COMPANY PROFILE
2014
Pienaar Bros
Innovative protection for industry workers across South Africa
company profile
Innovative protection for industry workers across South Africa Editorial: Harriet Pattison Production: Chris Bolderstone
With over 50 years of experience in the protective clothing industry, Pienaar Bros continue to provide industry sectors with comfortable, innovative and even fashionable safety wear. IndustrySA speaks to Contracts and Marketing Manager, Pieter van Deventer to find out more about the company’s continued success…
Protective clothing giants, Pienaar Bros, started in Cape Town almost 50 years ago. In 1987, Brian Pienaar, currently the controlling shareholder, moved the company into the mining and manufacturing sectors of the inland of South Africa and Southern Africa. Today, Pienaar Bros supply Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to industry sectors across South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique. Pieter van Deventer, Contracts and Marketing Manager at Pienaar Bros has over 15 years of experience in this industry, ten of which he has spent at Pienaar Bros. He explains: “We cater for all sectors of the mining and manufacturing industry –
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from pharmaceutical to chemical manufacturing to construction to engineering businesses and the various mines in Southern Africa. In all areas where personnel needs protective equipment, Pienaar Bros are involved. There aren’t any industries that we do not cover.” For a business to be involved in all industry sectors across South Africa is certainly no easy task but Pienaar Bros have secured that all important and unrivalled front seat as leaders in an industry which is not only constantly changing and improving, but one where safety is absolutely paramount. Working within so many varying sectors means an increasing array of products for Pienaar Bros to research and design. “Certain
Pienaar Bros
industries make use of certain types of equipment. The manufacturing industry makes use of a different type of portfolio to the mining industry which is then different to construction” van Deventer explains.
THE PRODUCTS
comfortable. Comfort is a very big demand as far as PPE is concerned.” Of course, alongside comfort and practicality, van Deventer explains that fashionable equipment has seen an increase in demand too: “More fashionable eyewear is more popular than the old square safety spectacle. You’ve got to look good in your PPE!”
Ranging from protective eyewear and respiratory protection to gloves and hearing conservation, van Deventer explains: “Products are being redesigned on a continuous basis, the market demands different criteria for each product. Different manufacturers are continuously developing and researching to see how the goods can be more fashionable and more
Working across such a variety of sectors including construction and mining, it is hard to establish the company’s most popular product, as van Deventer explains: “Respiratory has a very high use in all sectors. Hand and hearing protection is also high. Every different type of application needs a different
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company profile kind of glove. Some products are moved a lot in terms of volume and others are moved a lot as far as price is concerned. Your volumes equal the higher price products as monetary value is concerned.” With a recent new store opening, Pienaar Bros now have 23 branches across Southern Africa. Involved in almost all industries, Pienaar Bros are now looking to expand into Zambia and into the Copperbelt mining areas. Van Deventer explains: “We have already expanded into Botswana and Mozambique. Our next route is to get to where there is high demand, which will be the Copperbelt in Zambia.”
STAFF TRAINING Across the 23 Pienaar Bros stores, the company’s sales staff are a vital addition to ensure not only the success of the company but that health and safety remains at the forefront of the company’s ethos. “Personal Protective Equipment is a life saving device, it is an income protecting device which protects livelihood. You can’t protect livelihood if the sales staff aren’t properly trained to give the best and most safe advice for the
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application of the product,” explains van Deventer. Of course, staff training in an industry which is helping to safe lives is vital, which van Deventer recognises: “Training, especially in our industry, is very important. On a continuous basis there is continuous staff training, both in house and with our various original manufacturers where more specialised training is given.”
“Personal Protective Equipment is a life saving device, it is an income protecting device which protects livelihood” Pienaar Bros also have 12 “on-site” PPE stores across large end-user premises. These are manned by Pienaar Bros personnel and contribute to the turnover of some branches by as much as 50%. The stores are open during the day, often 24 hours, to provide the
Pienaar Bros
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company profile end-user with access to PPE. Van Deventer explains: “This method ensures that an end-user has access to the required PPE at any given time during any of the shifts, drastically reducing down-time due to improper personnel protection. The end-user has access to that PPE without having to place an order with the supplier at the branch and wait for a delivery or for the stock to come in. Every month each store is sufficiently stocked with the necessary PPE as far as the history of usage is concerned.”
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Pienaar Bros have introduced an innovative and effective program creating a personal profile for each end-user wearing PPE. Van Deventer explains: “The software package we have designed is a product exclusive to Pienaar Bros. Each end-user who wears PPE is scanned and registered into the system. This package ensures that only the correct PPE and quantity is issued to each individual end-user applicable to the task. It is a measure of control for the employer where the end-user store is, allowing a degree of control over
Pienaar Bros PPE from several reports available on a regular basis or at the client’s request. It helps the employer adhere to their budget without comprising on safety.”
OSH EXHIBITION This year, from 13th to 15th May, the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) exhibition will be held at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Aimed at providing end-users with essential information and up-to-date technology and a platform to both engage and educate on health and safety, the OSH exhibition has seen an impressive increase in both exhibitors and visitors in recent years, with a 32% increase in 2013 to the previous year. Pienaar Bros will be amongst the 90+ exhibitors this year for the first time. Van Deventer explains that the company’s main goal in attending the OSH is to gain further exposure in an increasingly competitive industry. “Although Pienaar Bros has been around for a long, time, there are also much smaller organisations coming on board on a regular basis. What we are trying to achieve is to get to people and to industries where we are weak in or where we have not yet penetrated those markets. I can’t think of any markets we haven’t penetrated yet but it is another way
of getting the Pienaar Bros brand name cemented into the industry and into the market” he says.
“On a continuous basis there is continuous staff training, both in house and with our various original manufacturers where more specialised training is given” He also says that the OSH exhibition will allow the company to target the entire South African market providing a potentially much wider spectrum for Pienaar Bros. In the past, van Deventer explains that Pienaar Bros have exhibited at other marketing events, “From time to time there are mining exhibitions where you exhibit on the mine’s premises but these are often very short exhibitions and industry specific. You spend half a day on the mine exhibiting your product but the visitors are often mining personnel and you tend to target only one specific industry.” With almost 100 companies exhibiting at the OSH
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company profile exhibition this year and an increasing number of young budding smaller companies coming onto the market, competition to be the industry leader is certainly starting to hot up. Despite the smaller companies having little industry experience, van Deventer explains: “There is competition in the smaller companies. We find that the smaller ‘resellers’ are a lot more aggressive but that the larger end-users still prefer to deal with the larger suppliers because of the long term relationships and supply agreements between supplier and client. “The larger companies are able to honour the agreement for the duration, whether that be two years or five years, which the smaller companies are not always able to offer.” What places Pienaar Bros above its competitors then is a vision to not only provide safe and exceptional service to each end-user but to ensure this is implemented through to the end of every agreement. Van Deventer explains: “On a continuous basis we provide onsite training to the end user. We take the product specialist or specialist from Pienaar Bros to give training with that client on the client’s premises. This is absolutely essential in South Africa, not just to provide the product but also provide the knowledge as far as usage of the product is concerned. We must look at it not just from the supplier’s point of view but also from the employer’s point of view. Even the employer needs
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to ensure its workforce is adequately trained to use the PPE in order to provide correct usage of the product.”
BEING A ‘GREEN’ COMPANY With so much emphasis on greener business in South Africa, van Deventer says that despite importing up to 80% of PPE from oversees, “Pienaar Bros have entered into agreements with some of our suppliers and local manufacturers to collect the redundant equipment and dispose of it in a controlled manner. As far as manufacturing is concerned, it is really up to our manufacturers. Pienaar Bros only purchase from manufacturers who comply with those ‘green’ conditions as this is what the market demands.”
FUTURE EXPANSION PLANS In addition to promoting the Pienaar Bros brand at events like the OSH exhibition, van Deventer says that the company’s future plans for expansion include building on the success they have had in different industry markets. “At this point in time, we are trying to enlarge our footprint in the areas where we currently have representation. I find this a much more economical way to increase your existing footprint before you venture into unknown areas. If you have the knowledge and infrastructure to grow your existing base, get that up to a different level before venturing into new
Pienaar Bros
SLAM CLOTHING Slam Clothing is a “Proudly South African” manufacturer of workwear based in East London. We manufacture Polycotton, J54 (SABS 1387), D59 Standard + Flame + Flame/Acid finish (SABS 1387) as well as Acid Resistant PC standard and HACCP garments. Despite not being a registered SABS manufacturer, all cut and sewing standards are applied in the manufacturing process. Contact:
Unit 4 Da Gama Industrial Park Old King Williams Town Road East London Tel: +27-43-7450670 / 0638 Fax: +27-866708951 Email: slam@slamclothing.co.za Contact: Adele or Harry
markets” he says. Present in industries across South Africa and with plans to continue to expand on these before venturing into new ones places Pienaar Bros on a well-deserved pedestal amongst increasing competition. With expertly trained staff, innovative and effective programs and ongoing business relationships with clients in South Africa and beyond, the future for Pienaar Bros is looking a very secure and bright one indeed.
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“If you have the knowledge and infrastructure to grow your existing base, get that up to a different level before venturing into new markets”
Meet Pienaar Bros staff at the OSH Exhibition at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg between 13th-15th May, showcasing its innovative and comfortable Personal Protective Equipment! MAY 14 PAGE 9
www.pienaarbros.co.za Tel: +27 (0)11 824 2384
(0)1603 618 000 info@industrysa.com East Coast Promotions Ltd, Ferndale Business Centre, 1 Exeter Street. Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4QB