metals and has three centres of competence focusing on catalysis, infrastructure and systems integration.

Anglo Platinum, together with the Young Engineers and Scientists of Africa (YESA) group and the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement(SAASTA), have developed an educational programme that has been rolled out to schools in the area, teaching learners about the science of fuel cells. To date, 3 500 learners from grade R to grade 12 at 26 schools in the region have benefited from this programme.

Andrew Hinkly, Executive Head Marketing of Anglo American Platinum said: “This collaboration provides the opportunity to demonstrate not only the technical ability of platinum-based fuel cells to power rural schools, but also contributes to the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning in a rural context. The education initiative has been an inspiration to learners, enhancing their aspirations for vocations in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation.

These skills are key to creating a knowledge base to support fuel cell deployment and, ultimately, a new, high-tech fuel cell industry in South Africa.”

Mike Hellyar, Managing Director of Air Products South Africa said: “We are very honoured to be a part of this ground-breaking project. It exemplifies our capabilities in hydrogen-based technologies; and points to a more energy-efficient future that is in line with the global drive to reduce carbon emissions. Fuel cell technology is dependent on an efficient, economically viable system of hydrogen supply and distribution. A leader in supply chain systems, Air Products South Africa is committed to working alongside other stakeholders to develop a hydrogen distribution solution that is both scalable and economical for the end-user.”

Gavin Coetzer, CEO of Clean Energy Investments said: “As technology is incorporated into the education environment, power stability at schools is essential. Fuel cell standby power solutions are efficient, reliable, safe and, most importantly, quiet, ensuring a non-intrusive standby and – potentially – primary power solution.”

NEWS

BitHub launch to bring Bitcoin to South Africa The Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi) announced its intent to support development and innovation in the digital currency space at the Bandwidth Barn’s BitHub Launch Event on 11th June 2015.

CiTi – an incubator for entrepreneurs with a focus on innovation and tech – will be launching a new strain of its support, with a strong focus on the digital currency space.

Ian Merrington, CEO of CiTi said: “BitHub will be the physical space where coders, designers and developers can meet, work out of and collaborate. There are many viable digital currency ideas in South Africa that are not coming to market because they lack the infrastructure and support to take it further.

BitHub is that space.”

Sonya Kuhnel, organiser of the recent BitCoin Africa Conference and collaborator in the BitHub launch said: “In South Africa, we are faced with different challenges from the rest of the world and understanding our market is as important as the technology behind it. BitHub will guide and mentor entrepreneurs whilst they develop and shape their Bitcoin businesses to fit our unique market needs.”

South Africa has a legacy of leading the way in tech and innovation on the African continent.

“We believe that fintech innovation is going to be the cause of considerable disruption to the traditional banking model in Africa,” says Merrington. “We particularly believe that innovation within fintech has the ability to dramatically reduce transactional fees and lower barriers and the cost of remittance. The decentralised Block chain technology also has huge transformative potential. Reducing

corruption is one potential application that comes to mind!”

Sonya agrees, adding: “The large unbanked sector and massive remittance industry in South Africa and Africa represents massive opportunities for innovation and business development, especially regarding Bitcoin development, which has the potential to lower transaction fees. This presents a viable solution to a real problem.”

The launch event on the 11th June introduced BitHub as a space for developers and coders in the digital currencies sector.

Keynote speakers were Andrew van der Nest from Landmark Computers and Roslyn Lavery from PayFast.

Landmark was the first company in South Africa that accepted Bitcoin as a payment method, both online and in store. Landmark is trading the largest volumes in Bitcoin currently in SA and Andrew has been an advocate of Bitcoin as early as 2009. Andrew is also in the process of setting up the Bitcoin Foundation in order to train and standardise the industry.

PayFast is currently the only payment processing company that accepts BitCoin in South Africa. TakeAlot is the largest online retailer accepting Bitcoin in South Africa, and this is enabled by PayFast.

Merrington adds: “We believe this is the future of economic development, and innovation, in this country, which is why we are putting money where our mouth is and, not only are we providing the physical space and infrastructure to developers, will also be incubating a Bitcoin developer out of the Barn at the Woodstock Exchange.

These are exciting times, and we are pleased to be at the forefront of this technological evolution.”

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NEWS All that’s happening in South Africa

Cell C partners with Facebook to launch free internet

Cell C and Facebook have partnered to bring affordable and vital Internet access to consumers through the launch of Internet.org free basic services in South Africa.

Internet.org was developed by Facebook and its technology partners to create a way to bring affordable Internet access to under-served communities. Through network operator partnerships, that have the drive to bring these basic services to customers for free, Facebook has launched this service in many underserviced countries in Africa and around the world, including India, Ghana and Kenya. And now, through Cell C, South Africa is the next country to realise Facebook’s plan to help connect the unconnected.

“We are proud to be partnering with an organisation that shares our vision of bringing much-needed services to communities and in doing so, positively changing lives,” says Dos Santos.

“We are excited to bring Internet.org free basic services to Cell C customers in South Africa,” says Markku Makelainen, Director of Global Operator Partnerships at Facebook. “With Internet.org free basic services, more people in South Africa will have access to resources and information that can create new opportunities and ideas, and help improve their lives.”

Bringing access to those that need it most has become a national imperative, with only 10,9% of South African households having access to the Internet at home. And the growth of access is slow, showing a mere 0.9% increase year-on-year according to Stats SA’s 2014 General Household Survey.

“Cell C understands that some South Africans,

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specifically those in rural areas, need to travel exceptionally long distances to find work, or information on healthcare or education. The launch of Internet.org will make the world a little smaller and information far more accessible to them,” says Dos Santos.

Time and again, access to information and ICT has proven to incorporate people into the formal economy and driven top line improvements for those that participate. “South Africans in both the private and public sector need to continue to drive initiatives in this space to ensure that the country can compete on a global stage,” adds Dos Santos.

The Internet.org free basic services initiative will provide Cell C customers with access to free services like healthcare information, education sites and job searches. A full list of sites is included below.

From 1 September for a period of 12 months, customers who want to continue using Messenger, post comments, view and share posts and view News Feed and profiles free of charge, can do so by accessing Facebook through the Internet.org application or website. Viewing and posting pictures, as well as, breakout Internet browsing, VOIP calling, Facebook videos, YouTube and Instagram will be charged at standard data rates or will deplete data bundles where available. Customers will also have the option to buy Cell C data bundles while on Facebook or Internet. org.

During the 12-month period, all the sites available through Internet.org on the Cell C network will remain free when accessing links through the application.

NEWS

Special advisor on energy appointed President Jacob Zuma has appointed Silas Mzingeli Zimu as a special adviser on energy.

An electrical engineer by qualifications and training, Zimu joins the Presidency from the private sector and brings extensive experience in both business and strategic management in energy.

He has previously served at Eskom as an engineer, at

Johannesburg City Power as Managing Director and different management positions, among others.

Cassius Lubisi, Director General in the Presidency explained: “We welcome Mr Zimu to the Presidency and we are certain that his considerable experience and expertise in matters of energy will greatly contribute to the work being done to mitigate and resolve the energy challenge.”

Training for 790 artisans in KZN

As part of the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) Secretariat programme, 790 artisans in various fields are receiving training in KwaZulu-Natal.

The news was revealed at the Human Resource Development Provincial Coordination Forum meeting held last month at the King Shaka International Airport in Durban.

The Forum is a structure of Council established by the Human Resource Development Technical Working Group as a forum for the provinces to ensure coordination, alignment, integration, communication, collaboration, implementation, and reporting of HRD imperatives with the Provincial Growth and Development Plans (PGDP) as well as Local Economic Development Plans.

KwaZulu-Natal as the host province shared achievements and challenges from the last quarter of 2014/15 financial year.

HRDC Secretariat, Lineo Ramataboe said the province has awarded 2 043 external bursaries to out of school youth focusing on scarce and critical skills and 798 bursaries were awarded to students to study in Cuba.

There has been an increase of Academic Staff with Masters from 79 in 2012 to 109 in 2014.

A total of 1 852 public servants have been trained and 1 265 bursaries have been awarded to staff.

Ramataboe explained: “In line with the National Development Plan to produce 30 000 artisans per annum, by 2030, the meeting also received a presentation from the Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) on how provinces are taking full-advantage of bursaries for training as artisans they offer, to young people.”

She said the Department of Science and Technology made a presentation on progress achieved in the development of a Research Information Management System (RIMS), that seeks to create synergy on data-collection for Research and Development.

“The system will provide reliable and comparable data for national surveys as well as routine information required by different statutory bodies.

“The data available can assist decision makers to craft informed policies based on reliable information,” Ramataboe concluded

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Entrepreneur

Light, hope, opportunity Editorial: Harriet Pattison

With an estimated 74% of the Ugandan population living without access to electricity, a former finance businesswoman from Georgia, USA, has set out to empower the women of these rural communities by creating access to safer, cleaner and much more affordable energy - simultaneously helping them to earn a steady income and support their families.

With an estimated 600 million people living in Africa today without a reliable source of electricity, here at IndustrySA, we have featured numerous innovative energy efficient solutions that have helped to solve and reduce the effects of this increasingly prominent issue.

In an effort to bring hope to rural communities so severely affected by these electricity shortages, Katherine Lucey, Founder and CEO of Solar Sister, has been empowering hundreds of women living in these locations with economic opportunity and stability, not to mention an effective and much needed source of energy.

Born and raised in Georgia, USA, Katherine Lucey has a strong head for business, finance and problem solving – but perhaps most importantly, a true sense of empathy.

Starting out and enjoying a hugely successful career in finance, almost two decades later, Lucey became involved in Solar Light for Africa, helping with the installation of solar energy in village homes, schools and clinics across Uganda.

Following this humble change of career, Lucey set up Solar Sister in 2009.

In June this year, Lucey was honoured at the World Economic Forum held in Cape Town, with the Schwab

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Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, naming her Social Entrepreneur of the Year, recognised for leading Solar Sister’s success in its attempts to improve health education, safety and economic prospects amongst the rural communities.

Since 2010, Solar Sister has trained more than 1,500 Solar Sisters in Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria, subsequently impacting on more than 250,000 lives.

SOLAR SISTERS The way in which Lucey has pitched and implemented this idea focuses on women and the power they hold in every community. For this reason, they are now at the centre of Lucey’s strategy in addressing and advancing the increasing need for renewable energy solutions across rural areas, primarily focusing on Uganda. Helping to provide women with a true purpose, they are given complete control over the solar products – promoting, selling and ongoing maintenance services – it ensures they are invested in the success of Solar Sister and receive a commission in return.

Using a micro-consignment model, the women – chosen by their representative communities – are provided with an opportunity to become micro-entrepreneurs, further enhancing the success of the company and of Lucey’s vision.

Empowering these women, encouraging them to become

Katherine Lucey

© U.S. Mission Geneva | Eric Bridiers the distributors and consumers within the market and giving them a purpose to help and make a significant difference will, long-term, tackle the issues surrounding energy poverty in rural areas.

PORTABLE SOLAR TECHNOLOGY Speaking to CNN, Lucey explains: “Women are the ones who walk miles to cut the wood; women are the ones who go to markets to buy kerosene - so if we wanted to make the change that someone would say ‘well, I’ll quit the kerosene, I’m going to buy a solar lamp and use cleaner technology,’ then it had to be the person who was in charge of making that decision and that’s the women.”

Due to the privatisation of electricity generation in Uganda, maximised profit margins have led to exponentially high tariffs – placing Uganda as one of the highest power tariffs in the world. With 74% of households now living without access to electricity in the country, these high tariffs have left low to middle income classes without this fundamentally important amenity.

Speaking to CNN, Lucey explained: “You really can’t raise up above subsistence living if you don’t have light, electricity and energy. And when you do have it, it’s just tremendous what people are able to accomplish and the impact it has on people’s

lives: children can study more and go to school, women can start businesses and are able to provide for their families.”

“There’s not enough philanthropy in the world to solve this problem. A third of the world population doesn’t have access to electricity -- it’s not going to be solved by philanthropy, it’s going to be solved by some kind of market mechanism where people have access to this product ... and purchase as they need it.”

Lucey’s ultimate goal is to make women an integral part of the clean energy value chain across Africa – each Solar Sister receives a start-up kit of the portable solar technology which they can take and deliver to customers.

At a tenth of the cost of solar home systems, customers will benefit hugely from Lucey’s strategy, helping them to enjoy longer working hours, better savings, more comfortable working conditions and extended study time for their children.

Currently serving on UN Foundation initiative, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and co-chair of the Supply Chain and Entrepreneurship Committee of the Sustainable Energy for All Practitioner Network, in 2011 Lucey was also awarded an Innovation Award and a Global Social Benefit Incubator Fellow at Santa Clara University Center for Science and Technology

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Innovation

Fuelling SA innovation for 75 years Editorial: Ajuanne Payne The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa’s best-kept secret, has been involved in research and development benefiting the nation’s people for 75 years and is the organisation that first jumps to mind when thinking of South African innovation. In its mission to expand the frontiers of human understanding and improve society as whole through R&D programmes, the CSIR has a long legacy of success behind it and in this issue we look at exactly how the organisation has achieved this…

“This is the century of applied science, of the application of the results of laboratory research to every activity of mankind,” – the first line of the mission statement of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) 75 years ago, as stated by Sir Basil Schonland, the first chairman and CEO of the organisation and South Afirca’s ‘scientist of the century’.

The CSIR is South Africa’s foremost scientific research and development (R&D) organisation and one of the leading organisations of its type on the African continent. Established by an Act of Parliament in 1945 as a science council, the CSIR embarks on directed and multidisciplinary research, technological innovation and industrial and scientific development in order to positively impact the lives of South Africa’s people and benefit the economy.

The organisation’s directive is to be 100% committed to supporting innovation in South Africa, and by doing so boosting national competitiveness in the global economy. As such, the CSIR employs around 3,000 dedicated technical and scientific researchers; it is one big melting pot of the best talent the country has to offer, all focused on advances that will influence the future of the Rainbow Nation.

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The CSIR has quietly served as the driving force behind a number of significant scientific and technological developments that have had a huge impact globally, for example, the lithiumion batteries used in mobile phones and laptops today. It is the largest R&D organisation in South Africa, accounting for about 10% of the entire African R&D budget.

Pivotal for the creation of new industry sectors, the development of new and improved products, and the enhancement of existing infrastructure and services – the South African government has recognised some of the developments that will need to be made to make more of a commitment to national R&D activity.

According to the most recent figures available from the Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa spent R22.2 billion on R&D in 2011-12 - 0.76% of GDP. The government regards R&D expenditure as a key contributor to South Africa’s transition to a more knowledge-based economy in the years to come and as such the National Development Plan (NDP) calls for greater investment in this area, targeted at a figure of 1.5% of GDP by 2019.

The CSIR is one of the vehicles that the government will use to actuate this national

CSIR

© CSIR | CEO, Dr. Sibusiso Sibisi

push towards greater investments in innovation almost half of its funding already comes from the state in promotion of this.

Dr. Sibusiso Sibisi, the current head of the CSIR, is a former chairman of South Africa’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and has been CEO at the organisation for over a decade. Commenting on the origins of the CSIR, Dr. Sibisi explained that “from the very outset the intention with the establishment of the CSIR was not simply to conduct research as might be conducted in an institution at a university, but actively to seek to advance through the application of science those results in such a manner to have an influence on the economy, on the industry in the country.”

FUELLING INNOVATION Cu r ren tly the C S I R re ce iv e s a g rant annually f r o m the go vernme nt, throug h the De partme nt of S cience an d Technolog y, which accounts f or aro u n d 40% o f its total income . The r e s t is mad e u p f ro m the v arious re se arch c o n t racts w ith the public and priv ate se ctor, bo t h lo cally and abroad, royaltie s from pate nts a n d divid en d s f ro m some of the comme rcial c o m panies created by the CSIR. P e rhap s o ne o f the most important fe ature s

of t h e CS I R i s i t s c on s t a n t dri v e t ow a rds c ol l a bora t i on a s a t ool t o dri v e i n n ov a t i on ; i t a c t i v e l y fos t e rs pa rt n e rs h i ps w i t h c l i e n t s a n d pa rt n e r org a n i s a t i on s re g i on a l l y a n d a broa d, a s pa rt of a ‘g l oba l s ph e re of i n fl ue n c e on m a t t e rs of t e c h n ol og y’.

T h i s foc us on pa rt n e rs h i ps a n d c ol l a bora t i on i n c l ude s t h e i m port a n t rol e of ope n di a l og ue be t w e e n t h e org a n i s a t i on a n d v a ri ous e duc a t i on i n s t i t ut i on s – prov i di n g a n d re c e i v i n g s upport on a ra n g e of re s e a rc h i n i t i a t i v e s a n d e x t e n di n g i t s i n fl ue n c e t o t h e fut ure g e n e ra t i on of s c i e n t i s t s , e n g i n e e rs a n d mathematicians.

Al l CS I R ’s R & D w ork c on t ri but e s t o t h e N a t i on a l S ys t e m of I n n ov a t i on (N S I ) – a t e rm w i de l y us e d i n S out h Afri c a n pol i c y ov e r t h e pa s t t w o de c a de s t o c h a ra c t e ri s e t h e c oun t ry’s c ol l e c t i v e e ffort s t ow a rds e n c oura g i n g t e c h n ol og i c a l i n n ov a t i on a n d a fra m e w ork t h a t a i m s t o bri n g a bout s yn e rg y i n t h i s a re a .

CS I R ’s m a i n a re a s of re s e a rc h a re ; bui l t e n v i ron m e n t , bi os c i e n c e s , de fe n c e , pe a c e , s a fe t y a n d s e c uri t y, i n form a t i on a n d c om m un i c a t i on s , l a s e r t e c h n ol og y, m a t e ri a l s s c i e n c e a n d m a n ufa c t uri n g , n a t ura l re s ourc e s a n d t h e e n v i ron m e n t , m i n i n g i n n ov a t i on , m ode l l i n g a n d di g i t a l s c i e n c e ,

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Innovation m ob i l e i n telligen ce au t onomous syste ms, n a n ot e c hno lo gy an d s y nthe tic biolog y.

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS The CSIR’s list of ground-breaking inventions is too long summarise in just a few hundred words, however one of the first that began this legacy of innovation for the benefit of the South African economy was the invention of the Tellurometer by Dr. Trevor Wadley in 1956.

The Tellurometer is the first successful microwave electronic distance measurement equipment which not only revolutionised map making, as it could accurately measure long distances up to 50km, but is the same technology used today for the transmission of wireless signals.

Dr. Sibisi explained this landmark invention further: “In 1956, the very first start-up company based on CSIR was established as a private firm to develop and license another means of distance measurement involving the use of an instrument referred to as the Tellurometer. This was invented

by Trevor Wadley and it was a device to measure distances, between say one mountain and another.

“You simply send a signal, it gets reflected back, and from the time of flight, you can work out what

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the distance is between the one point and the other, for purposes of cartography and so on. And this technology was in fact, not to be known to Trevor Wadley at the time, exactly the same technology that we use today to transmit wireless signals.

“The technology behind the backbone network for wireless telecommunications was invented here in South Africa” “Ultimately for those who may not know, the technology behind the backbone network for wireless telecommunications was invented here in South Africa and only subsequently adopted by others.”

CSIR It was following this discovery by Dr. Wadley that the CSIR set up its patenting division in 1957, making it one of the very first organisations of its type in the world to actively pursue such commercial opportunity from the research activity it was conducting – the rest, as it could be said, is history.

By 1959, the CSIR had 75 patents and patent applications and 22 active licenses. The total royalties for the organisation from 1955 to 2013 are approximately R500 million, at an average royalty rate of 3%.

Over the years the CSIR has developed everything from the world’s first injectable plantproduced medicine and the TimeMachine used by road engineers globally, to a satellite-based fire warning system and a low-cost computer for the blind. In fact, many auspicious inventions are literally sitting in the vaults of its Pretoria campus, waiting for the investment capital needed to transform them into real working innovations.

One example and a world first; the CSIR has invented a system that prevents train derailments by monitoring the entire track with guided ultrasound waves. A pilot unit tested on two train lines in South Africa prevented two derailments

in one year, according to the CSIR, saving the operator a substantial $5 million and, more importantly, saving the lives of passengers. This breakthrough is just one of the developments awaiting commercial interest before it can be brought to market.

Other recent inventions and ‘firsts’ for the seminal science organisation include the world’s first digital laser, capable of a purely digital control of what comes out of the laser in realtime, and the world’s first 3D underwater imaging system. Both inventions have come out of the CSIR in the past five years and hold huge potential commercially for the organisation and the South African economy.

The CSIR has quietly formed the backbone of South African innovation for three quarters of a century, helping to elevate the country’s contribution to the global sphere of knowledge and generating income and new areas of industry for the nation. With such a long legacy for success behind it, and a wide range of research programmes currently in operation, it is exciting to wonder what discoveries the inspirational organisation will make next and, in turn, what the benefits will be for the people of South Africa

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Lifestyle SA

A luxurious game Editorial: Alex Montgomery

Attracted by a game synonymous with luxury, more and more South Africans are becoming interested in Polo. The most dangerous contact sport in the world and always a glamorous occasion, in this issue we take a look at Polo in South Africa, its 100-year legacy and what is on offer across the 38 South African clubs…

Polo has been played in South Africa for over a century and was originally introduced as a recreational activity by the military. The first recorded game of Polo was between the Gordon Highlanders, an infantry regiment of the British Army, and the Cape Mounted Rifles, a South African Military regiment.

Although a game initially dominated by the military in South Africa, civilian clubs eventually started sprouting up, recognising not only the sporting qualities of the game, but the opportunities for socialising and networking facilitated by such an event The game of Polo has always been synonymous with luxury due to the high number of specially trained horses needed to play the game. Traditionally a sport for the wealthy, even now there are only around 400 registered club players in South Africa spread across 38 clubs.

The South African Polo Association (SAPA), formed in 1905, is the official controlling body of Polo in South Africa. All private clubs operating nationally affiliate through their provincial bodies to SAPA which, in turn, affiliates to its international counterparts.

One of the main objectives of the association is to extend the reach and visibility of the game in South Africa, and aside from its own events, runs regular junior coaching clinics, with bursaries

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on offer for development players.

Due in part to South Africa’s growing and upwardly mobile social classes and the efforts of the SAPA, interest in the sport of Polo is increasing in the country – as much for the sport itself as for the networking opportunities such classy events afford “As it is associated with glitz and glamour, polo is growing in SA,” says Craig James, an instructor at Johannesburg’s Inanda Polo Club. “A lot of people are becoming familiar with the sport.”

One of the top-billed events in the South African Polo year is September’s BMW International Polo Series, last year attended by more than 8,000 people from all over the world.

Played against a touring international team each year, the first Test (always scheduled on a Sunday), is played at the Durban Shongweni Club and the second Test, taking place the following Sunday, is played in the grounds of the extensive Waterfall Polo Estate in Sunninghill, Johannesburg.

The 2015 event, to be held on the 13th and 20th of September, will mark the 26th year of partnership between BMW South Africa and SAPA - making it one of the longestrunning consecutive sports sponsorships in South Africa.

This year’s glittering two-day Test will see the New Zealand team, captained by well-known player John Paul

polo SA

Clarkin, as this year’s featured international team.

A refined and distinctive event for the social calendar, CEO of SAPA, Clive Peddle, says “the luxury is vivid” and corporate marquees are sold out to varying companies and private clients who use them for hospitality and networking purposes.

The event is also open to the public, with VIP hospitality tickets going for around R3,995 per head.

“Our lounges are per invite only, which includes VIP celebrities, top clients and media,” says Anina Malherbe-Lan, CEO and founder of communications agency Vivid Luxury, and one of the clients taking advantage of this year’s corporate marquees. “The event attracts very prestigious people and the middle and upper class, who use the sport as an opportunity to network and to close business deals, and propose new ones.”

Polo events are comparable to race-days and horse shows in their feeling of being a high-class garden party, but the sport itself is classed as the most dangerous contact sport in the world.

“Players have only a helmet for protection and travel at speeds of up to 40kmph on horses weighing up to half a ton. Other players use their ponies to ride each other off the line of the ball and, sadly, accidents are not uncommon,” states the association.

“The skills required by a top polo player are a combination

of the hand-eye co-ordination of a cricketer, the agility of a gymnast, the fitness of a footballer and the strength and courage of a rugby player - and on top of this excellent horsemanship.”

It is this combination of indulgence, century-old tradition, and heart-in-the-mouth exhilaration that are making Polo events more and more popular in South Africa.

Another huge event to attend for an excellent Polo experience in South Africa is the annual Land Rover Africa Cup, hosted by the Inanda Club in August and expected to attract around 4,500 attendees from across Africa.

One of the title features of this event is that each year, one of the Polo horses is pitted against a a Land Rover – and most of the time the horse wins.

If you don’t want to simply be a spectator and are looking for a more hands-on experience, a number of South Africa’s clubs offer Polo lessons, and the opportunity to hire a horse if you don’t own your own. At the Inanda Club this costs around R2,500 a lesson, plus a R385 monthly fee.

If you are looking for a relaxing and classy day out, an opportunity to impress your clients or simply the chance to experience a display of impressive technical skill then Polo is the ideal option - and South Africa definitely has a lot to offer

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Influential SA

The joy of jazz

Editorial: Harriet Pattison

Cementing its commitment to the arts in South Africa and the continent, Standard Bank has renewed its sponsorship of the Joy of Jazz Festival for a further three years, extending its 16year relationship with the festival. IndustrySA speaks with Hazel Chimhandamba, Head of Group Sponsorships at Standard Bank and asks why it is that the arts continue to hold such a prestigious place in the hearts of South Africans.

Q: Tell us about Standard Bank’s sponsorship renewal of the Joy of Jazz Festival – why is this sponsorship so important? What is the history of this sponsorship?

Standard Bank has sponsored the Joy of Jazz Festival for 16 years now and we have renewed the sponsorship for an additional three years.

This sponsorship is important to our overall arts portfolio because the festival speaks to the growth of the arts in Africa and jazz as a genre is an integral part of the history of South African music.

We have been delighted to see the festival grow so rapidly over the years and it now attracts over 20 000 concert goers, which motivated the move to Joburg’s Sandton Convention Centre last year.

Q. What does the Joy of Jazz Festival entail? How does it showcase the very best of jazz? What is the line-up for this year?

The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival promises a mix of both South African and international jazz greats, with the addition of exciting onceoff musical collaborations. Central to the lineup is the undeniable depth and broadness of the music on offer, evident in the list of artists set to headline this year, which includes US-based Miles Davis alumni Marcus Miller, The Yellow Jackets, jazz vocalist and Grammy Award nominee Cecil McLorin Salvant and Chicago-born jazz singer, Dee Alexander. The 3 Cohens - made up of tenor saxophonist and clarinettist Anat Cohen,

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trumpeter Avishai Cohen and soprano saxophonist Yuval Cohen - live up to the promise of genius that happens when jazz meets the genome factor, plus multi-award winning singer-songwriter Peabo Bryson will captivate audiences with new hits and unforgettable classics. Add to this a host of exciting collaborations, such as Hugh Masekela with Oliver Mtukudzi and Jimmy Dludlu & Friends and the programme really does have something for everyone!

Q. The arts hold such a prestigious position in South Africa – why does Standard Bank want to be involved and how do you think it helps to benefit the industry? Why the dedication to jazz in particular?

The arts in Africa are a powerful expression of our creativity and play an integral part in generating a positive narrative with a global impact. Our mandate at Standard Bank is to support a wide range of initiatives that both nurture young talent and showcase the rich diversity of our creative arts. Standard Bank’s commitment to investing across the arts spectrum on the continent represents a 30-year legacy and we are proud to provide ongoing support for a variety of key projects, which have evolved into highlights across the South African and African cultural calendar.

Jazz, in particular, is a genre that has formed a part of South Africa’s musical landscape with

Hazel Chimhandamba

Hazel Chimhandamba | Head of Group Sponsorships at Standard Bank PAGE 23

Influential SA a strong historical presence. The growth of this genre and how it has developed over time, incorporating different cultural sounds and embracing younger generations, has cemented its importance as an artistic platform that Standard Bank is committed to supporting.

Q. With the Children’s Arts Festival held in July this year, how is Standard Bank’s sponsorship used? Why do you think it’s so important to get children involved in the arts?

The Children’s Arts Festival is an integral part of Standard Bank’s commitment to developing young minds and harnessing their talent. Children from pre-primary to high school are engaged in a wide range of fun arts-related activities that not only provide them with entertainment, but serve educational function as well. The festival encourages young people from all walks of life to interact with each other on a creative level.

internationally.

The line-up includes an array of global jazz maestros such as Lionel Loueke, Yuri Honing, The Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, Johan Horlen and Peter Dahlgren. There will also be unique collaborative performances by some of the previous Standard Bank Young Artist (SBYA) winners such as Concord Nkabinde, Bokani Dyer, Kesivan Naidoo and 2015 SBYA winner Nduduzo Makhathini with a range of international names at the festival. Both international and local music lovers will be drawn to a mix of solid jazz and fresh crossover and contemporary sounds provided by the likes of Thandiswa Mazwai, Beatenberg, Micasa, Ray Phiri and Oliver Mtukudzi.

Q. What can we expect from the Standard Bank Jazz Festival at Grahamstown this year? How has this festival evolved over the years? How does it add to the arts industry in South Africa?

Q. Can you tell us about Standard Bank’s support extending into education of the arts – with the National Youth Jazz Festival and National Youth Jazz Band?

In addition, Standard Bank also offers career development with the Standard Bank Young Artist Awards, how has this commitment helped to establish and further the careers of aspiring young artists?

This year’s Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown promises a selection of the most exciting jazz innovators both locally and

Th e S tan d ard Ban k Natio n al Yo u th Jazz Festival h as b een go in g fo r 23 years n o w, with mo re th an 300 stu d en ts an d 40 teach ers fro m

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Hazel Chimhandamba d i f f e r e nt ba c k g round s attendi ng ever y year.

T h e s e st ude nt s a nd teacher s get the chance to i n t e r a c t a nd e ng a g e w i th 120 top mus i ci ans w ho f o r m pa rt of t he c on cur r ent Standar d Bank J azz F e s t i v a l. T he prog ramme i ncl udes i nnovati ve j a z z pe rf orma nc e s, r ehear s al s , w or ks hops , l e c t u re s a nd ne t worki ng, cul mi nati ng i n the top j a z z st ude nt s in South Afr i ca audi ti oni ng for p l a c e s in t he St a ndar d Bank N ati onal Youth J azz B a n d ( SB NY JB ) a nd the Standar d Bank N ati onal S c h o ols B ig B a nd ( S BN SBB), the l atter of w hi ch i s r e ga rde d a s t he m os t s i gni fi cant s i ngl e youth j a z z de v e lopme nt ini ti ati ve i n the countr y.

O n t he t wo se pa rate adj udi cati on panel s for t h e s e ba nds a re t e a cher s , l ectur er s and l eadi ng m u s i c ia ns. T he SB NYJ B per for ms at maj or f e s t i v a ls a round Sou th Afr i ca and occas i onal l y t o u r s int e rna t iona lly.

A l l ot he r st ude nt s w ho attend the fes ti val a r e div ide d int o mixed- abi l i ty bi g bands w ho p r a c tise da ily, a llowing s tudents w ho do not n o r m a lly pla y in a q ual i ty ens embl e the chance t o d o so.

S o m e of t he c ountr y’s top per for mer s have p a r t i cipa t e d a s st udents i n thi s accl ai med event - n o w in it s 2 3 rd y e ar – i ncl udi ng, at di ffer ent t i m e s , K e siv a n Na idoo, Beatenber g’s Matthew F i e l d , Tut u P uoa ne , Kyl e Shepher d, Gol dfi s h’s D o m inic P e t e rs a nd Davi d Pool e, w ho met at

th e festival, Bo kan i Dyer an d S iya Maku zen i, to n ame ju st a few!

Q. Now Head of Group Sponsorships at Standard Bank – what was your history prior to this role? Why do you think the arts is so important to not only children, but South Africa as a country? What do you hope to see in this industry over the next 2-3 years?

I have been a marketer for over 10 years with specialised skills in brand, advertising, events, communications and sponsorships, spread across the ICT and financial services sectors as well as an agency environment.

The arts forms an integral part of our culture and its appreciation by the young and the old is vital in unlocking the opportunities that lie in the arts fraternity; art creates employment, drives social cohesion and contributes to the national GDP, but this is not possible if we do not breed and nurture artists and those who consume art.

Over the next few years I hope to see more support for the arts in South Africa by both the public and private sector, but my ultimate dream is for every South African to be able to name at least three local artists and be able to identify the works of our great arts legends across the various disciplines

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company profile

Power to the people Editorial: Rebecca Bingley

Standing as the oldest electrical contracting company in South Africa with a history that now spans over three decades, Edison Power Group, founded by leading entrepreneur Vivian Reddy, continues in its quest to become the leading electrical company in the industry. Recently voted the Best Electrical Company in South Africa for the fourth consecutive year, the award is a testament to Edison Power’s continued dedication and reliability in an increasingly competitive market space.

South Africa’s demand for reliable power remains high and while a large proportion of its power generation is dominated by coal, the renewable energy market is starting to catch up.

The national wholly state-owned utility, Eskom, continues to govern the power generation space, supplying an estimated 95% of South Africa’s electricity but with load shedding taking place on a more frequent basis, perhaps it is time the independent electricity providers stepped up to the plate to help with the increasing demand and diversify South Africa’s energy mix.

FOUNDER: VIVIAN REDDY Born in Durban, Vivian Reddy’s story is certainly one of rags to riches success. Beginning a career with one

PAGE 26

of the largest electrical companies of the time, Hubert Davies, Reddy was later chosen as South Africa’s first representative to the Boy Scouts Jamboree in Japan and it is here that he met his lifelong hero, Neil Armstrong.

This chance meeting led him to realise his dream to be successful and follow the mantra – ‘Whatever you do, you’ve got to do your best.’

And that’s exactly what Reddy did, building a true business enterprise that would grow to become the leading electrical company within the industry today. Spanning over three successful decades, Edison Power Group now stands as the oldest electrical contracting company in South Africa and specialises in electrical installations, working in an array of sectors including; commercial, township reticulation, live line installations, wind and solar EPC, industrial, HV and LV Reticulation and substation and transformer installations, amongst many, many more.

edison power

Vivian Reddy has established a somewhat influential status across Southern Africa – boasting a reputation as a truly successful entrepreneur and committed philanthropist. Patron to over ten organisations, Reddy now has involvements in religion, education, welfare organisations, conservation programs and community centers.

Starting Edison Power during Apartheid with R500 and a bakkie, the company was originally named Reddy’s Electrical but found limited work due to the era and thinking of the time. Once the name was changed to Edison Power – after the influential figure, Thomas Edison – the contracts began rolling in. 35 years on, and Reddy is putting his industry knowledge and reputation into helping others – providing numerous education bursaries and launching and sponsoring orphans of the AIDS trust.

Now standing as the largest electrical company in South

Africa with a multibillion Rand turnover and employing over 2000 people, Edison Power has been involved in many large projects and developments over the years.

PROJECTS Involved in numerous sectors, Edison Power has used its expertise and reputation in the electricity sector to assist with projects in the commercial and construction sector, assisting with large shopping centers, hospitals and national monuments, amongst many others.

One of these key projects is the Stranger Hospital in KwaZulu Natal. Subsequently striving to become the number one health care provider of choice for both the private and public sectors in the region, it has received numerous accreditations in recent years, including 100% COHSASA accreditation in 2003.

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company profile

Edison Power has also been involved in numerous shopping centre projects and developments. The Gateway Theatre of Shopping currently stands as the largest shopping centre in Africa and in the southern hemisphere. Located in Umhlanga, north of Durban, it has a retail floor space measuring 180,000 sq. meters.

Featuring 275 stores, the Tyger Valley Centre offers the very best in retail therapy and is renowned as the retail heart of the fairest Cape, located in the Tyger Valley business district.

Working within the commercial sector, Edison Power was involved with the Nedbank Ridgeside Office Block, completed in December 2010, it consists of a four-storey office block and measures 6,500 sq. meters.

Another notable project is the Standard Bank Global Leadership Centre – a complex which comprises of a number of different components. There is a learning wing which contains eight classrooms, an auditorium which enables a number of training programs and 16 syndicate rooms, while the residential wing has a

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swimming pool, gym and 151 bedrooms opening out into an outdoor space.

Voted The Best Electrical Company in South Africa four years running and winning FNB KZN Top Business Portfolio Awards in 2010 for Construction, Edison Power Group has also been awarded the Impumelelo Award Top 300 Companies Award.

So, what is the key to the ongoing success of the Edison Power Group? With over 34 years in the business, a lot can be pinned on its dedication to innovation.

Where so many companies fall short of this requirement and tend to amble along, taking fewer risks, Edison Power has ensured it continues to change and adapt with emerging trends; more recently focusing on renewable energy.

WIND ENERGY IN SA Wind energy is fast becoming the leading renewable power generation source in South Africa – with up to 400 turbines turning in the wind by the end of last

Edison Power

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Manufactrers of: Low Voltage Switchgear Panels, Motor Control Centres, Medium Voltage Kiosks & Medium Voltage Metering Cubicles

Proud to be associated with Edison Power

PAGE 29

company profile

year. Across South Africa, there are currently five wind farms in operation, with a further 15 in the construction process and seven now approaching financial close – on completion, the wind farms will generate a total of 1,983 MW of power.

Johan van den Berg, CEO of the South African Wind Energy Association (Sawea) said: “Wind energy is certainly here, and there is plenty more in development and ready and waiting to be given the go-ahead.”

With the government’s Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity 2010-2030 in place, it is hoped wind and solar energy will make up at least 20% of supply to the national grid in South Africa by 2030.

More recently, South Africa’s very first Wind Atlas has been developed to provide potential investors with good opportunities in the sector. In conjunction with the Danish government and the United Nations Development Programme, it has been designed to help the government and industry identify potential wind development locations. So far, the Western Cape, parts

PAGE 30

of the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape have been identified as decent locations. Further funding from the Danish government will help expand the Wind Atlas into the remaining areas of the Eastern Cape, parts of the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.

In a seminar on the Wind Atlas in Cape Town last year, Chief Director of clean energy in the Department of Energy explained: “We need good and reliable tools such as the Wind Atlas for long-term strategic planning. It will help developers to prepare for wind farms and diversify our energy mix.”

Dipolelo Elford, Sawea’s Chairperson added: “The wind industry is able to rapidly build much more than we are currently doing. Dozens of prospective wind farms have permits and approvals in place and could go into construction within six months if government gives the go-ahead today.”

VAN STADENS WIND FARM A R550 million project, the Van Stadens wind farm located in Nelson Mandela Bay, has an installed capacity of 27 MW. Standing 150m high, each turbine

Edison Power

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company profile

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has a 3 MW capacity and a lifespan of 20 years. With an estimated production of 80,000 MWH/year for the Nelson Mandela municipality, it will provide enough generation to provide power for up to 6,000 households.

Edison Power were named electrical contractor for the Van Stadens Wind Farm project and provided electrical services to the EPC contractor who was responsible for the construction of the farm, Basil Read, Motomo.

This project was the first of its kind for Basil Read and it chose to partner with South African company, 3E Renewable Energy Services international for the operation and management of the farm, who boast extensive wind farm expertise.

Van Stadens’ project manager, Jeff Pipe explained: “There is no room for shortcuts, especially with geotechnical work. We spend almost R15m more than expected and are not in a position to ask the client for more money. We have been very, very thorough.”

THE EDISON POWER GROUP Over the years, Edison Power has added an extensive list of subsidiaries to its group, helping to cover a wide

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range of sectors, it has cemented its leading position in the industry and continued dedication to clients.

Edison Power’s renewable company, Edison Green, is currently involved with Suzlon, the 5th largest wind energy company in the world and is also in talks with another IPP which uses PV (Photovoltaic) technology for effective and efficient power generation. The use of this technology would help in creating solar farms which are both emission free and carbon neutral.

Helping to divert the ways in which energy is used to generate electricity and in keeping with the government’s 2030 sustainable plan, Edison Green is looking to become a key player in the EPC renewable energy sector and in the ownership of both wind and solar projects.

Edison Power KZN is currently the largest power company in the Province, completing 95% of all major projects in KwaZulu Natal.

Now standing as the contract of choice for large electrical projects including King Shaka International airport, it has an electrical contract value of R550 million. Edison Power KZN has played an important role in creating a stable platform for the development of the entire group.

Edison Power While its Transmission and Distribution division specialises in the erection of transmission and distribution lines, it already holds alliances with two multi-national companies, KEC international and Quanta Services. Boasting the resources to capture the potential of the transmission and distribution projects throughout Africa, it is thought the value could reach over R100 billion spanning across the next ten years.

In an alliance with Itron, currently the world’s leading provider of energy and water management solutions for utilities with thousands of employees, Edison Power’s Smart Metering Division is a global leader in technology and innovation. This division specialises in communication systems, data collection and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) that helps to efficiently collect and transmit data.

Whilst Edison Power Gauteng looks to participate in the Gauteng market via joint ventures and associate companies, it maintains

high level standards of professionalism, performance and reliable deliveries in an attempt to keep up with the changing market demands, ensuring it secures contracts and sustains growth and development.

Speaking in 2013, Bazil Govender, Managing Director at Edison Power explained: “We are driven by our determination to be the leading, culturally diverse company in the electrical industry through the provision of cost effective, efficient services and a commitment to increasing shareholder value whilst improving the quality of life of all South Africans. In our 34-year history, the business has never once attracted any form of negative sanction for failure to meet the foregoing criteria of performance.”

Looking to the future and the Edison Power Group, with a rich and successful history behind it, has certainly put in place a strong list of accomplishments and challenging status – aiming to become the biggest and the best in Africa by 2017 (BABA 2017)

.

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s done.”

To realise your ambitions, you need the right partner by your side, with the end-to-end business solutions to see things through. That’s why we’re here. That’s what we do. Whatever your opportunities or challenges, we have the local insight and on-the-ground expertise to meet them with you. Isn’t that what partnership is about? www.standardbank.co.za/business Authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP15).

The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (Reg. No. 1962/000738/06).

Moving Forward is a trademark of The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited. SBSA 205306 - 06/15.

Moving Forward

TM

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company profile

Flowers, gifts and ecommerce

Editorial: Ajuanne Payne

For all those times when you need to show someone your appreciation, NetFlorist, as South Africa’s leading online florist and gifting service, is there to help you say it best. In this month’s issue of IndustrySA we catch up with Ryan Bacher, founder and Managing Director, to find out what his company has been up to these last 12 months...

Google Africa recently stated that it is seeing substantial growth in Africa’s ecommerce sector, anticipating that there will be a massive boom in the market by 2017. One of the companies that have been blazing a trail in online sales for many years, a company already well-positioned to ride the wave of surging activity in the online marketplace, is NetFlorist - 15-year veteran in the South African ecommerce space and well-known leader in the online gifting industry.

Following a somewhat serendipitous beginning in 1999, NetFlorist is now South Africa’s numberone online florist and, along with its sister brands, NetGifts, NetJewel and NetPerfume, is the largest same-day gift service nationally.

Today ranked among the top 500 websites visited

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in the country, the company began its journey in the very early days of ecommerce in South Africa and is most recognisable for its tongue-in-cheek marketing style, user friendly platform and quality service.

We last spoke to NetFlorist in February, 2014, when it was gearing up for one of its busiest periods, Valentine’s Day, and in this issue we find out what the company has been up to over the last 12 months to further grow and diversify its offering.

COMPANY BACKGROUND As w e foun d out l a s t ye a r, N e t F l ori s t h a d a n opport un i s t i c be g i n n i n g , s t a rt i n g up ori g i n a l l y as a dum m y w e bs i t e , w i t h n o i n i t i a l i n t e n t i on s to prog re s s i n t o a ful l y-fl e dg e d bus i n e s s .

NetFlorist

“At th e time o f the company’s be g inning s I w a s w o rking f o r an inte rne t se rv ice prov ide r,” e x plain ed Ry an B ache r, M anag ing Dire ctor a n d f o u n d er o f N etFlorist, “and one of o u r b igger clients aske d us to build the ir e c ommerce w eb s ite . Unfortunate ly at that t i m e , eco mmerce in South Africa was v e ry ne w a n d w e d id n’t kn o w much about it. “ Ins tead o f b acking away from the proposal, w e t o ld th e client that we we re v e ry happy t o bu ild th eir w eb site , but first we wante d to b u i l d o n e o f o u r o wn so that we unde rstood t h e pro ces s and w e re familiar with the way it w o r k ed . They w ere happy for us to do that and t h a t is w here N etF lorist starte d. “ It w as never o u r inte ntion to hav e a b u s i nes s th at s o ld flowe rs and g ifts in a

s us t a i n a bl e w a y. O ur i n t e n t i on w a s t o bui l d a w e bs i t e w h i c h w e c oul d l e a rn from a n d e v e n t ua l l y c l os e dow n , t h e n g o ba c k t o t h e c l i e n t a n d s a y ‘ye s w e k n ow e x a c t l y w h a t w e a re doi n g n ow ’.”

A ft e r B a c h e r a n d h i s t e a m foun d t h a t t h e re w a s un e x pe c t e dl y h i g h de m a n d for t h e s e rv i c e t h e i r t e s t pl a t form w a s prov i di n g , t h e y de c i de d t o de v e l op N e t Fl ori s t i n t o a ful l y-fl e dg e d i n de pe n de n t bus i n e s s , w i t h B a c h e r t a k i n g ov e r a s M a n a g i n g D i re c t or ful l -t i m e i n 2 0 0 3 .

CATERING TO ITS CUSTOMERS Wi t h a v a s t produc t ra n g e , c ov e ri n g a w i de v a ri e t y of g i ft i n g n e e ds , from i t s bouque t a n d pl a n t offe ri n g t o je w e l l e ry, pe rfum e , a n d m ore re c e n t l y, ba k e ry a n d c on fe c t i on a ry, N e t Fl ori s t

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company profile

Ryan Bacher | Managing Director t r i e s t o a n ticip ate everything its custome rs m a y b e l o o king f o r an d as a re sult has d i v e r s i f i e d o ver the y ears to try ne w av e nue s t h a t m a y p ro d u ce incre ase d re v e nue s for the b u s i n e ss . “ In o u r f lo ral b u s in ess we re ally innov ate a l l t h e t ime,” exp lain s Bache r, “We bring m or e a n d mo re o f o u r own product in from t h e e a s t s p ecif ically, va se s, containe rs, those k i n ds o f th ings . I t’s p art of the boring part of b u s i n e ss , b u t it help s us improv e our marg ins a n d a l so help s u s d if f ere ntiate ourse lv e s from a n y bo d y els e in So u th Africa be cause our r a n g e i s certain ly the wide st in the country a n d be c a u s e o f o u r ab ility to bring in v olume fro m o v ers eas . “ We f o cu s eq u ally o n all of our products b u t o u r f lo w er d ep artm e nt had a massiv e he ad s t a r t ; ou r exp ectatio n ov e r the ne xt fiv e ye ars a s we i n t en d to gro w is to re ach a 5 0 /5 0 split b e t we e n f lo w ers an d gi fts be cause we be lie v e

PAGE 36

“The other area we are spending a lot of time on is personalisation which is also growing quite nicely in the UK”

netflorist gi f t s are a f as t d eve loping cate g ory.”

NetGifts is certainly the most successful of NetFlorist’s sister brands at this time and evidence of Bacher and his team’s ability to anticipate the demands of customers. Its tagline is ‘SA’s largest sameday gift service’ – a testament to the company’s commitment to diversifying and expanding its product range.

It is this dedication to trying new avenues and learning from those that were perhaps less successful that has made NetFlorist unafraid to make the calculated risks it needs to in order to grow the business.

THE PAST 12 MONTHS O v e r t h e pa s t ye a r N e t F l ori s t h a s be e n i n v e s t i n g v a l ua bl e t i m e i n t o t h e e x t e n s i on of i t s bra n d, l a un c h i n g i t s ba k e ry a n d c on fe c t i on a ry s i de i n N ov e m be r of 2 0 1 4 , offe ri n g e v e ryt h i n g from c a k e s a n d brow n i e s t o c upc a k e bouque t s – w i t h pl a n s t o a dd m ore produc t i n J ul y, on e of t h e fe w n on -oc c a s i on m on t h s for t h e c om pa n y. “ T h e c om pa n y i s g row i n g a roun d 3 0 % ye a ron -ye a r,” e x pl a i n s B a c h e r. “An d w e proba bl y h a v e t w o bi g n e w a re a s s i n c e l a s t ye a r. T h e

League of Extraordinary Consultants are made up of a number of specialist companies that have been involved with Netflorist’s systems from the outset, and worked with Netflorist to create a seamless data ecosystem. By really understanding Netflorist’s business they have partnered with them to create Synergy between the action-packed ever changing demands of the e-commerce retail interface and the structured and detailed financial world that resides in Sage Evolution ERP. Get it Done IT Solutions who is a Super Platinum Sage Evolution Reseller with a footprint in Africa, created the base with Sage Evolution ERP that not only fits all their financial needs, but is simple and concise enough to give all the users on all levels an intuitive and logical tool to do their work. All the debtors and creditors management including corporate clients gets handled within Sage Evolution, making sure not an invoice or payment is missed. The web orders are imported into Sage Evolution from where staff in the warehouse can facilitate the picking and distribution of orders to the customers. At the other end of the spectrum the system generates the financial information management needs to run such a fast paced and dynamic endeavour efficiently and profitable.

Know Informatics is the development arm and deployed many of its tools in order for the web interface to communicate with the ERP. The importation platform that was implemented is 100% database driven, and thus ideal to handle bulk data, enabling Netflorist to get orders into the system fast. It also utilizes a two stage process where the data is first imported into a staging environment helping the end users to see and respond to any data inconsistencies on the fly. Because of their experience with the Sage Evolution database and structures they have also streamlined and automated the manufacturing process eliminating the need to do it manually, but still enabling the users to adapt and respond in the cases where an item is unavailable or not booked in yet.

Because all the raw materials are purchased through Sage Evolution ERP, the stock levels and availability are kept within its domain. They have deployed their proprietary FullCircle Stock management system to extract both the sales information and the purchase history to assist Netflorist in the procurement and planning process. FullCircle with its powerful forecasting functionality that has become a vital cog in the Netflorist’s machine around peak times like Valentine’s and Mother’s Day. Due to the fleeting nature of much of the stock, the stock ageing functionality also assists Netflorist to focus on items that need to get out of the warehouse fast.

Working with Netflorist, they have helped to get all their systems to work together, creating synergy between different pieces of software each designed to fulfil its own tasks optimally.

For more information visit us at www.gid-it.co.za | www.loec.co.za or info@gid-it.co.za

PAGE 37

company profile

fir st w o u ld b e co n f ectionary, we ’v e ope ne d our o w n b a k ery, w h ere w e do cake s and cupcake s a n d do n uts and cho co late brownie s and all s o r t s. “ We a re in the p ro cess of adding more and m or e p r od u ct to th at rang e , strawbe rrie s and c h o c ol a tes an d macaro ons - those kinds of t h i n gs . T h is w ill all go liv e in the ne xt month. “ T h e o ther area w e a re spe nding a lot of t i m e o n is p ers o n alis ation, which is also gr ow i n g q u ite nicely in the UK. We now a l l ow ou r cu s to mers to add the ir own touch t o a l o t o f o u r gif ts , w he the r it’s e ng rav ing , em br oi dering o r ad d in g name s on labe ls of b o t t l e d win es . We’ re d e finite ly v e ry e xcite d a bo u t c onf ectio n ary and pe rsonalisation.

A l w a ys b eing ab le to prov ide some thing fre s h f or the cu s to mer while still maintaining t h e h i g h s tand ard s o f e xisting product rang e s h a s b e e n a co rners to n e of Ne tFlorist’s succe ss

PAGE 38

ov e r t h e ye a rs a n d i s t h e re a s on w h y, i n t h e on l i n e fl ori s t a n d g i ft i n g s pa c e , i t re a l l y h a s n o com pe t i t i on t o s pe a k of.

A s w e l l a s a ddi n g t h e s e t w o n e w produc t ran g e s , a s i f t h a t w a s n ’t e n oug h , N e t Fl ori s t h a s also l a un c h e d a c e l e bri t y fl ora l ra n g e w h i c h i t wil l be e x t e n di n g i n t h e n e a r fut ure . “ We ’v e g o t l oc a l c e l e bri t i e s t h a t h a v e c om e i n t o our wa re h ous e a n d h a v e de s i g n e d t h e i r ow n ra n g e of fl ow e rs , w h i c h i s g oi n g qui t e n i c e l y. We lau n c h e d t h a t a bout a m on t h a g o.”

Ev i de n t l y t h e m os t i m port a n t a re a of foc us for N e t F l ori s t i s c us t om e r s a t i s fa c t i on a n d the a bi l i t y t o de l i v e r h i g h qua l i t y s e rv i c e a n d g o ods .

To d a y t h e c o m p a n y h a s f i v e w a r e h o u s e s and an in-house distribution network supporting its significant online sales and providing a solid base that enables it to expand its offering in response to demand.

Netflorist

“In our floral business we really innovate all the time”

Its infrastructure is the backbone of the whole operation and NetFlorist have invested a lot of time and energy into ensuring its network of storage facilities a n d v e h i c l e s a r e u p t o p a r. “ We ’ v e i n c r e a s e d o u r d e l i v e r y f l e e t a n d we’ve also moved it into a cold-chain environment, obviously to help with our floral deliveries but also so that we can deliver our confectionary products via our o w n d i s t r i b u t i o n , s o t h a t ’s b e e n a b i g c h a n g e f o r u s ,” s a y s B a c h e r.

“On the warehousing front we’ve expanded two of them and we’ve still got five warehouses and our own presence in the five areas in South Africa. “ O v e r t h e l a s t t w o ye a rs , w e ’v e a l s o be e n m ov i n g t h e c ul t ure of t h e bus i n e s s s l i g h t l y t o m ore of a ‘pe rform a n c e dri v e n , c us t om e r obs e s s e d’ c ul t ure . I g ue s s w e w e re a s oft e r k i n d

PAGE 39

company profile o f c u l t u re, w h ich w e’ re ce rtainly not trying t o l o s e , b u t no w w e are mov ing more into a m a t ur e , co rp o rate environme nt and I think t h a t ’s h e lp in g o u r b u s ine ss g row up. E v e n t h o u gh w e are 15 y ears old we ’re still g rowing u p i n a w ay, s o th at’s b e e n a big chang e ov e r t h e l a st tw o y ears .”

KEY TO SUCCESS N e t F l o r is t h as certain ly be e n a company w i t h t h e ab ility to ch ang e and adapt to its en v i r on m en t, an d this can in no small way b e a t t r i b u ted to B acher and his two partne r’s s hr e wd l ead ers h ip o ver its 1 5 ye ars in o p e r a t i o n – s o meth ing which is se t to continue i n t h e y e ars to co me. Whe n we aske d if he has a n y p l a n s to take a s tep back and re lax, Bache r q u i c k l y res p o nd ed : “N o none at all – g ot lots t o do .”

T h e c o mp any ’s s u ccess can also be cre dite d t o i t s f l e xib le ap p ro ach and willing ne ss to l e a r n f r o m mis takes , its cle ar brand ide ntity a n d t o t h e p artn ers h ip s it has foste re d ov e r the ye a r s. “ In o n e as p ect w e b u ilt the busine ss

ori g i n a l l y by l e v e ra g i n g l ot s of pa rt n e rs h i ps on the m a rk e t i n g s i de . We k i n d of c o-prom ot e d our produc t w i t h l ot s of ot h e r bra n ds w h o were i n t e re s t e d i n s e l l i n g fl ow e rs a n d g i ft s ; the y s ol d our produc t t o t h e i r c us t om e rs a n d we i n c l ude d t h e m i n t h e s a l e .

A lot of those partnerships are still around and they’ve helped us enormously in building a customer base without over-spending on marketing.

“The other key area on the marketing side is that we’ve built a local brand in South African which has been reasonably consistent. It’s quite a cheeky brand that revolves around humour and people have got to know the characters that we use in our adverts and our brand because of that consistency which has helped us a lot to build a brand locally. “ L a s t l y, w e h a v e n ’t be e n s c a re d t o t ry t h i n g s , but w e ’v e a l s o fa i l e d pre t t y qui c k l y - pe rh a ps not a l w a ys a s qui c k l y a s w e s h oul d h a v e . We ’v e tak e n s om e k n oc k s a l on g t h e w a y but w h e n som e t h i n g h a s n ’t w ork e d g e n e ra l l y w e ’re a bl e to m ov e a l on g from i t be fore i t de s t roys t h e bus i n e s s . I t h i n k be i n g a bl e t o m a k e m i s t a k e s an d m ov e on from t h e m a s w e l l w h i c h I t h i n k ha s h e l pe d us ,” B a c h e r c on c l ude s

.

RAM Couriers enables e-commerce Constant communication. Understanding every customer’s specific business requirements.

Planning and working closely with the customer to deal with each of their unique challenges.

That approach lies at the heart of RAM Handto-Hand Couriers’ long association with many of South Africa’s largest companies including cellular service providers and retailers of general goods, as well as leading corporations and businesses.

It’s an approach that has resulted in the flourishing of RAM’s eight-year partnership with Netflorist.

“One of the key success factors for any ecommerce operation like Netflorist is reliable, responsive order fulfilment. That is what we promise, and what we deliver,” says RAM joint managing director, Graeme Lazarus.

Founded in 1988 as a specialised courier company focused on the delivery of valuable cargo, RAM Hand-to-Hand Couriers today has more than 41 distribution hubs, a team of around 2809 trained personnel, and the capacity to deliver to 1,130 towns and over 14,000 suburbs across South Africa.

Included in those deliveries are between 150,000 to 200,000 home deliveries every month.

“To our knowledge we are the only courier company in South Africa that does not sub-contract deliveries to third parties, resulting in an unsurpassed track record of delivering securely, intact and on time. We maintain a 15 percent spare capacity of vehicles so that we can keep this promise,” he adds.

All this, combined with careful planning, enables RAM to deliver the enormous flood of orders that Netflorist receives for celebratory days – Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day – within a limited timeframe.

“Receiving a Valentine’s Day gift on the 15th or 16th of February because of a delivery glitch would be totally unacceptable. Thanks to our close relationship with Netflorist, we’ve successfully delivered some 12,000 Netflorist hampers and boxed gifts within the very short Valentine’s Day timeframe,” Lazarus concludes.

PAGE 40

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PAGE 41

company profile

Leading the SA transformer industry

Editorial: Ajuanne Payne

Revive Electrical Transformers (RET) is a leading South African distribution transformer manufacturer, a family business and the only company to produce certain of its products locally. In this issue we speak to founder and CEO, Dharmalingum “Paddy” Padayachee, to discover the reason for RET’s success and to learn more about what makes this highly specialised company tick…

Critical for handling AC (alternating current) for the power grid, transformers are essential for power transmission over long distances and are an integral part of any national grid network. The first company to manufacture dry–type transformers for medium voltage in Southern Africa and one of the largest Pole Mount distribution transformer manufacturers on the entire African continent, Revive Electrical Transformers (RET) is a South African success story and a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of its founder and CEO, Paddy Padayachee.

AS manufacturers of oil–filled distribution transformers 5KVA-500KVA-1.9KV-33KV, cast resin distribution transformers 100KVA-5000KVA -6.6KV-33KV, mini–substation, NEC-NER and Aux transformers, RET has customers across Botswana,

PAGE 42

Mozambique, Swaziland, Namibia, Zambia, DRC, Ghana, Malawi and Lesotho, with plans to grow its reach in the coming years.

The company today has an impressive client list encompassing both the public and private sector and contracts spanning Southern Africa with an array of major players in the power production space, such as Eskom, Siemens, Voltex and ARB, to name a few.

A firm dedication to tailoring its services and fulfilling the specialised nature of its customer’s requirements on time, to a high quality and at a competitive price has propelled RET to the forefront of its industry locally and cemented its position in the electrical transformer market.

After beginning his career as an electrical engineer at Siemens South Africa, where he worked

Revive Electrical Transformers

for more than 18 years in different positions, and accruing a vast amount of technical knowledge along the way, Padayachee became a manager at Eskom in 1991. The stint at South Africa’s seminal power producer not only allowed him to hone his technical ability further but also gave the opportunity to gain vital managerial experience.

It was six years later that Padayachee decided to branch out on his own, recognizing the need for a home-grown transformer manufacturer and service provider in South and Southern Africa.

“Revive Electrical Transformers (RET) was established in 1997. It began with producing oil immersed transformers and in 2011 started manufacturing dry type transformers to match the gap in the market that it had identified,” explains Padayachee.

As a well-recognized specialist in the service,

repair and manufacture of transformers, Revive has gradually evolved into one of the largest suppliers to the market in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Since its inception, the company has grown to be one of the largest manufacturers of distribution transformers in Southern Africa, with an order book of approximately US$25.85 million per annum,” explains Padayachee. “It supplies transformers ranging from 16 KVA to 5000 KVA to various customers, which include power utilities, municipalities, electrical contractors and to the industrial sector.”

At 60 years old, Padayachee is still very much involved in the day-to-day running of his business and has developed RET into a family operation with wife, Priscilla, working as the Financial Director and second son, Sumeshan

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company profile

Padayachee, working as General Manager for the business.

GREEN GROWTH Recognising the rapid global transition towards renewable energy over ten years ago, and first taking steps in 2003 towards what is today a flourishing renewables sector in South Africa, the government is determined to take advantage of the high level of renewable energy potential in the country.

Its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP), established in 2011, is a competitive auction for SA renewable energy projects and the vehicle which the government is using to reach its target of 3,725 MW electricity produced from renewable sources.

The burgeoning industry in South Africa is bringing in increasing foreign investment and stimulating local industry sectors in the process.

RET is one of the companies to benefit from the South African renewables race, with demand high and growing exponentially for its dry type transformers, specifically used in renewable energy projects.

“The development of the renewable energy industry in Southern Africa presented an opportunity for the local manufacture of environmentally friendly distribution transformers,” says Padayachee. “The need for this special product in the renewable sector influenced RET to design, manufacture and supply dry type, cast resin and amorphous core transformers in 2011, making it the first and only company to locally manufacture and distribute these transformers.

“When directly comparing to commonly used oil filled transformers, dry type transformers are compact and safer – free from fire hazard perspective, as they are made from a selfextinguishing material. RET was awarded almost 200MW of CRT Transformers over the past 2 years and has just received another 100MW from Santerno for its two solar projects in South Africa.”

Timing is everything – Padayachee responded to the changing market and invested over R40 million into diversifying into high quality, drytype transformers with epoxy-resin insulation.

Not only is RET continuing to service the

PAGE 44

specialized needs of its clients, but it is also pioneering in the industry in the region, as the first company to manufacture this product locally.

When compared with oil type transformers, dry type transformers offer a lot of advantages, such as energy efficiency, eco-friendliness, ease of maintenance and operation and reliability. These technical benefits, coupled with RET’s local knowledge and reputation have contributed to a steadily increasing take up for the product and over 300 MW worth of orders.

The other side of RET’s business, the manufacture, installation and service of oilfilled transformers, has continued to flourish over the last five years and as a result of RET’s “unmatched technical know-how, in 2012, RET was awarded a contract by Eskom to manufacture 500 50KVA amorphous core low loss transformers for its pilot project. This contract resulted in RET being the first company to fully type test the amorphous 3-phase transformer to Eskom specification.”

Due to its large order book, over the past few years RET has expanded its operations in a new state of the art 17 000 m factory, south of Johannesburg. Its existing factory in Steele dale continues to produce more than 1500 transformers per month.

The new facility is divided into three areas of production. The manufacture of oil filled distribution transformers from 16KVA to 5 MVA, the manufacture of Mini Sub-stations and the new product line – the cast resin dry type transformers.

The factory is equipped with a state of the art automated test bay, imported from Haefely in Switzerland which ensures the most accurate load and no-load losses, as well as 3D modelling software for partial discharge and has the capacity to test from 16 KVA up to 5 MVA.

THE PAST YEAR AT RET When dealing with relatively new product there is bound to be a certain amount of trial and error – it is impossible to plan for every eventuality and making mistakes and learning from them is often how vital improvements are made.

There have been a few bumps in the road for RET’s new dry type transformers that have had to be overcome along the way: “The last twelve

Revive Electrical Transformers

Green Transformers

Ester Dielectric Fluid application in Transformers

Increasing transformers capacity up to 20% • Additional overloading capability while maintaining life expectation and footprint for large population growth areas • More compact transformers • Kraft paper + Envirotemp FR3

Green Transformer more compact and more efficient • 15% lower oil volume • Up to 18% less copper • About 5% less general materials • Extended life expectancy

PAGE 45

company profile

months we have had a mixture of both good and bad experiences. Our locally manufactured dry type transformers were supplied to various solar project plants in South Africa. However, most of our clients were designing cubicles for the protection and cooling of our transformers which were incorrectly engineered,” says Padayachee.

“This caused overheating and incorrect cooling, which caused our transformers to overheat and fail. After some deliberations we managed to assist them in redesigning their cubicles. We have now have been able to show most clients that the transformers overheated due to the incorrect design of cubicles and not our transformers design as they originally perceived.”

The positive effect of these difficulties is that RET now has a standardised approach for clients which they can advise to use for the cubicles, a development that has the potential to also save on cost in the future.

PAGE 46

Some of the other challenges the company have faced over the past year have been ones that have not only affected RET, but whole industry sectors in South Africa. The first of these challenges “was the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) 2014 Engineering wage negotiations, as we are in the metal industry our workers did not attend work for four weeks therefore holding up production,” explains Padayachee.

“The effects of the strike over spilled into the coming months for our metal fabrication suppliers who had back-log, quite frankly it not only affected us but the whole of South Africa.”

The NUMSA strike “knocked back the third-quarter growth rate of the South African economy by more than half of what it could have been” according to the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) and was not the only one to affect RET’s business in 2014, the second of which was the Gauteng

Revive Electrical Transformers

Taxi strike which left the company’s employees unable to be ferried to work.

Another growing concern for RET, and indeed one that is being felt across the whole of South Africa, is the constant electricity load shedding which is having a serious effect on companies’ abilities to conduct business smoothly, and in turn negatively effecting the South African economy as a whole.

Even with some challenges facing the company last year, there have been more highs than lows for the South African transformer business.

The company gained South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) approval, SANS 600761:2011 & SANS 60076-11:2005, for its dry type transformers.

“Another high for RET would be receiving a new International client, Elettronica Santerno SpA, from Italy,” says Padayachee, who “design and market inverters for the production of electricity from

renewable sources, drives and soft starters for industrial and hybrid applications. We were awarded a contract for US$5 million for dry yype transformer production.

“Lastly we recently tendered for an Eskom Tender worth around US$15 million and we are hopeful to be the recipients of that tender.”

STAYING AHEAD OF THE PACK RET’s main competition, especially in the field of dry type transformers, comes primarily from companies in the Far East, and one of the challenges for this industry in South Africa is the high cost of importing raw materials compared with its Eastern counterparts.

“The dry type transformer industry is dominated by manufacturers from the Far East, distributing transformers to the local market at competitive prices. This dominance is a result of inadequate supply of raw material such as core steel, epoxy resin and transformer insulation, which deter a large number of domestic companies from manufacturing dry type transformers locally,” explains Padayachee. Aside

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company profile

© Revive Electrical Transformers from the specialised nature of the product, the potential difficulties with the supply of raw materials in SA is a contributing factor to why RET stands as the only local manufacturer of this product.

However, taking all this into account, RET has a competitive edge compared to any international players offering the same service and products.

“The key value proposition that gives RET a major competitive advantage over other players in the industry is our ability to offer products that are tailored for the African context, and subsequently support our customers throughout the life cycle of the product,” explains Padayachee.

“Through the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), a regulator of quality of South African goods and services, RET forms a part of the committee for SABS780 distribution transformers specifications. Strategic alliance with SABS and 15 years of experience in the distribution transformer industry enable RET to design and develop dry type

PAGE 48

“The development of the renewable energy industry in Southern Africa presented an opportunity”

Revive Electrical Transformers transformers that are suitable for local conditions.

“Accordingly, RET has built a strong reputation for manufacturing, commissioning and servicing superior quality transformers. Its dry type transformer manufacturing facility operates under stringent Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality (SHEQ) approved processes in accordance with International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001, ISO14000 and ISO18000 quality standards.”

The company’s high level of technical expertise and local knowledge allow it to offer superior quality after sales services in comparison to a lot of its international competitors. With over 250 direct employees currently, RET rotates its staff through all departments and invests heavily in in-house training to ensure it maintains its enviable reputation and to retain skills within the business long term. “ O u r f u tu re is b r ig ht and we can only look o n ward s an d u p w ards; we aim to be a g lobal c on t en d er in the tr ansforme r industry, we hav e c ur r en tly d o ne q u otations in Chile and Dubai,” s a y s Pad ay ach ee. “We supply most of Southe rn A f r i c a in clu d ing Zambia, Botswana, Z imbabwe , a n d Namib ia an d o ur targ e t is to e xte nd our r e a c h to the d if f ere nt parts of Africa”

A BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS Trust, control, solidarity, speed, authenticity, nature plus nurture; those are the six pillars that form the foundation of RET’s culture and are the reasons for its continued growth and success. The heart of RET and its operations is the fact that it is a family-run business, something that Padayachee puts great store in.

“Revive Electrical Transformers is a Family based company, we strive to be the best at what we do.

Sumeshan Padayachee is the General Manager, he began working in the family business as a boy and now he introduces next-generation technology with his ingenuity,” says Padayachee.

“Family is the place where you can let things fly. We laugh more here and we yell more here. Sometimes family members can get to be more emotional than nonfamily, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. The ability to be fearlessly and emotionally honest can help a family business thrive.

“In conclusion, family businesses have their challenges like any other non-family business, but “family values” are taking on new meaning in today’s economy. If you’re able to recognize that value and work together for the common good, family can be your biggest competitive advantage.”

.

“Congratulations to Revive Transformers for favouring NFM as its preferred vendor of Aluminium Profiles plus foils” Profiles, bus bars and foil in Copper equally available on request.

Trade Enquiries : eb@nfm.co.za www.nfm.co.za Durban: 0314807389 Pretoria: 01232700106 Johannesburg: 0116263390 Cape Town: 0215110286 East London: 0437221585 Port Elizabeth: 0414511354

email: TraceyR@nfm.co.za email: NateR@nfm.co.za email: AnthonyJ@nfm.co.za email: CharlK@nfm.co.za email: LauraR@nfm.co.za email: ShaakiraP@nfm.co.za

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company profile

A small component with a big role‌ Editorial: Harriet Pattison

Vital to every industry, the fastener plays a very important and unparalleled role in many appliances that we use on an everyday basis. Integral to the design process, a fastener determines the lifespan and quality of a product.

Based in Cape Town, Boltfast has over three decades of experience and knowledge and standing as a leading distributor of industrial fasteners, it boasts an impressive portfolio of over 28,000 products.

Although a seemingly small component of the construction puzzle, fasteners are perhaps the most significant, required and essential in our everyday lives.

U l t i m a tely d es igned to hold two compone nts t oge t h e r, f as ten ers n eed to be prioritise d in t h e de s i gn p ro ces s – ensuring the y are e qual, o r b e t t e r th an, th e as s emble d parts with the b o l t e d jo in ts never a point of we akne ss.

B ol t s , rivets , s crew s , pane l faste ne rs, pipe s, n ut s a n d clinch s tu d s are just a fe w of the most c om m o n f as ten ers u s ed to hold the industry t oge t h e r to d ay. Mad e from a rang e of diffe re nt f e r r o u s an d no n-f erro us me tals and e v e n e n g i n e e ring p las tics , f aste ne rs are continually b e i n g des igned w ith ne w and innov ativ e a dv a n t a ges in a b id to prov ide an e ffe ctiv e

PAGE 50

so l ut i on . An e x a m pl e of t h e s e n e w g e n e ra t i on fa s t e n e rs i s t h e s n a p fa s t e n e r.

B roa dl y s pe a k i n g , fa s t e n e rs c a n be ca t e g ori z e d i n t o t w o s e c t ors : h i g h t e n s i l e an d m i l d s t e e l fa s t e n e rs , de pe n di n g on t h e ten s i l e s t re n g t h . M i l d s t e e l fa s t e n e rs t e n d t o be produc e d by t h e un org a n i s e d s e c t or w h i l e hi g h t e n s i l e fa s t e n e rs re qui re a m ore s upe ri or tec h n ol og y s pe c a n d a re pre dom i n a n t l y m a n ufa c t ure d by t h e org a n i s e d s e c t or. T h e aut om obi l e i n dus t ry c urre n t l y a c c oun t s for a n e st i m a t e d 7 5 % of t h e t ot a l de m a n d, c l os e l y fol l ow e d by c on s um e r dura bl e s a n d ra i l w a ys .

Wh i l e fa s t e n e rs c om e i n t h ous a n ds of v a ri e t i e s , e a c h h a s a s pe c i fi c a n d e s s e n t i a l purpos e a n d e a c h i s c l a s s i fi e d i n a c c orda n c e to t h e i n dus t ry i t i s s uppl i e d t o. S o a n a i rc ra ft

Boltfast

m od el w o u ld req u i re a comple te ly diffe re nt f a st e n er d es ign to a re side ntial building or e v e n tho s e u s ed in marine craft. Faste ne rs c a n als o b e clas s if ied according to mate rials u s e d in manu f actu ring – Titanium faste ne rs a r e m o s t co mmo n ly use d whe re corrosion is a p r e d o min ant and de trime ntal factor, whe re h e a vy iro n f as ten ers are chose n whe n we ig ht c a r r y in g cap acity is inte g ral. One of the most c ommo n ly u s ed , s tainle ss ste e l faste ne rs, are a c h e ap er altern ative for titanium, prov iding a c or r o s io n res is tan t solution.

C orro s io n is an ine v itable and common p r ob lem w ith f as te ne rs so prote ctiv e coating s h e l p to p revent this whilst simultane ously i m p ro vin g ap p earance . Diffe re nt faste ne rs o p e rate in d if f erent industrie s which can

s ubs e que n t l y m e a n m uc h h a rs h e r c on di t i on s .

Ca rs run i n v a ri ous w e a t h e r c on di t i on s a n d on di ffe re n t t e rra i n s s o fa s t e n e rs us e d h e re m us t be a bl e t o w i t h s t a n d s uc h e l e m e n t s .

F a s t e n e rs us e d on t h e un de rs i de for e x a m pl e w i l l i n c ur a bra s i on from s a n d a n d g ra v e l t h row n from t h e w h e e l s , w h i l e fa s t e n e rs c l os e t o t h e e n g i n e w i l l n e e d t h e n e c e s s a ry e l e m e n t t o w i t h s t a n d h i g h t e m pe ra t ure s .

O n e of t h e l e a di n g c oa t i n g s i n fa s t e n e r prot e c t i on i s F l uoropol ym e r – i t e n a bl e s a l ow e r c oe ffi c i e n t of fri c t i on for a m uc h qui c k e r a n d m ore e ffi c i e n t a ppl i c a t i on a n d a re l i a bl e re m ov a bl e w i t h ordi n a ry w re n c h e s , e v e n w h e n e x pos e d t o pa rt i c ul a rl y c orros i v e c h e m i c a l s or s a l t w a t e r. T h e proc e s s i n v ol v e s pre pa ri n g t h e s urfa c e of t h e fa s t e n e r pri or t o

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company profile c oa t i n g bef o re co mp let ing a unique thre e -ste p c oa t i n g pro ces s , help in g to e nsure consiste nt c oa t i n g a n d excellen t adhe sion, e v e n on the m or e h a rd -to -reach p arts.

F l u o r op o ly mer co ating s are an e spe cially d u r a b l e o p tio n and w ith normal usag e , c a n n o t b e eas ily remo ve d. A me tallic base c oa t a l so h elp s to ens u re a supe rior corrosion r e si st a n c e mean ing p rote ction is g iv e n e v e n u n de r h a rs h co nd itio ns - coating s can ofte n b e da m a g ed d u ring th e asse mbly of faste ne rs.

I f b a r e m etal is exp o s ed during the asse mbly p r oc e ss , it can q u ickly be g in to show sig ns of c or r o s i o n , s o metimes c ausing the coating to fa i l a l t o gether.

STATISTICS OF THE FASTENER I n Ju n e this y ear, it w as re porte d that the price o f st e e l was s et at $100 pe r ton – and while r e po r t s s h o w a s imilar price was se e n this time l a s t ye a r, the p rice has droppe d sig nificantly

PAGE 52

thi s ye a r a l on e , re a c h i n g $ 4 0 0 pe r t on be fore Ch ri s t m a s .

T h e i m port a n c e of a s e c ure fa s t e n e r i s e sse n t i a l a n d pa ra m oun t , w h i c h e v e r i n dus t ry it i s be i n g de s i g n e d for – t h e c on s e que n c e s an d da n g e rs of a fa ul t y fa s t e n e r c oul d re s ul t i n com pl e t e e qui pm e n t fa i l ure , pe rs on a l i n dus t ry an d i n t h e w ors t c a s e s c e n a ri o, fa t a l i t i e s .

It i s e x pe c t e d t h a t t h e fa s t e n e r a n d s c re w ma c h i n e produc t m a n ufa c t uri n g i n dus t ry w i l l g en e ra t e a re v e n ue of a n e s t i m a t e d £ 5 3 1 .7 mil l i on be t w e e n 2 0 1 4 a n d 2 0 1 5 , i n c i de n t a l l y thi s i s dow n by 2 .5 % on t h e pre v i ous ye a r – d ra s t i c c h a n g e s i n dow n s t re a m de m a n ds , e con om i c c h a l l e n g e s a n d e x c h a n g e ra t e s a l l he l pe d t o e n c oura g e t h e s e c h a n g e s i n m a rk e t re ve n ue a s a re s ul t of t h e re c e s s i on .

T h e dom e s t i c m a rk e t for fa s t e n e r a n d s c re w ma c h i n e produc t s i s s a i d t o be w ort h a n e st i m a t e d £ 8 7 7 .3 m i l l i on from 2 0 1 4 -1 5 .

More re c e n t l y, E urope a n D i re c t i v e s h a v e

BP SA

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company profile

Š Boltfast

p u t f u r t h er emp has is o n the importance of fa s t e n e r s , w ith p articu lar conce ntration for d e s i gn e r s o f vehicles , e le ctrical and e le ctronic eq u i pm e nt. Th e th ree most important d i r e c t i v e s o u tlined are: Waste E le ctrical and E l e c t r o nic Eq u ip ment (WE E E ), E nd of L ife Ve h i c l e ( ELV) and the Re striction of the use of c e r t a i n Hazard o u s S u b stance s in e le ctrical and el e c t r o n ic eq u ip men t ( RoHS) Dire ctiv e .

T h i s i n tro d u ctio n w ill me an that both the a ut om ot ive, electrical a nd e le ctronic product m a n uf a c tu rers w ill n o w hav e to make chang e s t o t h e t yp e o f f as ten ers be ing use d and to t h e a p p l icatio n p ro ces s. One such me thod t o i m pl e m en t this chang e is to de sig n using s in g l e c o mp o n en ts , u s ing moulde d snap-fits i n s t e a d of s ep arate f as t e ne rs and re de sig ning a ss e m b l i es s o f ew er f as t e ne rs are holding more p a r t s t o geth er.

PAGE 54

In S out h Afri c a , a n a t i on w h i c h a l s o ha s s i g n i fi c a n t a ut om ot i v e , a g ri c ul t ura l , con s t ruc t i on a n d i n fra s t ruc t ure i n dus t ri e s , t h e com m on fa s t e n e r i s us e d on a n ot a bl y l a rg e sca l e . Wh i l e m a n y c om pa n i e s ope ra t e w i t h i n the fa s t e n e r i n dus t ry, B ol t fa s t , h e a dqua rt e re d in Ca pe Tow n , i s a s s ure dl y on e of t h e l e a di n g ind us t ry out l e t s i n S out h Afri c a t oda y.

THE PREFERRED PARTNER Opening its doors to the public in 1983, B o l t f a s t w a s f o u n d e d b y f o r m e r o w n e r, E r i c Hasselbach. Initially employing just a small handful of staff and operating in South A f r i c a ’s We s t e r n C a p e P r o v i n c e , i t n o w stands as one of the leading distributors of industrial fasteners in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Headquartered in C a p e To w n , t h e c o m p a n y w a s a c q u i r e d b y

Boltfast Overberg Agri in 2007.

C ontinu ing to d eliv e r an e v e r-incre asing p r od u ct ran ge to clie nts all ov e r the country, B ol t f as t h as s ecu red an impre ssiv e re putation s t a n d ing as th e p refe rre d partne r of choice for a l l i t s s takeho ld ers .

S t rivin g to b u ild solid and re liable r e l a t io ns hip s w ith clie nts, Boltfast is inte nt o n p ro vid ing s o lu tions to e nsure that e ach c l i e nt receives excelle nt se rv ice , hig h quality p r od u cts an d p ro vide s an array of training and s e r v ices to help each clie nt g row the ir busine ss b o t h ef f ectively and succe ssfully.

Pl a cin g a key f o cus on v alue s including trust, h on e s ty, d eliverin g on promise s and mutual r e sp ect, it’s n o w o nde r Boltfast has e stablishe d s uc h a p ro min en t position within the industry.

O v er the y ears , additional companie s we re a c q u ired , help in g to e xte nd the company’s f o o t prin t acro s s So uth Africa, including in J oh a n nes b u rg, Du rban and P re toria. Today, B ol t f as t h as nu merous office locations in P ort E l i z a b eth , Preto ria , Johanne sburg , Durban a n d t hree f u rther branche s in its He ad Office C a p e To w n lo catio n - Vre de nburg , E pping and

M on t a g ue G a rde n s .

B ol t fa s t i s I S O 9 0 0 1 :2 0 0 8 re g i s t e re d w i t h a l e v e l 4 B -B B E E ra t i n g a n d s t a n ds a s a c e rt i fi e d v a l ue a dde d s uppl i e r.

EXTENSIVE PRODUCT RANGE Wi t h a v a s t r a n g e o f o v e r 2 8 , 0 0 0 p r o d u c t s , Boltfast not only supplies an extensive list of fasteners, but additionally it also offers; high tensile steel, mild steel, stainless steel and brass products, not to mention, socket heads, roof and fastening systems, tools, solvents and associated products.

It continues to boast one of the largest product ranges than any of its competitors, maintaining its position as the largest stockist of stainless steel fasteners across South Africa.

While steel prices and the continued availability of quality steel proves a concern for Boltfast, it has a dedicated and reliable team in place to constantly monitor steel p r i c e s , m a r k e t c o n d i t i o n s a n d a v a i l a b i l i t y.

Now operating across numerous market sectors, Boltfast sells its extensive product

DCS Engineering was established in 1989 and currently supplies the industrial sector of South Africa with specialised engineering requirements.

PRODUCT LINE INCLUDES: Specialised Engineering – Mechanical fastenings Marine – Fittings for shipping & yachting Mining – Fasteners & foundation bolts Wine Industry – Sample taps & fittings Oil & Gas – 904. & B7, flanges Agriculture – Machine repairs & components Customised designs for clients

PO BOX 431 | TABLE VIEW | 7439 | SOUTH AFRICA TEL: +27 (0)21 557 6747 | FAX: +27 (0)21 557 6771

www.dcscape.co.za

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Company profile

© Boltfast

“While fasteners come in thousands of varieties, each has a specific and essential purpose and each is classified in accordance to the industry it is supplied to”

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range to the mining, construction, marine and manufacturing industries.

Due to the size of the product range and the differing needs of the various industries in different locations, the popularity of the p r o d u c t s v a r i e s a c c o r d i n g l y.

Wi t h m a n y l a r g e s c a l e a n d p r o m i n e n t projects under its belt – Boltfast has been involved with an array of large construction developments including the Medupi power station.

FULL PACKAGE SOLUTION Over the last few years, Boltfast has undergone a process of restructuring and consolidation, all with the aim of ensuring it provides the very best services for its clients. It has also introduced new and related product lines which includes t h e Ti t a n H a r d w a r e r a n g a n d p r o t e c t i v e

Boltfast clothing and silicon ranges, helping to reestablish its role as the preferred partner for clients.

M o r e r e c e n t l y, B o l t f a s t l a u n c h e d a s m a l l packs range for the DIY market as part of a social responsibility initiative in a bid to support an organisation which provides work to disabled individuals in both a safe and protected working environment. An extremely valid and important scheme, it will allow these individuals the opportunity to work for companies like Boltfast.

These strategic updates have helped to ensure that Boltfast is in a prime position to capitalise on future growth opportunities and plans to increase its market share and returns. One of the ways it hopes to achieve this is by building upon its ability to provide high quality products and concentrating on building secure long term relationships with clients and suppliers.

Boltfast is also looking to further increase its footprint through the addition of several new branches and franchise options to extend both its retail and DIY markets.

In a report released by Freedonia Group, a leading international industrial research c o m p a n y, i t i s p r e d i c t e d t h e g l o b a l d e m a n d for industrial fasteners is to grow year on year by 4.8% from 2012. In 2007, the demand for fasteners had reached an exponential total of US$52 billion, growing by 9% annually since 2002. It is thought this surge in demand is attributed largely to the increases in world economic growth, increased fixed investment activity and greater manufacturing production. Both the motor vehicle production and aerospace grade fasteners required for aircrafts are expected to contribute significantly to this growth.

The growth of fastener demands in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America has now started to outpace g r o w t h w i t h i n t h e U S , J a p a n a n d We s t e r n Europe – while sales growth is looking to be stimulated by favourable economic conditions and higher income levels, this will undoubtedly lead to an increase in manufacturing activity and consumer expenditures for durable goods.

Looking at the industrial fastener industry, recorded consumption by the world’s original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) represented a significant proportion of the global fastener demand at 84% - followed by maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) applications accounting for the remainder. In 2007, it was reported that motor vehicle manufacturers consume the most fasteners, accounting for 35% of the global demand, this figure has now risen significantly. Approaching a total of US$5 billion in 2012, the demand for aerospace-grade fasteners is expected to grow too.

So, in a market that is constantly changing, growing and becoming more innovative and r e l i a n t o n t e c h n o l o g y, i t i s e s s e n t i a l f o r a company like Boltfast to ensure it puts its energies into adding new and related product lines to its industrial fastener database over the coming years. This dedication will undoubtedly ensure it maintains its prominent industry leading position to successfully provide the full package solution to its clients and develop its footprint further

.

“We wish Boltfast continued success in the future.”

• Air & Sea Freight Forwarding and Customs Clearing • Warehousing: Bond and Duty free facilities • National Distribution: road & rail, heavy-lift and special transport

• Worldwide Agent Network • Project Cargo • Marine Insurance

Tel: +27 (0)21 419 9330 Email: sales@ctcworldwide.co.za www.ctcworldwide.co.za

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company profile

Outweighing the competition

Editorial: Harriet Pattison

Despite its standing as a relatively new company to the mix, Heavy Industry Logistics has certainly made quite a name for itself within the East African market.

IndustrySA speaks to founder and Director, Matthew Thonger, who explains the company’s plans to venture into surrounding markets and extend its logistics services to customers on an international scale.

It’s hard to specify exactly when heavy industry became such a prominent industry sector but looking back to the mid-19th century, it revolved much around locomotives and steelmaking prior to significant advancements within the chemical and electrical industry which saw a stark increase in the need for this growing industry.

Before long, large construction projects including skyscrapers competing for the world title were built and hydro-electric dams were constructed.

In South Africa, iron and steel began to dominate the heavy industry market, being used in a range of different industries from structural goods to transport equipment and

PAGE 58

machinery and as projects became bigger and larger and more complex, the demand for efficient logistics companies to service and overcome challenges also grew.

HILOG They say that when one door closes, another one opens, which is certainly true for Matthew Thonger - founder and Director of Heavy Industry Logistics (HiLog), headquartered in Mombasa, Kenya. Whilst his initial logistics and procurement company didn’t take off due to partnership disagreements, HiLog, first incorporated in April 2013, certainly has.

An entirely non-asset based company, Matthew explains that the company does not

Heavy Industry Logistics

own trailers or equipment, but is a strategic project management and coordination company that specialises in the oil & gas, mining, construction, power-gen and renewable energy industries in Kenya and East Africa.

“We put together the different subcontractors and equipment, depending on what the job is. So as a part of that, if we’re offering to our clients movement on a door to door basis, we have a network on an international scale of agents that we use, that also use us if they’re doing business in East Africa.”

With 15 years’ experience working within the logistics industry, Matthew made the decision to put it to good use and start up his own independent logistics consultancy in

Kenya. Although initially harbouring dreams of becoming a pilot, Matthew began his career in England, handling air freight shipments at Gatwick Airport before promotion led him to take over a branch for one of the largest logistics companies in the world and a move to Heathrow airport. Before long, he became Country Manager for an African logistics company, looking after the three key branches in the UK; Manchester, Aberdeen and Heathrow. By this point, Matthew had built a strong career within the logistics sector and before long, went to work for a different logistics provider focusing on Africa and working in Switzerland for six months and Nigeria for three years.

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company profile “I worked for about three years in Nigeria before coming to Kenya, predominately in oil & gas logistics but we also did some power generation projects, construction projects and the opportunity arose to go over to Kenya and set the business up there,” explains Matthew.

“The point of looking at East Africa and Kenya as a whole was based on, in terms of large projects, that it is some way behind West Africa. When people talk about Africa as an emerging market, I would say East Africa is the emerging market within Africa. That’s where the oil & gas hype is at the moment. In mining, they have huge reserves and also for infrastructure projects, East Africa is huge for this at the moment too.

“At the moment, oil & gas isn’t a productive industry across the board due to the oil prices so that’s slowed down massively for us. Construction is probably where most of our clients are doing business right now and we’re handling a lot of plant machinery and

1 of 30 tippers destined for Turkana, Northern Kenya discharging from roro vessel in Mombasa PAGE 60

other materials for it - most of that is for the construction industry but also for mining in Tanzania and the DRC,” adds Matthew.

STICKING TO ITS ROOTS Intent on focusing predominately on heavy industry, Matthew explains the company has received a lot of interest to venture into other vertical markets such as food, pharma and retail – “We turn business away on a fairly regular basis, in the sense that we don’t want to mix ourselves up in other industries. We want to remain focussed on what we know and specialize in and dedicate ourselves to our real clients.”

Focusing on one industry as it were, certainly has its benefits and Matthew explains that the equipment needed does not vary much from either of the five sectors it currently operates in: renewable energy, oil & gas, mining, power generation and construction; often employing bulk vessels and trailers capable of carrying

Heavy Industry Logistics

“I find that I’m picking up that business six months down the line now - when people realise the big players really are too big and can’t offer the same level of service that we can”

hundreds of tons. Venturing into the retail or pharmaceutical sectors therefore would equate to a whole new range of specialist equipment, (cold storage, huge local domestic distribution networks etc.,) a different skill-set and extended knowledge.

GROWING FOOTPRINT With a Sh50 billion commitment by the Japanese government to fund the development of the Port of Mombasa, the project will see expansion of the Port Reitz, airport roads and dredging the channel to connect the new terminal to the ocean. It stands as the second largest port in Africa in terms of tonnage and the containers handled per year with an average of 1,700 ships docking at the port on an annual basis. The first phase of the development is scheduled for completion next March with the second and third phases due for completion in 2017 and 2020 respectively. By 2020 the total expected capacity should double from where it is now

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company profile

Demobbing site in Uganda for oil & gas client to their Kenya base

which is currently estimated at 1.1m TEUs. With the development expected to impact positively on businesses operating within the area and subsequent contracts, Kenya Ports Authority – the agency in charge of managing the port – said in a statement at the beginning of this year that the construction of phase one of the second container terminal, expected to significantly boost the port’s vessels handling capacity, was 65% complete.

With the development impacting positively on HiLog and its operations, Matthew explains that the company has recently increased its services further into two important markets, Uganda and Tanzania, as a result of continued expansion plans and an increase in cargo volume deliveries.

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“I like the concept of being nonasset based and using my partners overseas, I don’t see any reason to do that myself”

Heavy Industry Logistics “Since our entry and the recent strategic expansion into the Tanzanian and Ugandan Markets, we have witnessed an impressive increase in cargo volume deliveries and we expect that trend to continue.

“I am confident that Uganda and Tanzania are important markets for the industry and also important pillars to the industry at large,” he added.

Additionally, HiLog has been involved in many notable projects since its inception, including assistance in developing Terminal Two at Dar es Salaam airport – “We’ve sent quite a bit of equipment by air-freight and sea-freight for one of the joint contractors in building that passenger terminal, which is being set up as a quick transit and immigration point for the offshore oil & gas companies. So where they’re developing the chopper hangers and oil & gas dedicated immigration terminal, we sent equipment across for that.

“Also, we moved quite a bit of the drilling equipment to one of the geothermal sites up near Naivasha in a place called Menengai, including the mobile drilling rig,” explains

Matthew.

With a strong network base located all over the world, Matthew explains the project that involved chartering a Russian aircraft cargo and moving extensive camp equipment from Fujairah in the UAE to Mogadishu, Somalia and the need for efficiency it required.

“We had to get the cargo which was in Dubai down to Fujairah airport, so we used our agents there and used their customs licence to complete the export customs formalities,” Matthew explains. “They get it delivered to the airport and we arrange to position the aircraft, load it through the cargo handling agents at the airport and in conjunction with the owners, we organise flight plans, landing rights and so on, both in Fujairah and Mogadishu, Somalia.”

Between Matthew and his business partner, incidentally his wife, they boast long-term experience working within the industry with 30 odd years between them. It’s not surprising then that they have built up a strong networking base of people and businesses they can trust to deliver excellent service and help in maintaining the company’s high standards.

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company profile changes to be made over the coming years, many businesses, both large and small, have had to take note and adhere to stricter and more sustainable guidelines. Matthew explains these new schemes are imperative to all industries and to the future of South Africa.

“To do business with many of these companies, especially in the oil & gas sector, you have to show you are very conscious of it and that you have environmental plans in place. You appoint members of the team who are ultimately responsible for these issues, impacts and initiatives and that’s part of the tender process for many of these oil & gas companies. So everyone is very, very conscious of it and it is certainly a big issue and certainly something to consider.”

FUTURE ENDEAVOURS

Matthew Thonger | Director As with all markets and industry sectors, competition is inevitable but it seems Matthew remains positive; even with the daunting prospect of over 1000 customs licences in operation - and that’s just in Mombasa: “A lot of those are one man bands and I wouldn’t try to compete with them but they take a reasonable percentage of the market share,” he explains. “But they tend to take smaller business, and the companies I’m targeting have more money to spend. So that competition doesn’t matter too much but in new business terms I may lose out to some of the bigger players who have been around a lot longer and those that have a stronger presence.

“However, I find that I’m picking up that business six months down the line now - when people realise the big players really are too big and can’t offer the same level of service that we can. Of course, I’ll push for the deal from the outset, but in competition, that’s where I’m likely to lose out to the bigger and long established companies,” Matthew adds.

With the government’s greener initiatives scheme now taking precedent and significant

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With one office currently located in Mombasa and ‘roaming’ personnel in Nairobi and inland Kenya helping to manage projects at the airport and strategically placed from a business development point of view – Matthew explains the company is now looking to move further into Eastern Africa and particularly into Uganda and Tanzania with the promise of mining opportunities and power grid developments – “Those two are next on the cards.”

HiLog is also looking to increase its footprint further

“We turn business away on a fairly regular basis, in the sense that we dont want to mix ourselves up in other industries”

Heavy Industry Logistics

“I am confident that Uganda and Tanzania are potential and important markets for the industry and also important pillars to the industry at large”

into South Sudan and the DRC over the coming years.

Considering the company is relatively new in industry terms, Matthew explains it has enjoyed the same results in its second year as in its first and now into its third financial year, the company has been busy with orders and enquiries.

So, what of the future?

“I’ve got my ideas, I haven’t set down fixed timelines but I want to have East Africa sewn up, that may or may not include South Sudan but definitely Uganda, DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania and Mozambique. Following that, we may go inland to Zambia and Zimbabwe and out from there, into Durban and Dubai as these are particularly good locations to have regional offices to support East African trade.

“I like the concept of being non-asset based and using my partners overseas, I don’t see any reason to do that myself. What I would do from an oversees point of view is set up sales and administrative offices in the US, Europe and the Far East and drive the business that way, keeping the partnerships with our oversees agents. So, we do have plans but I’m not planning on becoming the next DHL just yet!” concludes Matthew

.

Telephone: +254 20 6827707/13 Fax: + 254 20 6827708 Website: www.polygon.co.ke Email; info@polygon.co.ke Address: P.O.Box 6752-00200, Nairobi, Kenya.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link... Whatever the requirement, it pays to choose your partners wisely. In logistics, Polygon Logistics Limited is the right choice for you.

Polygon Logistics Limited is a company offering a comprehensive range of logistical solutions for organizations and individuals in Kenya, with a scope of extending the same globally. These include clearing, forwarding of both import and export shipments, as well as air charter flight services and airline representation.

We are committed to quality service, people development and excellence. We aim to demonstrate and live by a performance-driven culture, communicate transparently while paying attention to detail.

Jomo Kenyatta international Airport- Swissport Cargo Complex 2nd Floor Suite 224 (Nairobi Office) Nukem Trust Building (Former Nation House), 1st Floor-Suite 9, Moi Avenue (Mombasa Office)

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company profile

Providing superior technical services Editorial: Ajuanne Payne

With the swathe of large building projects being actioned across Africa, the continent’s construction and development giants require specialist contractors to take care of the electrical nervous systems of these installations. CEO and founder of KELM, Ali Kobeissi, explains to us how in just eight short years his company has become the go-to electrical and mechanical installations company in its region, serving prestigious clients across West Africa.

Kobeissi Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (KELM) Ltd is a specialised company with offices in Ghana and Nigeria, focusing on electrical installations, mechanical engineering, building maintenance and a range of ancillary services.

Known for providing a fast, professional and efficient service to a range of large public and private sector clients in the building and construction arena, KELM offers a wide range of technical support services at competitive rates.

KELM was established as an independent company by founder and CEO Ali Kobeissi over eight years ago, recognising a need for skilled contractors in the industry. Kobeissi envisioned his company as a ‘one stop shop’, able to cater for all aspects of electrical, mechanical and building

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maintenance.

Kobeissi explains the origins of his company further, stating that: “KELM Engineering was started in May 2007, focusing on mechanical and electrical services to the building and commercial industry. Because we suffer from a lack of skilled labour in Nigeria, our mission was to improve on the quality of what was being offered and provide world-class services to the industry.”

A CEO not inexperienced in what it takes to deliver high-calibre work, Kobeissi himself started his business with a wealth of experience under his belt, after a 15 year stint at one of the oldest and most respected construction companies in Nigeria, Cappa & D’Alberto.

“I came to Nigeria in October 1990 and after a couple of years jumped into the building industry,

KELM Engineering

working for one of the most well-recognised companies in Nigeria called Cappa & D’Alberto, which has been there since 1932,” explains Kobeissi.

“It was my second home and gave me a big pushup in the industry. I worked there from 1993 to 2007, so really all the experience and know-how I built up came from Cappa & D’Alberto.”

Kobeissi has maintained his connection with the Nigerian construction giant and is one of its few trusted subcontractors for a number of varying projects across the country and further afield. His is also a story of entrepreneurial spirit – Kobeissi didn’t have your traditional start in the industry and is very much a ‘self-made’ businessman.

“I had no diplomas,” he explains, “I just went to primary school until the end of grade five. So I had to build my life experience to get to where I wanted

to go. Not everything is done by people who have big certifications. I would have been happy to continue in education, but I have succeeded without it.”

Today, KELM Engineering provides comprehensive solutions covering all aspects of: air conditioning services and maintenance; general plumbing; general electrical; generators installation; water treatment plants; swimming pool services; power services; ventilation and ducting systems; CCTV and alarms systems.

A TRUSTED PROJECT PARTNER In a relatively short space of time, KELM Engineering has built up a reputation for quality and timely project delivery and as a testament to this has an impressive client list that includes some

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company profile of Africa’s most respected development companies, including Cappa & D’Alberto, Julius Berger, Proline and ETCO to name a few.

However, KELM Engineering’s skill is not only evidenced through its impressive client list, but also through the high-value types of projects it is entrusted with – projects that demand world-class standards to complete.

In 2011 it was the prime contractor for all electrical and mechanical installations at the Lebanese Parliament, and more recently, as subcontractor to client Julius Berger, was responsible for the supply and installation of air ducts at the ECOWAS Parliament building.

As far-afield as Qatar, KELM was responsible for all electrical and mechanical installations at the Al Jazeera Office Tower, completed 2009, and was the MEP-contractor for the Doha Bank Headquarters project, completed 2011.

The company has around ten ongoing contracts, some for multiple projects with the same client, and is likely to be awarded more before the year is out. One of those ongoing contracts, due to be completed this year, is

for the US$60 million Delta Mall project in Nigeria. KELM will be responsible for the full supply and installation of: HVAC; fire systems; plumbing; water supply; and all electrical works.

“We are committed, we show this commitment to our clients and we can always get a good recommendation”

Sunny Oriental was established in 2011 in China as a general trading company to different markets, especially the African, Middle-Eastern and French markets.

We do sourcing to find the best suppliers in China in order to provide the quality our customers need at competitive prices. We carry out inspection during production and afterwards to ensure that everything goes smoothly, and then arrange international shipping of the goods to the destination country.

KELM Engineering is one of our most important customers. We have a good relationship with them, full of respect and honesty and feel comfortable working with the whole of KELM Engineering’s team because of their flexibility and organised business practices. We provide KELM Engineering with anything they need for their projects in Nigeria - steel, pipes & fittings, duct accessories, fire services equipment, etc.

It is normal in our business to have a wide variety of customers and we communicate with each one according to his needs and personality – some care most about the price, whereas others are most concerned with quality and timely delivery.

Most important to us is honesty and transparency with our customers – trust is key in our business.

In a short time our company has been successful in the trading business because of our good relationships with customers and our high levels of service. We work in a way that makes small margins of profit from the customer, but promotes long cooperation and solid partnerships.

To be transparent and honest with the customers is the only way to have a successful, stable business.

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KELM Engineering “This last year we had a big job from a client for the Delta Mall project. It is for South African developers, they are developing about 13 shopping centres in the country. We are doing their first project in Delta state and we are looking forward to continuing with this client in other projects coming up,” explains Kobeissi.

Delta Mall is not the first retail development for KELM – the company recently completed a contract for the supply of electrical and mechanical equipment for the Kwara Mall Project, Kwara State, Nigeria. A flagship project for its developers, the Kwara Mall is ranked fourth largest shopping centre in Nigeria and is a joint venture with Persianas.

One of the larger ongoing contracts for KELM is held with ETCO Nigeria, a leading electrical and mechanical engineering contracting firm in the region. KELM is contracted to provide the full fabrication and supply of air ducts for many of ETCO’s projects, including: Jovis; LNO; EFCC; AUN and SCC.

PLANS FOR GROWTH With increasing infrastructure developments and investments defining todays African growth story, and demand high for quality services such as KELM provides, the company looks set for continued growth, both operationally and geographically, in the years to come.

At present, KELM has offices and factory facilities in two locations in Ghana and Nigeria, and a presence in Qatar, Algeria and Lebanon.

Kobeissi explains that the strategic locations his company have earmarked for future expansion will be in the West African Region, an area he believes has some of the highest demand for KELM’s services.

“We are focusing on the West African region, because it is a region which badly needs electromechanical services for their infrastructure. That’s why we established our Ghana branch in 2009, which today has almost 270 employees.”

KELM is committed to being one step ahead and is making the moves now that will ensure it is ideally positioned to respond to the burgeoning building and construction markets across West Africa. Kobeissi has targeted either the Ivory Coast or Mali for his next subsidiary, with plans to establish an office within the next one to two years.

Aside from KELM’s expanding footprint, the company has also invested in increasing its

production capacity this year, through sister company Baseline Fabrication.

“When we started we took a step and set up a company called Baseline Fabrication, they are specialists in all ventilation aspects - ducting, central air conditioning, etc. and we are expanding this company as much as we can because of the demand it has. We are always busy.”

Baseline Fabrication, among its other machinery, has an automated compact line and pharma machine for the fabrication of all rectangular types of ducts and fittings, and equates to KELM almost having its own in-house fabrication facility. Working in partnership with its sister company means that KELM is able to guarantee the quality and cost of the products it is using for installations.

Kobeissi and his company have taken the steps this year to increase the capacity of Baseline and expand the product range it is able to manufacture.

“To reduce the need to import we increased capacity at Baseline this year and we are starting up line productions of cable trays and cable ladders. This is what I’m doing for this year – we will start those lines in a couple of months.”

SUNNY ORIENTAL GROUP LIMITED

GENERAL TRADING

Transparency and Honesty

Sunny Oriental Group., LTD

Room 2307 Ruian Chuangyi T1 Building, No.620 Tianhe North Road Tianche District Guangzhou China Tel/fax: +86-20-34718346 Mobile: +66-13556097460 E-mail: Alghoul_Amjad@hotmail.com

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company profile

S c a l i n g-u p cap acity a t the fabrication b u s i n e ss als o in creas es the pote ntial for h i gh e r r evenu es th ro u g h e xports to the s u r r ou n din g co u n tries . Nig e ria is a me mbe r o f t h e E co n o mic C o mmunity of We st African S t a t e s ( EC OWAS) alo ng with 1 5 othe r We st A f r i c a n c o u ntries . A d e sirable be ne fit of this is t h a t a n y exp o rts b etw ee n E COWAS me mbe rs a r e du t y f ree – B as elin e is able to e xport to s u r r ou n din g EC OWAS me mbe r countrie s at p o t e n t i a lly a relatively low cost.

A GOOD REPUTATION When asked what the key is to his company’s success, Kobeissi is clear that “It is our honour and integrity - we are very trusted. We are committed, we show this commitment to our clients and we can always get a good recommendation.

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“In business you always have to grow your production, to invest in your business to enable it to be a leader”

KELM Engineering

We a r e d i l i g e n t , i n t e g r a t e d a n d w e d o t h e j o b r i g h t . I f y o u o p e r a t e w i t h q u a l i t y, integrity and a good manner you will never s t o p b e i n g a b l e t o w i n j o b s .”

Reputation is everything for KELM, a company that has truly focused on the quality of its delivery over any other objective over its years in operation. It was one of the first to specialise as it has and, although there are a few competitors, K E L M ’s f o r m i d a b l e r e p u t a t i o n a n d commitment to investing in the business have insured it has stayed at the head of the pack.

“In business you always have to grow your production, to invest in your business t o e n a b l e i t t o b e a l e a d e r. I f y o u a r e o n l y focusing on one particular line, anybody can

come and invest and they will be competitors with you, but when you are always growing and continue to invest in what you can offer c l i e n t s , n o b o d y c a n c o m p e t e w i t h y o u ,” s a y s Kobeissi.

“I am always improving the business, improving my certification, improving my s t a f f , a n d f o l l o w i n g t h e t e c h n o l o g y, s o I a m not afraid of the competition. Nigeria is big a n d t h e r e i s b u s i n e s s f o r e v e r y o n e .”

“My dream is that the company be wellknown and well-recognised. In my field I want to try as much as I can to be able to p r o d u c e l o c a l l y. I a m L e b a n e s e o r i g i n a l l y but I have a big heart for Nigeria and I try my best to assist this country because t h i s i s w h e r e I m a d e m y n a m e ,” c o n c l u d e s Kobeissi

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company profile

Furnishing Botswana Editorial: Ajuanne Payne

Electro-Mech Engineering (EME Furniture) is a Southern African furniture manufacturer that has been established for 35 years. The Motswana family business has been run by second generation Operations Director, Nikhil Mistry, for over 10 years and in this issue of IndustrySA he expands on the solid operating principles that have contributed to the business’s steady growth.

Situated in Botswana’s capital city, Gaborone, Electro-Mech Engineering (EME Furniture)is a privately owned family business specialising in the manufacture of quality steel furniture and equipment.

From its relatively humble beginnings in 1980 with just 6 employees, EME Furniture has flourished over the past 35 years and is today the largest manufacturing facility of its type in Botswana, employing 40 staff members.

With a fully equipped, world-class factory facility and superior technical knowledge that has been built up over many years in business, EME Furniture’s strength lies in its ability to cater for large projects spanning the entire country for schools, offices, homes, government departments

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and industrial clients.

Known for its ability to provide a customised, tailored approach, EME Furniture has gained a reputation for quality and efficiency and prides itself on the hard work and high levels of service its staff members provide.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Speaking about the beginnings of his family’s manufacturing business, current Managing Director, Nikhil Mistry explains that: “The company is in its 35th year, it was established in 1980 and it’s a family run business - I am the second generation of family running it. It was started by my dad and in the beginning was just making simple furniture for furniture shops.

“At that time Botswana was 15 years on from

Electro-Mech Engineering

independence, there was very little here. We were starting a new life and basically just trying to make a living and 35 years on its grown quite significantly.

“I have been running the company since 2004, but before that as a youngster I used to intern here and spent a lot of time here, so it’s been a business I have been involved with for my entire life.”

cabinets, desks, chairs, lockers, beds, so on - that’s our core market.

“We also dabble in a few other areas, we produce furniture for contract office suppliers and customised offices, as well as the more industrial range of products - we do lockers for factories, shelving and racking, we do bulk filing products, such as mobile shelving cabinets and the associated products with that.”

MAIN OPERATIONS Today, EME Furniture focuses primarily on the education market, supplying primary and secondary schools as well as the tertiary education market.

“We focus in on the secondary and primary schools, in that order,” explains Nikhil, “so we design, we produce, we install, we maintain, we support all the products that schools use including

RESPONDING TO THE MARKET Botswana’s National Development Plan (NDP) is the government roadmap for the progression of the country’s economy and the wellbeing of its people. It sets out strategic targets based around the underpinning principles of democracy, development, dignity, discipline and delivery in

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company profile

order to encourage the talents, creativity, hard work and discipline of all Botswana citizens and promote economic development.

Since the country’s independence in 1966 there has been significant transformation of its economy into one of a more upper middle-income status and the country has been making strides in its investments into infrastructure and stability Botswana is undoubtedly one of the countries perceived to be most safe in the African continent.

For a business such as EME Furniture, these notable developments in the country’s infrastructure have contributed significantly to its success and growth over the years, which is one of the reasons why the company has only recently started looking at venturing into exporting.

“We have started exporting,” explains Nikhil, “but I think as we have for the past 35 years and for the next 5 years, we will be focusing primarily on Botswana. In terms of what’s going to happen here, Botswana’s always had a strong national development plan from the early days of government, and most of the schools that we supply, most of the contracts we do are with government, so we see a lot of schools

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still coming down the road, there’s a lot of construction happening, there’s a lot of renovation, refurbishments happening.

“From a product perspective, we’re excited about our new range of bulk filing products, the line is very strong” “We know that the demand for our products will be strong in the next two to three years at a minimum and we’re hoping that will stretch to at least five years. Also with Botswana being the

Electro-Mech Engineering strongest producer of gem-quality diamonds in the world, this has brought the international diamond trading offices into Botswana which is bringing a lot of international attention into the country.

“There’s been a bit of a spike in demand for office furniture and our office products, so we’re hoping that that demand will continue and that we can make some new relationships with the diamond factories and diamond trading companies.”

A LEAN TRANSFORMATION Following what Nikhil anticipates as being a busy few years for his business in Botswana, EME Furniture is preparing now for what may come – potentially a plateau in demand in the next decade when the country’s rapid rate of growth slows down. The company is looking at expanding its reach further into Sub-Saharan Africa in the next five years in order to diversify its market areas.

Aside from the need to look at expanding footprint and product offering, as a large manufacturer perhaps the most important thing for EME Furniture is to invest in the modernising and streamlining of its operations. Rather than waiting on corrective action in the eventuality that something in its processes goes awry, EME Furniture is pre-emptively investing in the continuous improvement of its production facilities and practices.

“We’re undergoing quite significant changes in our production facility as we speak. It’s a project that we embarked on in January of this year and we’re basically going through a lean transformation project,” explains Nikhil.

“It being an old company, the machinery is quite dated, the production practices are quite dated and they’ve been good enough to survive the company up to this point, but looking at the next 10 to 20 years they really need to be modernised. So, at the beginning of this year we decided to implement a complete overhaul and transformation of the way we build our products. It’s basically the same way the Japanese built the first Corolla’s and Camrys way back in the early 70’s and it’s been developed into a worldwide standard as a way to manufacture.”

What Nikhil is referring to is EME Furniture’s decision to adopt the Kaizen approach to its manufacturing process. Beginning life just after World War II, the Kaizen method focuses on ‘Improving constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and

productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs’ and was made famous by Toyota as a method which takes into account the input of all staff members to make constant minor improvements in process before a problem arises. The power of this method is in the many small improvements that combine to continuously move the business forward.

“It’s moving away from a push production to a pull production system,” explains Nikhil, “basically eliminating any kind of waste, whether it be in the design, the actual manufacture, the supply, the maintenance, the procurement of materials needed to produce the goods and so on – it’s quite a significant project for us.

“We’ve started projects to address a lot of key areas in the factory, the way products move around the factory, the way we use our tools, the way we store our products, the way we manage and maintain our machines, the way we solve problems together, it’s basically transforming the core of how we do business and it’s the biggest change that we’re going through internally.”

Not only is EME Furniture investing in a fresh approach to its manufacturing process, but it has

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company profile

also diversified into new product areas recently. “From a product perspective, we’re excited about our new range of bulk filing products, the line is very strong, it’s going, it’s a new product for us, we’re excited about it,” says Nikhil.

“It’s a very exportable product because it comes in knock-down form and they’re not fully assembled at the factory, they’re installed at the client’s site and we’ve been able to hit the market with great quality and prices - from the sales that I see, the market is responding to our product so I’m hoping that that will grow.

“Also one of our core products used to be fully-steel kitchens and we got knocked out of that market in 2006 because of Chinese imports. I’m looking at it again because demand is slowly creeping back, we’re

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getting enquiries, we’re getting invitations for tender, so there seems to be some kind of bounce back in the market that may have been due to a backlash of quality issues, or pricing issues on the import side. So, I’m encouraged by that, it’s on my radar that we may start doing kitchens again if the margins have recovered.”

A SUCCESSFUL OPERATION One of the key advantages for EME Furniture is its regional location, when compared with its international competitors operating in Botswana. One of the ways it beats its competitors is on its service delivery – the company is able to cost-efficiently deliver its furniture products fully assembled, something the importers cannot consider due to the high cost.

Electro-Mech Engineering

Another contributor to the company’s long-term success has been its ability to retain staff and its commitment to reinvesting in the business.

“Our average employee tenure is over 10 years, we have about 40 employees in our factory and more than half of them have been with us for more than a decade. Most of them joined the company as unskilled employees, so all of the training that they’ve received has been on the job training,” explains Nikhil.

Finding good people is a challenge, so EME Furniture has ensured over the years that when it has found them, it keeps them, promoting happy staff and retaining valuable skills within the business.

“That’s been one of the key aspects of why we’re still here – many other companies have tried and failed and I feel it’s because they haven’t reinvested in

their people and their machinery. In this business you become outdated very quickly,” says Nikhil, “being frugal with our cash and reinvesting what cash we had available back into the business, rather than taking holidays and fancy cars.”

“And then, it’s something that I’ve learnt from my father and it’s a culture that’s bled through the company is that we don’t compromise on quality to achieve price. Where others may say I can make this product for you cheaper by using a thinner gauge of steel etc., we’d rather turn the business away than compromise our quality and our name.

“I think that has helped us a lot, our product and our brand is associated with quality. We’re a leader in our sector in terms of quality,” Nikhil concludes

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company profile

‘See how it runs’

Editorial: Harriet Pattison

The Cerebos brand was first established over 100 years ago with its very first factory set up in a village just outside County Durham in the UK. The company started a revolution in the salt production industry by introducing free-flowing salt and it wasn’t long before the Cerebos brand grew on an international scale, first established in the South African market during the 1960’s. With distribution now extending down to Southern and Sub-Saharan Africa, Cerebos is leading the South African retail salt market.

The fine line between how little or how much salt is good for you is increasingly marred due to frequent trials and new research being brought to light, but one thing that is for sure is how vital the addition of salt is to our diets, albeit in small amounts.

Even the Roman word for salt crystals, ‘sal’ is derived from the name of goddess of health, Salus – so, what exactly are the many uses of this all important mineral that was once as costly as gold?

Today, the value of salt has decreased immensely but commercial production is still fairly prominent, with 26 salt companies operating across South Africa today. It was announced in 2011 that South Africa accounted for 0.00125% of total production for that year where world production had reached an exponential 300 megatons.

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In the same year, the government reported local industry sales to be valued at R140.6 million while The Department of Mineral Resources recently stated that local sales have been rising by an estimated 6.83% per year over the last decade as a result of increasing salt prices and growing demand.

SALT CLASSIFICATION As with all minerals, salt is classified into different grades depending on its impurities content. Ranging from grade 1 to grade 4, much can be revealed from its shade, varying from purist white to a hint of grey or beige.

A s a l t ’s p u r i t y c o n t e n t i s l a r g e l y d e f i n e d according to the percentage of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) in the final product - a higher number equates to fewer impurities.

Cerebos

G e n e r a l l y, t h e i m p u r i t i e s f o u n d i n s a l t are other minerals and whilst they do not necessarily pose a risk, they do not present a n y k n o w n b e n e f i t s e i t h e r.

I n t e r e s t i n g l y, t h e f o o d i n d u s t r y o n l y c o n s u m e s a n e s t i m a t e d 3 0 % o f t h e w o r l d ’s t o t a l s a l t p r o d u c t i o n e v e r y y e a r, w i t h t h e industrial sector taking the predominant lead and using the mineral in all manner of s e c t o r s ; i n c l u d i n g p e t r o - c h e m i s t r y, p e t r o l refining, water treatment, in the production of cooling brines and even glass production.

Looking at the salt industry in South Africa today and the chemicals industry stands as the b i g g e s t u s e r, a c c o u n t i n g f o r o v e r h a l f o f t h e total consumption. As a result of significant growth within the chemical industry in recent

years, local salt sales have increased at an annual average rate of 1.56%.

‘SEE HOW IT RUNS’ Ce re bos , i n i t i a l l y foun de d i n t h e U K ov e r a c e n t ury a g o, w a s l a t e r e s t a bl i s h e d i n S out h Afri c a duri n g t h e 1 9 6 0 ’s a n d c on t i n ue s t o s t a n d c l e a r a s t h e l e a de r i n t h e S out h A fri c a n re t a i l s a l t m a rk e t . I n i t i a l l y a w h ol l y ow n e d s ubs i di a ry of R H M L t d U K, t h i s c om pa n y w a s l a t e r a c qui re d by Pre m i e r Foods i n M a rc h 2007.

Ce re bos h a s s e e n m a n y s t ruc t ura l c h a n g e s i n i t s S out h Afri c a n di v i s i on i n re c e n t ye a rs , a l l i n a bi d t o re i n s t a t e i t s c om m i t m e n t t o S out h A fri c a a n d t o i t s pe opl e . M ore re c e n t l y, t h e c om pa n y w a s a c qui re d by a c on s ort i um

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company profile of i n v e s t ors i n Fe brua ry 2 0 1 2 , h e l pi n g i t t o ma i n t a i n i t s s t a t us a s t h e qui n t e s s e n t i a l s a l t produc e r i n t h e c oun t ry.

A l on g s i de i t s s h a re h ol de r, t h e D e v e l opm e n t Ba n k of S out h A fri c a (D B S A), Ce re bos inve s t e d a n e s t i m a t e d R 1 2 0 m i l l i on t o h e l p fund t h e c on s t ruc t i on of a n e w pl a n t t o suc c e s s ful l y produc e pure v a c uum dri e d food g r a de s a l t t o t h e S out h Afri c a n c on s um e r.

L o c a t e d i n t h e I n dus t ri a l D e v e l opm e n t Z o n e , t h e n e w s i t e i s i de a l l y s i t ua t e d for bot h i m port s a n d e x port s a n d w i l l c on t i n ue to prov i de e m pl oym e n t opport un i t i e s t o t h e Sout h Afri c a n l oc a l s .

“Going forward, the strategy is to utilise Botswana production and packing facilities to produce local products for the Botswana market in Cerebos Ltd brands�

If w e l ook a t t h e root s of Ce re bos , t h e s e can be t ra c e d a l l t h e w a y ba c k t o t h e 1 9 t h ce n t ury w h e n a ph a rm a c i s t , G e org e D un c a n Bo w i e , i n v e n t e d dry-pouri n g s a l t by m i x i n g a c a re ful l y pre pa re d bl e n d of ph os ph a t e s a n d sal t . Pri or t o t h i s di s c ov e ry i n 1 8 9 1 , s a l t h a d to be purc h a s e d i n g re a t bl oc k s s o a pouri n g sal t w a s c on s i de re d a re v ol ut i on . Fol l ow i n g

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Cerebos t h i s inventio n, a s econd pharmacist, Ge org e We d d ell, u n d erto o k furthe r e xpe rime ntations a n d imp ro ved o n B owie ’s initial discov e ry, c r e a t ing a d ry, f ree-flowing salt – and so C e r eb o s w as b o rn .

T he co mp an y ’s name is de riv e d from t h e wo rd s ‘ C eres ’ – the Roman g odde ss of a g r i c u ltu re an d harv e sts - and ‘os’ - the L atin w o r d f o r b o n e. I ncide ntally, the phosphate s i n salt h elp to s treng the n the bone s, anothe r e s se ntial health b ene fit.

B y 1896, C ereb o s had sale sme n working t h r ou gh o u t the UK and in 1 9 0 4 the c om pan y b ecame C e re bos L td be fore mov ing t o G reatham. A revolution in the salt i n d u s try, C ereb o s ’ slog an, ‘Se e how it runs’ a c c omp anied th e im ag e of a young boy chasing a b i r d and p o u ring salt. Acquiring Middle wich S a l t C o . Ltd in 191 9 g av e the company a total w o r kf o rce o f 150 me n and 8 5 0 wome n and a s n ew p ro d u ctio n me thods we re introduce d, C e r eb o s co n tinu ed to e xpand into the h ou s eho ld b rand it is today – with ope rations i n Wes tern Eu ro p e, Australia, Ne w Z e aland a n d So u th Af rica.

“In Zambia, coarse salt is popular as they use it in the preparation of fish, which is a major business there.

They are also using it for animal feeds”

UTILISING DIFFERENT MARKETS Back to the present day and a deal was announced last month, stating that Chlor Alkali Holdings (a shareholder in Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd) had acquired Cerebos. In a statement, John Drinkwater, Managing Director at Cerebos, said: “This does give Botash access to Cerebos brands and Cerebos access to Botash salt. Going forward, the strategy is to utilise Botswana production and packing facilities to produce local products for the Botswana market in Cerebos Ltd brands.

“This is underway and we intend to utilise local production and/or packing facilities for the Botswana market as well as utilising Botash salt in some Cerebos Ltd brands in Africa. We understand that it is important to support local economies in Africa wherever possible and this relationship allows us to do this,” explained Drinkwater.

It is hoped this deal will enable Chlor Alkali Holdings to expand further into Africa as Kefilwe Batsalelwand, Botash Public Relations and Communications Coordinator explained: “We are growing the group and the Cerebos you will see in local shops will be from salt produced in Botswana.

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company profile Pa r t o f ou r s trategy is t o g row our brand and ge t t i n g stro ng b ran d s like Ce re bos, is in line w i t h t h i s.”

Wi t h a recen t d irecti v e introduce d at the b e gi n n i ng o f J u n e 2015 v ia the Ministry of Tr a de a nd I nd u s try w hich imple me nte d a b a n on all s alt imp o rts smalle r than 1 0 0 kg , i t i s h op ed th is w ill en courag e more local p r od u c t io n and p ackaging of salt in South Africa. “ Im pl e men tatio n o f the se g uide line s would p r om ot e s alt p ackaging locally, stimulate d o m e st i c p ro d u ctio n and attract Fore ig n D i r e c t I nves tment, w h ich would in turn cre ate em pl oy m ent,” th e d irectiv e re ports.

B ot a s h has alread y reporte d sig nificant sale s i n Z a m bia, f o llo w in g the de v e lopme nt of a ne w d e p o t i n the regio n , it has he lpe d to e ncourag e a n i n c r e a s e in o rd ers with Z ambian buye rs s e l l i n g t o the DR C an d Rwanda. Salt sale s i n t o Z a mb ia have no w re ache d 2 ,0 0 0 tonne s o f c o a r s e s alt and 1, 000 tonne s of fine on a m on t h l y b as is . “ In Z amb ia, co ars e s alt is popular as the y u s e i t i n th e p rep aratio n of fish, which is a m a jor b u s ines s th ere. The y are also using it

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for a n i m a l fe e ds . B ot a s h h a s a l s o re c e i v e d orde rs for s oda a s h from Z a m bi a w h e re i t i s use d by s m a l l de t e rg e n t produc e rs ,” e x pl a i n e d Ba t s a l e l w a n d.

SALT FOR ALL Known for its abundance of mineral resources, it is estimated that South Africa h a s t h e w o r l d ’s 5 t h l a r g e s t m i n i n g s e c t o r i n t e r m s o f G D P. S a l t i s c l a s s i f i e d a s a m i n e r a l under South African law and is governed by the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, meaning that salt producers should in fact, comply with the same requirements set out for the mining houses – amongst which is social and labour plans, rehabilitation and black economic empowerment (BEE). Due to these and n u m e r o u s o t h e r r e g u l a t i o n s h o w e v e r, m a n y of the smaller salt producers do not follow these guidelines, paving the way for the larger producers, namely Cerebos.

One of the biggest game changers for the salt production industry came in 1954 with the compulsory addition of iodine to table salt. A nasty bout of endemic goitre

Cerebos and iodine deficiency spread across South Africa so the regulation to implement salt iodisation at a relatively low concentration of 10 to 20 parts per million was introduced.

Realising the benefits of this decision, 150 of t h e 1 9 3 Wo r l d H e a l t h O r g a n i s a t i o n m e m b e r nations have introduced salt iodisation programmes in a bid to banish iodine deficiency disorders which in extreme cases, c a n r e s u l t i n c h i l d m o r t a l i t y, c r e t i n i s m a n d reproductive failure.

Salt production has come a long way since the first days where demand would mean rationed shavings from a large block of table salt to the present day where Cerebos has become an international brand, all thanks to the perseverance and intuition of two pharmacists well over 100 years ago.

Although salt production in South Africa remains a demanding industry with seasonal challenges and costly production methods, we can be sure that salt, in its many forms, remains integral to our daily lives; supported rather fittingly by the late Madiba: “Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.�

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company profile

The future of coated steel Editorial: Rebecca Bingley

“We will continue this journey by expanding our manufacturing into as many new countries in Africa as possible, whilst always providing the best service and quality to our customers and to the end users of our products,” explains Dhiru P Shah, co-founder of the Safal Group; and with the recent R1 billion state-of-the-art metal coating facility built in Cato Ridge, KZN, this has ensured its subsidiary, Safal Steel, will continue to play an integral role within the coated steel industry in South Africa.

Standing as the largest producer of steel roof sheeting on the continent, operational in 11 countries and selling products across three continents, it’s no surprise that Safal Group has built up a strong reputation and wealth of experience that now spans across five successful decades.

Opening its first manufacturing facility in Mombasa, Kenya in 1962 – today the Group utilises world leading metal coating technology and colour coating processes that allows it to produce the coil used within its roofing applications.

With a budding portfolio of trusted brands under its belt located across Africa, all operating companies were taken under the current holding company, Safal Group in 2003, with shareholding

by Mauritius-based company, Safal Investments.

Dr Manu Chandaria, Founder of the Safal Group, explains: “Businesses can help build the future of Africa. By investing with responsibility and insight, by partnering with communities and investing in its people, sustaining each other and protecting

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the environment as the source of all our wealth with these values, we firmly believe that success is inevitable. We strive to make ours such a business.

This is our approach to sustainability.”

SAFAL STEEL SA In line with the company’s growth strategy, Safal Steel was first constructed by the Safal Group in the Cato Ridge area – primarily manufacturing aluminium zinc coated steel coils, these are distributed to markets both on a local and international scale. Produced in a variety of widths, the coils and gauges can be supplied in either an unpainted or pre-painted state.

Developed in 2012, the R1 billion state-of-theart metal coating facility, measuring 30,000 square meters with a total site covering 14.4 hectares, has been designed with a pickling and oiling line, a cold rolling mill, an aluminium zinc coating line and a colour coating line – all in preparation for the coated steel process.

In addition, the new facility has been developed with a number of support lines and services -

Safal Steel

including a Nitrogen generation plant, an acid regeneration plant, a Hydrogen generation plant, rewind and trim line, the regenerative thermal oxidiser, an effluent treatment plant and a sewerage treatment plant.

A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT Speaking at the launch of the new coating facility in KZN, Trade and Industry Minister, Rob Davies, stressed the importance of the steel industry in the continued economic development of South Africa.

“This investment, supported by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and in which the Industrial Development Corporation also participated, clearly demonstrates Safal Group’s confidence in South Africa as an investment destination and the maturity of our steel industry.”

A significant investment, the development presents an important opportunity for the local manufacturing sector and will help to ensure the support of the automotive and appliance manufacturing sectors which face ongoing structural upgrades and developments.

“The facility is manufacturing and supplying coated steel roofing to both the local and global markets, with 60 percent of the product targeted for the local market and the balance for exports.

“The facility has already created 370 jobs, mainly employing people from local community, Durban and Pietermaritzburg,” explained Davies.

A foreign investment from its Mauritius-based major shareholders, Safal Group, the Japanese firms, Marubeni Itochi and Nippon Steel Holdings both have a 7% in the project with a further 26% set for a BBEEE deal in the near future.

“Safal Steel’s investment is timely, especially in light of the government’s massive infrastructure development programme over the next several years, announced by President Jacob Zuma, in his state of the nation address,” Davies explained.

“This investment will support the government’s infrastructure development programme with locally produced material. It’s a remarkable investment by a company headquartered in Mauritius and with operations in 16 countries in Africa. It contributes to regional economic integration.”

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company profile What’s of paramount importance here is the local manufacturing sector to South Africans - the 30,000 m2 coating plant will continue to employ trade workers from local communities. Reaching its full capacity, it produces 150,000 tons of coated steel on an annual basis with the capability to double this.

“Too often we just import goods that we need… but this is the kind of investment that we want and support as government,” Davies explained.

“The Department of Trade and Industry has allocated R39 million in tax incentives for this project. We have allocated R30m through the enterprise development programme, of which about R22m has already been used. A further R9m came from the critical infrastructure programme of the Industrial Development Corporation.”

The coating plant stands as one of the biggest foreign direct investments in KZN and certainly one of the biggest private sector driven construction projects within the region. CEO of Safal Steel, Ronnie Graham, explained: “Safal is the only manufacturer of aluminium zinc

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coated steel in South Africa. Up to 60 percent of our products are for the domestic market, while the rest is exported. The product is mainly used in the roofing industry, but as the minister mentioned, there are opportunities for growth in the automotive and ‘white goods’ or appliance manufacturing industry.”

Wi t h t h e n e w p l a n t c o n s t r u c t i o n , t h e c o m p a n y ’s r o l e i s t o p u r c h a s e H o t R o l l C o i l s ( H R C ) f r o m a v a r i e t y o f t h e S a f a l G r o u p ’s current global suppliers - these are initially cleaned through a fully automated Pickling and Oiling Line to remove any mill scale.

From this process, the coils are then Cold Rolled to a variety of gauges ranging from 0,2mm to 1,2mm before they are cleaned for a second time and then coated with an alloy of aluminium zinc in the metal coating process (55% aluminium, 43.5% zinc 1.5% S i l i c o n ) a n d s o l d t o S a f a l S t e e l ’s c u s t o m e r base as ZincAL®. The final process involves the painting of the coils, if this is required, before they are then sold to market as ColorPLUS®.

Safal Steel COLORPLUS® Used in almost all industries, from automotive and consumer goods to engineering and construction, steel does, despite its strength, possess one weakness – corrosion. When it is used in construction projects but exposed to the environment and harsh weather conditions, its service life can deteriorate rapidly.

In an effort to overcome this detrimental and costly feature, steel can be treated with a corrosion inhibiting coating such as aluminium-zinc or galvanised steel.

The Safal Group stands as the first company in Africa to set up the aluminium–zinc coating technology, referred to as aluminium zinc (AZ) coating, it is done under licence to BIEC International Inc., the worldwide licensor and renowned leader in technologies associated with AZ coated steel.

Considered the next generation of colour coated steel, ColorPLUS® has been developed as a premium product, helping to ensure it can withstand the harshest of South Africa’s climates – directly increasing service life, thermal protection, cost effectiveness, the aesthetic value and maintaining an eco-friendly stance. Introducing a zest of colour and originality into the steel construction industry, ColorPLUS® has also been designed to ensure it satisfies the 21st century demands of steel roofing in South Africa.

The patented coating helps to protect the steel in two ways: firstly, the aluminium component of the coating provides a tough physical barrier between the inner core of steel and the extreme atmospheric condition and secondly, the zinc in the coating helps to protect the steel at the cut edges.

With much extensive and thorough research, the technique of coating steel with an alloy of aluminium and zinc (55% aluminium, 43.5% zinc and 1.5% silicon) has now proven its performance and outcome to surpass that even of the more traditional method, using galvanised steel.

in the country.

“The 13 projects are in greenfield and expansion manufacturing… Six of the projects will commence commercial production between March and August, three in 2013 and the rest in 2014. An amount of R4.5bn in additional tax allowances has been granted to the approved projects,” he said.

“These approved projects are all within the priority sectors identified in the Industrial Policy Action Plan; eight are in the chemical sector, one in the agro processing sector, two in the paper and pulp sector and two in the bio-fuel sector.

“In addition to encouraging investment and employment in the manufacturing sector, the Section 12I incentive also aims to encourage greater energy efficiency in the manufacturing sector as well as to strengthen the industrial skills base,” Davies concluded With such innovation, dedication and commitment embedded in the workforce across the Safal Group, it looks as though this company will maintain its position as one of the leading manufacturers and preferred suppliers of both unpainted & pre-painted aluminium zinc coated coils within the South African market for many more years to come

.

Beckers is a global industrial coatings company specialising in coil coatings and industrial coatings for metal, providing finishes for mobile phones and other electronic devices, endeavouring to make it more sustainable over our 20 sites in 16 countries. At Beckers we form partnerships with our customers. This, of course, is based on our focus on innovation, quality and local service.

We believe in action and commitment

CONTINUED SUCCESS With further projects and an investment value of R21.7 billion announced during the development of the new coating plant – Davies explained at the time that in line with the government’s tax incentive schemes for South African businesses, projects such as these will help to bolster the manufacturing industry through major investments

Becker Industrial Coatings (Pty) Ltd 105 Houtkop Road, Duncanville, Vereeniging South Africa, 1930 Office +27(0)16 428 4011 Cell +27 (0)83 408 2758 Fax +27 (0)86 594 0058

www.beckers-group.com

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company profile

The car dealership specialists Editorial: Sarah Dickens

Intent on providing a first class service and in helping its customers choose the car that is right for them, Imperial General Motors currently operates out of six dealerships. With new car models on the horizon offering better technology, better fuel efficiency and a more cost effective alternative – it’s an exciting time to be in the automotive industry…

With 15 years of valuable experience within the South African industry, Premier Motor Holdings remains committed to delivering the highest levels of services to its clients and maintains its mantra, ‘to treat people how we would like to be treated.’

Imperial General Motors has branches across South Africa, in Germiston, Isando, Bloemfontein, Louis Trichardt, Vanderbijlpark, Kimberley and Vereeniging, simultaneously operating a successful truck division.

With Opel, Izuzu and Chevrolet models all available at its Vereeniging branch, the latter has enjoyed an especially productive and successful year to date with numerous launches and race wins.

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SUCCESS FOR CHEVROLET The 2016 Cruze is an evolution of the brand’s best-selling global car, fitted with ultra-modern features and the latest technology, including Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

In a statement, Alan Batey, President of General Motors North America, explained: “The 2016 Cruze builds on a very successful program that introduced Chevrolet to new customers the world over. We retained all the attributes that made the original Cruze a hit around the globe and built on them to make this car more sophisticated, more fun and more Chevrolet.”

On release, the new model will be offered to more than 40 global markets, reinstating the global reach and resounding reputation the Chevrolet brand continues to hold today.

Imperial General Motors

“The new Cruze is truly one of Chevrolet’s most global vehicles. With content variations dictated mostly by local market demands, customers in every corner of the globe will enjoy the same fundamental dynamics that are making Chevrolet one of the fastest-growing brands around the world,” added Batey.

Fitted with an impressive turbo engine helping to ensure a stronger and more powerful performance – accelerating 0-100 km/h in just eight seconds – the new Cruze model has been designed and exported with expert craftsmanship, ensuring customers will get the very best from Chevrolet for their money.

“With styling influenced by the acclaimed 2014 Impala and all new Malibu, the 2016 Cruze brings Chevrolet’s new, expressive global design

language to the small car segment,” explained John Cafaro, Executive Director, Chevrolet Design. “The Cruze’s approach to proportion and premium details adds to Chevrolet’s elevation of craftsmanship, content, quality, and a fresh interpretation on an identity that is unmistakably Chevrolet in every market around the world.”

Ron Arnesen, Executive Chief Engineer, added: “The Cruze’s chassis system is perhaps the most mass-efficient in the segment. It is at the core of the car’s dynamic driving character, which is designed to deliver fun with an enhanced feeling of connectivity.”

A slightly different and sportier addition to the Chevrolet collection is its 2016 Camaro Convertible. Driving comfortably as the 6th

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company profile

© Fingerhut | Shutterstock.com generation of Chevrolet Camaros, it will be the only convertible in the segment to offer a range of perks, including; a hard tonneau cover that will deploy automatically, providing a more refined appearance when the top is lowered and stowed, a fully automatic operation with latches that will automatically release and secure the top, remote opening with the key fob and the enabling the opening or closing at speeds of up to 48kph.

In a statement, Todd Christensen, Camaro Marketing Manager, explained: “The 2016 Camaro coupe will set the benchmark for the segment in terms of technology, performance, and design. Adding the most sophisticated top in the segment brings another level of refinement, and driving enjoyment, to the Camaro convertible.”

With a real focus on comfort, the architecture of the new convertible has been developed to ensure it does not compromise on driving dynamics, especially when the roof is down.

The tonneau cover is not only easy to manoeuvre but is aesthetically pleasing too. Its

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electro-hydraulic power roof system with multilayer construction and built in acoustic and thermal barriers, helps to ensure a peaceful and quiet drive can be enjoyed too.

Design Director, Tom Peters, explains the importance of the Camaro’s design: “With many convertibles, you have to affix a tonneau cover manually – if it’s done at all. The Camaro convertible’s automatically deploying hard tonneau not only makes it easier to enjoy convertible driving when the inspiration hits, it ensures the car always looks its best.”

Le Mans 2015 The world’s oldest active sports car race, dating back to 1923, takes place in France on a yearly basis amidst the hot summer days of June. A 24-hour long endurance race, Le Mans has established a reputation as the ‘Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency.’

This year’s deserving winners of the GTE Pro category, Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor, took the title in a No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R – completing 337 laps for 2,864.50 miles.

Now the 8th victory win for the Corvette brand

Imperial General Motors and Corvette Racing in France, it has positioned itself as a worthy and reputable winner, reinstating this title earlier in the year in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the TUDOR United Sports car Championship.

Of the win, Mark Kent, Director of Chevrolet Racing, said: “This victory adds to what already has been a terrific year for Corvette Racing and the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. Today’s win at Le Mans goes alongside our successes in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. It shows the depth of our strengths and determination of everyone at Corvette Racing, GM Powertrain Performance and Racing team, and Pratt & Miller. I’d like to commend all of our partners who contributed to our eighth Le Mans victory.”

Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, echoed this and explained the sheer support and workmanship that Chevrolet adopts is integral: “I am proud of how the No. 63 and No. 64 drivers, engineers and crew came together to rally around a single Corvette C7.R entry for the race. They prepared thoroughly and had each other’s back all race long. Perseverance, teamwork and execution were keys to the winning effort.

“The enthusiasm of the Corvette and Chevrolet owners was overwhelming, and we received messages of support from around the world. The team even did multiple Skype sessions with National Corvette Museum members that were watching the race at the NCM Theatre. It was also great to see a full Corvette Corral here at Le Mans.”

OPEL ASTRA With Opel sold across the showrooms of Imperial General Motors, it is on track to unveil its latest addition later next year – the Opel Astra.

“With each generation of Astra we have managed to bring innovative technologies from the upper class into the affordable compact segment and as a result, each generation has raised the bar in terms of safety, comfort and efficiency,” explained Opel Group CEO, Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann.

“Following this pattern, the new Astra will once again set standards in the compact class. Amongst others, it will be the first new Opel model to be launched with Opel OnStar’s unique connected service that is ready to help and rescue you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

Expected to be introduced into South Africa in

2016, the model will be starring at the Frankfurt Motor Show, 27th - 24th September 2015.

Efficient, lightweight, reliable and spacious, the new Astra is certainly a revolutionary and efficient design from Opel. “Three values are decisive for the new Astra - efficiency, innovation and dynamic `performance,” explained Neumann. “Our engineers developed it from the proverbial white sheet of paper. The new Astra is up to 200 kilograms lighter than its predecessor - and its athletic design makes this outwardly visible.” This agile design also ensures a more cost-effective and efficient fuel consumption.

As a result of the greatest powertrain offensive in Opel’s history, the new Astra will be powered with the latest generation, state-of-the-art engines.

GREAT SERVICE With a dedicated team of staff across its regional dealerships, Imperial General Motors is always on hand to help select and assist in choosing the car that is right for you and with such a fantastic range on offer, why would you go anywhere else?

.

Auto Essentials Radios • Alarm • Gearlocks • Smash & Grab Towbars • B/Tooth Systems A proudly Imperial endorsed accessory fitment centre. Llumar and Matrix approved.

We specialise in the fitment of accessories to all vehicles, makes and models and boast the endorsement of most major accessory suppliers including Bosal and Artav.

With over 10 years’ experience in our field, our qualified staff undergoes ongoing training to enhance product knowledge and to remain up to date with the latest product trends. e-mail • autoss@webmail.co.za Contact No • +27 (0)11 057 1228 Address • No 1 Stoneridge Drive, Greenstone Hill, Edenvale, Gauteng

Window Film

AFC

Authorised Fitment Centre

Web • www.autoessential.wix.com

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company profile

Celebrating 70 years Editorial: Alex Montgomery

Proudly celebrating its 70-year anniversary this year, J&E Cash ‘n Carry is one of South Africa’s longest running family retail businesses and one of the biggest wholesalers in the country. The last genuine wholesaler to solely sell to licensed traders, J&E has deep roots in the industry locally and this month we are lucky enough to speak to directors Solly, Mahomed, Adam and Shabir Joosub to find out more about the proud legacy of their family’s company…

Having been established in 1945, J&E Cash ‘n Carry is one of the oldest existing wholesalers in South Africa, selling goods across all areas of: groceries, cosmetics, confectionary, personal care, household, health, beauty, baby, hardware and electric & stationary for a host of well-recognised brand names.

Solely serving trade customers, J&E strive to provide the best possible service and the most competitive prices out of their 6,300 m² store in WF Nkomo Street, Pretoria which is accompanied by the company’s 3,000 m² warehouse in Hermanstad.

Essentially, J&E acts as a warehouse for traders – holding large amounts of stock so that customers can come in and stock up on what they need for

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their business. Manager Shabir Joosub, explains the core operations of the business further: “We specialize in Cosmetics, Health & Beauty, Groceries, Houseware, Hardware and Stationery.

We are by far the largest cosmetics, health and beauty wholesaler in Pretoria, and amongst the biggest in South Africa. We supply wholesalers, retailers, pharmacies, general dealers, distributors, independent supermarkets and health & beauty outlets and work with a multitude of National and International suppliers.

“Grocery items are all locally sourced and we distribute via our transportation partners to customers across South Africa, especially within Gauteng, Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga.

Goods are also exported to Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East – a segment that we look to expand

J&E Cash ‘n Carry

© J&E Cash ‘n Carry

significantly in the coming years.

“We hold accounts with multiple banks, making it easy for customers to make payments depending on the bank that suits them,” says Shabir.

A RICH HISTORY The most defining factor of J&E is its abundant history. Celebrating 70 years in operation this year, J&E’s beginnings in South Africa go back to the 19th century, when the first Joosub entrepreneur set foot on South Africa’s shores.

“In 1876 Mohamed Hajee Joosub, at the age of 14, undertook a harrowing journey by ship from India to South Africa. He arrived in Cape Town and proceeded to Trek with Dutch and African travellers towards Pretoria. Upon arriving at the site of Market Square, he began trading as a hawker with only one

pound in his pocket,” says Solly.

“He carried on this trade for many years until he was able to open his first business, ironically on Church Street where he began all those years ago. This is the very site where the South African Reserve Bank now stands. He specialised in textiles, this business aptly named M.H. Joosub & Sons.

Amongst his many customers were President Paul Kruger and General Louis Botha.”

Fast forward to 1945 and Mohamed Joosub had three sons, one of which was Hajee Joosub Hajee Mohamed.

“Hajee Joosub ran his father’s business very successfully, and at the same time, in 1945, started J&E Wholesalers in Prinsloo Street, Pretoria. At that time, Hajee Joosub controlled three businesses, namely M.H. Joosub & Sons, J&E Wholesalers (Pty)

PAGE 93

company profile

© J&E Cash ‘n Carry | Three generations: Mohamed Hajee Joosub; Hajee Joosub Hajee Mohamed; Solly Joosub

Ltd and J&B Trading in Johannesburg.

Following Hajee Joosub’s passing in 1963, Solly Joosub, the current Managing Director of J&E Wholesalers, with his brother Sikander, inherited the company. Following Sikander Joosub’s migration to Durban a few years later, his brother Solly took full control of J&E which at this time had around 250 m² of trading space and operated as a conventional wholesaler.

“Sales reps at this time would go into the townships, take orders and then arrange delivery.

Legislation back then did not permit wholesalers to drive past a radius of 30km to ensure that the railway received sufficient business,” explains Solly.

Under the directorship of Solly Joosub, 1972 saw

the acquisition of a much larger entity by the name of S.Cohen. A strategic takeover for J&E, S.Cohen also specialised in the FMCG market and became the new premises of J&E Wholesalers, at 70-80 Du Toit Street, Pretoria.

“In 1973, I, along with three other founders, started a company by the name of Shield Buying and Marketing. This was a great success story as many disadvantaged independent wholesalers (including J&E) could purchase goods through this buying group and could compete favourably against the giants of the time,” says Solly.

Due to the instability in the country in the mid 1980’s, Solly Joosub made the decision to transform his business from what was then a conventional

© J&E Directors, L-R: Shabir Joosub; Shaazia Joosub; Mahomed Joosub; Adam Joosub with their father and MD Solly Joosub

PAGE 94

J&E Cash ‘n Carry business of carrying accounts and delivering stock, to a cash and carry. Following this transformation in 1987 the Shield Buying Group was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, making Solly one of the first non-white executives to own a company on the JSE. J&E moved to its current premises in 1992 and in 1993 Shield was purchased by the Massmart Group for R61.5 million. J&E today is still headed up by Solly Joosub, but the day-to day running falls to his three sons, Mahomed, Adam and Shabir, the 4th generation of the Joosub family to take over from those who came before.

RECENT HAPPENINGS With such a long legacy of success and growth to build upon, the continuation of J&E’s dominance in the market is paramount to the most recent generation to take the helm and the three brothers recognise the need to continually adapt the business and pursue new opportunities.

“In 2011, we were appointed as Key Distributors for Unilever SA within the Pretoria/Tshwane region, which was run under the company name of Mass Distributors. A 3,000sqm warehouse was purchased in Hermanstad specifically for this venture. Since then, other suppliers have signed on with us, creating powerful partnerships that have reaped wonderful rewards, as well as increasing the number of customers that are serviced,” says Adam of some of the company’s recent developments.

“In 2012, we re-joined the Shield Group as a voluntary member after many years of absence. This renewed partnership has provided excellent returns, especially in the grocery sector, where we have benefitted from the supplier relationships enjoyed by Walmart/Massmart.

“This year, we have invested in upgrading our shelving and racking to cater for more goods to be stored, as well as effective stock rotation and damage control. We have also invested in more forklift and reach truck units – these were required due to the increased amount of goods that have been flowing in and out of the business.”

With an important milestone for J&E to be celebrated this year – its 70-year anniversary - it is one of the few times when its management can really stop and appreciate their own success. But, in line with the company’s attitude of always putting its customers first, this seminal celebration is to be shared in equal part with those customers that are

“Without

trustworthy and hardworking members, the company would never have reached the heights that it has”

Amka Products wishes J&E Cash ‘n Carry all the best on their 70th celebrations

Consumer Tel: +27 (0) 860002652 E-mail: info@amka.co.za

PAGE 95

company profile

© J&E Cash ‘n Carry

the very reason for the company still being around to mark this historic year.

“To celebrate our 70th anniversary, we will be doing what we know best – providing the lowest prices to our customers, thereby allowing them to celebrate with us. We will also be handing out free goodies to each customer and embarking on massive promotional campaigns for the whole month,” says Mahomed.

A SUPERIOR SERVICE J&E has created a niche for itself in the market by solely supplying to trade customers and because of this can provide its customers with the assurance that it will never be directly competing with their business by selling to their own consumer-customers.

Currently, the company undertakes a dual strategy of cash and carry, as well as distribution and exports in conjunction with trading partners to ensure it can cater to the complex needs of its customers.

It is these partnerships and supplier relationships that are another key contributor to the company’s longevity in the retail sector and Shabir stresses J&E’s commitment to promoting long-term, successful supplier relationships. “We see our suppliers as

PAGE 96

“This was a great success story as many disadvantaged independent wholesalers (including J&E) could purchase goods through this buying group”

J&E Cash ‘n Carry partners in our business.”

One of the most important factors for any customer-focused business is having exemplary service levels at all times. As Shabir states – “Our hallmark has always been based on superior service levels. Customer complaints are dealt with on-thespot and measures are put in place to rectify any shortfalls. Complaints come straight to the directors, and can therefore be dealt with immediately. There is always at least one director on the floor, ready to deal with any issue.

“A business can only be as strong as the combined strength of its customers,” says Shabir. “J&E, from its inception, has always been focused on its customers.

Other cash and carry businesses have turned into hybrid stores, where both traders and consumers are served at the same price. Since we only supply to the trade, our customers have always been very loyal to us. This is because we do not sell directly to their consumer-customers. Our motto has always been that “We will not compete against our own customers.” We therefore also ensure that our prices are competitive enough for our customers to turn a good profit when re-selling.

Responsible for upholding all aspects of customer

service are J&E’s staff members, and Shabir does not take lightly their contribution to the business. “Our staff are our pride and the true face of the business.

Without trustworthy and hardworking members, the company would never have reached the heights that it has. Some staff members have been at J&E for over 40 years

THE J&E WAY J&E is run by a family with strong religious principles, principles which have coloured all aspects of their business dealings and contributed to the unity of the family-run company. Shabir states that his family’s belief has always been that whatever achievements have come their way have been due to their faith and strong morals.

“We realize that we are also part of a value chain – we cannot grow without our customers growing. Nor can we grow when our staff members remain stagnant. Our Islamic belief also dictates that a portion of every man’s wealth must be redistributed to the poor so we take great pride in serving on various charitable organisations and ensuring that our community, who has served us, is also served,” concludes Shabir

.

© J&E Cash ‘n Carry - Prinsloo Street (1945-1972)

PAGE 97

#BeInspired

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In the future we will bring you further stories of business excellence and highlight the hard work that is going on in South Africa to grow the nations industries into global leaders.

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The gold standard in risk assessment The number one provider of risk assessment services in Southern Africa, Marsh Risk Consulting offers customised and innovative solutions across a range of insurable and non-insurable risks. IndustrySA speaks to Managing Director, Volker von Widdern, on the company’s growth and developments within the last year

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