COMPANY PROFILE
2015
Remkor Technologies
www.remkor.co.za | +27 11 433-4985
company profile
Manufacturing excellence Editorial: Alex Montgomery
Family companies often seem to be able to engender a strong combination of longevity, trust and unwavering dedication that is not easily replicated in the corporate world. Remkor is just one of these types of companies – a family business that covers a wide range of metal manufacturing and one which has built a brand that is well-known and trusted across all the industries it services. In this issue we speak with Raffaele La Monica, son of Remkor’s founder, Nino La Monica and current head of the business as he tells us more about the history of the South African operation.
A diverse and multidisciplinary manufacturing operation – Remkor Technologies is a TUV – ISO accredited company operating out of Johannesburg, South Africa. A family business that has been running for over three decades, R emkor has a long le g acy o f m a n u f actu ring co mpone nts and products f o r v a r i ou s in d u s tries such as automotiv e , t e l e c om s, min ing, ap p liance s, construction – t h e l i st go es o n . A bl e to o f f er clients the assurance of quality s e r v i c e a n d w o rld -clas s products, Re mkor e m pl oy s a h igh ly -traine d workforce who are s pr e a d a cro s s its 9, 000 m² of CAD facilitie s, f a c t or y sp ace and o f f ice s. N i n o L a Mo n ica f o u nde d Re mkor in June of 1981 a s R emko r To o ls and g re w his ope ration
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fr om t h e re . T h e c om pa n y w a s re -n a m e d Re m k or Te c h n ol og i e s i n J ul y 2 0 0 2 t o re fl e c t th e di v e rs i fi c a t i on of t h e bus i n e s s a n d i t s co n t i n ue d g row t h – t h e e a rl y 2 0 0 0 s s a w t h e bu s i n e s s e x port i n g t e l e c om s e qui pm e n t t o co un t ri e s a c ros s A fri c a , A s i a , S out h Am e ri c a , N ort h A m e ri c a a n d E urope . “My father started the business in 1981 primarily as a tool and die-making business,” explains Raffaele La Monica, Remkor’s current Director. “And as time went on, from the early 80s to the mid-late 80s, it was still very much a tool and die-making company but the types of tools became quite a lot bigger. The main market for that is the automotive industry. “Then, from the 90s the company started moving more into component production and later sheet metal assemblies, product assemblies,
Remkor Technologies
welded assemblies and painted products until we developed to more or less where we are today, where we have a complete solution for our customer. We go from a flat sheet to the finished product, in carbon steel or stainless steel depending on the product.” Remkor has long pursued a qualitative approach to all its ventures and as such is well recognised as a superior supplier of engineered products in South Africa. Its main focus is on producing various metal enclosures, telecoms products, coated seals, aluminium, public seating and cooker hoods, but the company has the facility to provide turnkey solutions to clients looking for almost any metal produced product or component. In order to service the sometimes extremely varied nature of demand, Remkor offers solutions
encompassing computer aided design (CAD), tool & die manufacture, laser cutting, punching, press brakes, presses, welding, brushing, powder coating and finishing and assembly.
A FOCUSED OPERATION Although Remkor’s origins in manufacturing has its1 roots in the automotive sector of the 1980s, in its continuous drive towards diversification as a key contributor to growth, the company embraced the opportunity to enter the telecoms industry many years later through the manufacture of payphone products and booths with a major contract with Telkom. It was an operation that proved lucrative for the business – resulting in over 75,000 products being manufactured by the company for use locally and abroad. “If we go back to the early 2000s, we got awarded
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company profile
a contract to supply payphone booths with the local operator and we made probably about 70,000 of them over a number of years,” says La Monica. “This then gave us the opportunity to export a lot of our product. After that, in 2005-2006, we started going into the appliance market and those two points were very much where the business started to turn, which allowed us the opportunity to buy different types of machines and get ourselves involved in different types of businesses.” As ever, markets change and businesses need the ability to be flexible and adapt – an ability which Remkor has certainly displayed over the years. With the advent of cellular technology, the market for public telephones naturally declined and Remkor then took the steps to diversify its business further, investing in machinery to produce various different types of products. It was at this time that Remkor first entered the domestic appliance market with extractor hoods, public seating, outdoor advertising products and electrical panels. “I would say the telecoms industry is probably our biggest market revenue. We also work in the
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appliance industry, components in the appliance industry but our business is quite varied, quite diverse, so we get involved in all sorts of other types of products. Structural steel, fibre optic network infrastructure, low and medium voltage electrical cabinets and enclosures and related products, medium voltage types of electrical cabinets and enclosures and things like that,” explains La Monica.
STAINLESS-STEEL EXPERTS “Our situation and what makes us unique compared with a lot of the other guys in the market, is that we basically offer the finished solution. We do everything from a flat sheet right up until a finished, assembled product and that includes quite big metal stamping and things like that which is not very common,” says La Monica. “Usually when people get involved in steel production they either take the route of being involved purely in sheet metal or they go into the route of stamping. We’ve got a combination
Remkor Technologies of the two which, on the scale we’ve got, is not very common and we obviously try to emphasise that. We are in a position where we can offer everything in one place.” A couple of Remkor’s more recent and notable projects include the roof assembly, clamps and components for the roof structure of Moses Madiba and Nelson Mandela Bay stadiums for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and powder coating work and access control gates for Johannesburg’s high-speed rail system, the Gautrain – project wins that are a testament to the company’s reputation and expertise. “More recently we’ve got involved in access control kiosks, for bus stations and also rail, where you present your card and it automatically opens and closes the gates. That work goes right up to mechanical and electrical assemblies, again to try and give the customer a finished product,” explains La Monica. “This has served to broaden the scope of the business further.” Knowledge is perhaps the most valuable asset for this South African manufacturing company and, even with a turbulent and sometimes
challenging market environment, the company has become the first choice of partner for some of the largest and most successful companies in Southern Africa. “We normally do work with quite a lot of the bigger, multinational companies who’ve got local facilities,” says La Monica.
MARKET CHANGES, NEW DIRECTIONS H a v i n g be e n a roun d for a n um be r of ye a rs , R e m k or i s ful l y v e rs e d i n h a v i n g t o a da pt t o a n e v e r c h a n g i n g m a rk e t . O n e a re a i n w h i c h t h e c om pa n y i s s e e i n g g row t h i s i n t h e fi e l d of e l e c t ri c a l c a bi n e t s a n d e n c l os ure s – pa rt l y a s a re fl e c t i on of t h e de di c a t e d i n fra s t ruc t ure i n v e s t m e n t s be i n g m a de by t h e S out h Afri c a n g ov e rn m e n t . “ For us , t h e l oc a l m a rk e t s e e m s t o be g oi n g i n t h e di re c t i on of e l e c t ri c a l t ype c a bi n e t s , pa n e l s a n d produc t s a n d t h i n g s l i k e t h a t w h i c h a re l oc a l l y m a n ufa c t ure d. T h e g ov e rn m e n t doe s t ry t o pus h a l ot of l oc a l c on t e n t a n d i t ’s m os t l y a l l g ov e rn m e n t fun de d w ork . S o w e ’re fi n di n g t h a t m a rk e t qui t e l uc ra t i v e a n d s t i l l
ADVANCED FASTENING SYSTEMS MINING AND INDUSTRIAL (PTY) Ltd. WE SPECIALISE IN THE FOLLOWING: • • • • • • • • •
Pneumatic tools Electronic torque measurement equipment Electronic DC tools Hydraulic rock breaking tools Specialised / customised solutions for your advanced fastening needs and software Sanas (Lab 841) and Dakks calibration laboratory (torque equipment) Tools repair workshop Ceramic welding (specialised ceramic welding / lining of volutes, pump casings, pipes & elbows) Specialised stainless steel manufacturing and specialised welding by coded welders
MANUFACTURING | CALIBRATION | REPAIR | SERVICES | SALES 222 Battery Street Silverton Pretoria South Africa Phone number: +27 12 803 5456 Fax number: +27 12 803 3302 Email: sales@afsmi.co.za
We are a BBBEE Level 2 Contributor
www.afsmi.co.za
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company profile
“We normally do work with quite a lot of the bigger, multinational companies who’ve got local facilities” PAGE 6
g ro w i n g ,” s a ys L a M on i c a . La M on i c a e x pl a i n s t h a t due t o t h e s om e w h a t dif fi c ul t m a rk e t c on di t i on s a t t h e m om e n t , t h e com pa n y i s n ot s pe n di n g a l ot on g row t h , but is i n s t e a d foc us i n g on i t s c on t i n ue d de di c a t i on to k e e pi n g a l l fa c i l i t i e s a n d e qui pm e n t upto-da t e by i n v e s t i n g i n n e w m a c h i n e ry for i t s ma n ufa c t uri n g fa c i l i t i e s . A s i de from re -i n v e s t i n g i n fa c i l i t i e s , L a Mon i c a e x pl a i n s t h a t , a s e v e r, R e m k or i s ke e pi n g a n e ye on t h e t ype s of m a rk e t s t h a t wil l h ol d t h e m os t de m a n d i n t h e n e x t t h re e to fi v e ye a rs . “ We w oul d l i k e t o be c om e m ore spe c i a l i s e d i n c e rt a i n i n dus t ri e s , w ork i n g on a m ore fi n i s h e d produc t ra t h e r t h a n a l ot of com pon e n t ry or s m a l l e r t ype s of produc t s .
Remkor Technologies T h i s is o b vio u s ly all de pe nde nt on the way the m a r ket go es and w he re the opportunitie s lie in t h e market.” Re mko r co u ld n’t maintain quality across su c h varied p ro d u ct offe ring s without also i n v e sting s ignif icantly in its staff me mbe rs and a s s uch , the co mp any maintains a hig hly skille d t e a m co vering all aspe cts of the busine ss. “ Ob vio u s ly th e env ironme nt in South Africa i s v e ry mu ch o ne whe re hig hly skille d staff are h a r d to f in d . We try to prioritise and promote pe o p le in tern ally within the busine ss. A lot of t h e mo re s killed and more traine d pe ople we h a v e w ith in the b u sine ss are pe ople that hav e st a r t ed f ro m mu ch lowe r le v e ls and the n ov e r a pe rio d o f time w e’v e upskille d the m whe n t h e y’ ve s h o w n the pote ntial for it. We spe nd a l o t o f res o u rces , both in time and mone y, on t r a i ning acro s s all a re as of the company,” says L a M o nica.
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED The main contributor to Remkor’s long-term success has been its ability to intuit what its
customer’s requirements are and its dedication to high levels of service in all areas. “If we get involved in a business we back ourselves 100% to make sure we give the customer everything they need. If the customer’s volumes double, we will always find a way to help him make double the volume. We don’t draw a line and say, we can only go so far - whenever the customer needs to grow, we grow with them. I think they find that an additional value - that there isn’t that limitation from us. “Al s o, t h e fa c t t h a t w e c a n g o ri g h t t h roug h t h e proc e s s from a de s i g n l e v e l ri g h t up un t i l t h e fi n i s h e d produc t i s a bi g pl us poi n t for us . O v e r t h e ye a rs , a s our c us t om e rs h a v e g row n a n d a s t h e i r s c ope h a s g row n , w e ’v e a l s o e x t e n de d our s c ope t o g e t m ore i n v ol v e d i n a s s e m bl y a n d g e t m ore i n v ol v e d i n di ffe re n t t ype s of t h i n g s t h a t w e w oul dn ’t n orm a l l y do. I f w e h a d t o i n v e s t c a pi t a l , or w e h a d t o i n v e s t i n re s ourc e s w i t h pe opl e t o do t h a t n e w pa rt of t h e bus i n e s s , w e w oul d a n d i t w oul d a l w a ys be s om e t h i n g w e w oul d t ry t o a c c om pl i s h a n d a c h i e v e ,” c on c l ude s L a M on i c a
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