COMPANY PROFILE
2014
Scientific Engineering
+27 11 473 1080 | www.scientific.co.za
company profile
Turning up the heat Editorial: Harriet Pattison Production: Emily Woodhall
Established in 1966, Scientific Engineering prides itself on the design and manufacture of niche appliances for industries, ranging from mines to science laboratories. IndustrySA speaks to CEO, Bernard Parschau to find out just what makes this company a leader in an industry which is becoming increasingly competitive.
When you begin to consider the necessity and importance of large industrial appliances including ovens, furnaces and incubators to different industry sectors, it is clear why specialists in the manufacturing field are so successful. Scientific Engineering started trading in 1966 and it wasn’t long before it realised a rather lucrative gap in the market. CEO, Bernard Parschau, explains: “The company had a view of manufacturing locally produced laboratory equipment. There was a drive on at the time to build up the manufacturing base in South Africa, hence the need for someone that could produce products locally. We then started designing and manufacturing our first ovens and larger appliances required for the laboratory industry. The advantage of having these appliances manufactured locally is that the appliances are quite big in volume and transports costs are therefore kept to a minimum.”
HOT HISTORY Before joining the company in 1990, Parschau studied engineering at university and worked at a local research institution. With the help of “a very good executive team”,
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Parschau explains how the company went from strength to strength to reach the successful point it is at today. “Going forward I want to take this business to the next level; project it into the future to make it an industrial player in the scientific industry and other allied businesses.” Over the past 20 years, the company has built up unrivalled expertise across a range of sectors, as Parschau explains: “We developed a complete range of laboratory equipment which included not only bench top ovens and incubators, but also large ovens for the mining and pharmaceutical industry. We developed expertise in all of these areas and became a market leader in locally manufactured laboratory appliances. When designing and manufacturing such large appliances, transportation and logistics often present a challenge when looking to ensure products reach the end user without damage. We’ve changed our business to be solution driven. We have considered the local conditions, and have taken great care in ensuring that our packaging is suitable enough to withstand poor road infrastructure, the result being that it always reaches the customer intact” Parschau explains. Despite an abundance of modern technology now available, Parschau confesses: “We use standard controls that
Scientific Engineering
make it easy to service and operate the equipment. We keep things nice and simple in the way in which we produce our appliances with the aim of making sure they are user friendly. We have equipment that is still fully operational, which we have manufactured 30 to 40 years ago, thus bearing testimony to the fact that it has been designed to last.” On the manufacturing side of the business, Scientific Engineering is leading the way using state of the art manufacturing equipment. “We try to stay ahead of the game because the industry today dictates a fast turnaround time on manufacturing and has to be up to a world class standard. This is something which we pride ourselves on” he says.
SCIENTIFIC LABORATORIES Scientific Engineering is a niche appliance manufacturer, designing and manufacturing up to 800 products for industries including butchery and catering. Perhaps the biggest sector the company supplies to and places the most significance upon, is scientific laboratories, with the laboratory oven range now the company’s best seller. The oven, which Parschau describes as “the backbone of our company” is used in numerous industries ranging from food technology to
university laboratories. It is clear then that the company place a very high value on product quality and design as Parschau explains: “We still have that reputation in the market for manufacturing reliable, quality products. We are one of the few South African companies that are UL listed and place huge emphasis on making sure our equipment complies with regulations, helping boost the consumer’s value for money.”
EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES With 170 employees, Scientific Engineering places huge emphasis on training and development, ensuring that its staff are fully qualified in both knowledge and experience. “We believe that training people and making sure they understand what they do is why we have achieved our success. We realise that our most essential asset is the people that work in our organisation, and have taken it one step further by empowering our people to expand on their knowledge and understanding of the work they do” says Parschau. For the staff at Scientific Engineering, there are many opportunities for development and progression. “As a family focused company, we look at people within the organisation,
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company profile have something which adds value compared to what existing offers are out there. This is then taken a step further and we start developing prototypes which we then produce. If these pass internal tests we send them out for field test either in a pharmaceutical laboratory or in the mines. This helps to ensure that the products designs are in line with market requirements. Once we have achieved that, we start a preproduction run of between five or ten units and double check that it is suitable enough for its intended purpose. When we are comfortable with the result, we approach our dealers so that the product may be launched.” Of course, not all products will make it onto the shelf but Parschau believes market requirements are absolutely paramount: “A lot of manufacturers try and give the market what they think it needs. We at Scientific Engineering believe it is very important, and possible, that with sufficient
so that we may see where the leadership capabilities lie in order for us to foster and help them grow through the ranks in our business.” Training programs allow employees to get a sense of the business, grow within the company and build on their managerial potential. “We manufacture fairly sophisticated equipment. We have therefore set up training programmes to assist our staff in becoming more proficient on the electrical side. This enables them to wire up appliances and have an appreciation for what they are doing.” says Parschau.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS For each product produced by the company, meticulous care to design, quality aspects and market research has to be considered, reviewed and applied before anything can be manufactured. From the time of inception to the time a product reaches the market, can easily take up to 15 months. Parschau explains this detailed process: “We are very in touch with the end user. If we see an opportunity in the market, our sales team looks at gaining market intelligence to identify whether there is room for us to operate within, as well as whether the product falls in line with our core business and abilities. If it passes the first gate, we then make sure we
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Scientific Engineering market intelligence, one is able to view the market carefully and distinguish exactly what is required and not what is assumed to be required. There is a very subtle difference.” Scientific Engineering certainly knows what the market requires and this comes from many years of close relationships with dealers and end users in the field. “We have evolved in the last ten years to be a lot more sales and end user driven, which wasn’t always the case. We are industry leaders but one has to respect ones competition. I think arrogance in any form is very dangerous. There are smaller players and they are also able to satisfy their customers, we just have to be better at the game than they are.” Parschau explains.
plans for our company and recently invested a lot of capital expenditure into the upgrading of our plant machinery. We also have the latest laser cutting and sheet metal processing technology. We’re on a roll and we want to move forward. ” concludes Parschau.
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“WE’RE ON A ROLL” With the company’s involvement in the export market since the early 1990’s, Scientific Engineering is now looking to expand further into Africa and to be involved in the primary health programmes as the CEO explains: “We would like to be involved in the primary health programmes where they require equipment and specific applications are to be addressed.” In addition to alliances, the company is also looking to improve upon its products and machinery. “We see ourselves going forward, not only as regional players, but African players as well. We have big
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