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NEWS TOOL DISTRIBUTION
Ingco – the right partner!
In October, Skillcraft Agencies, hosted two very important events. The first was the Ingco Global Conference in conjunction with Ingco China and the second, the opening of Skillcraft’s new 6 000m2 warehouse.
Company service vechicles line up outside the ware house ready for action.
The Skillcraft management team, from the left Kerri-Lee Roets, Alta Leach, Jaco Viljoen, Theuns Kotze, Jacqui Loio, Angelo Angelos, George Angelos, Tina Angelos and Graham Finch.
S
killcraft Agencies is a family
an offshoot of another company,
business that is celebrating
in partnership with Peter Roodt,
30 years of trading this
the first Skillcraft MD.
year. Twelve years ago the
Over the next 20 years Peter
company started selling the Ingco
developed a national footprint
brand, but it was not until 5 years ago
supplying a range of tools which
– after a key visit to Ingco China that
grew to over 130 local brands and
Skillcraft began to realise the brand’s
over 30 imported brands. When the
true value.
local Ingco agent (12 years ago) went
At the Global Conference, it was
bankrupt, the brand fell into the
interesting to hear about local market
laps of Skillcraft by pure coincidence.
growth and Ingco’s international
The company imported and stocked
footprint, its past accomplishments
a range of the products for some
and future plans. The conference
time, but only after visiting the Ingco
included a virtual tour of Ingco China’s
head office in China in 2016, the
factory, and it is almost impossible
Skillcraft team realised the true value
to convey the sheer size of this tool
of the brand.
company, which follows the simple
The Skillcraft delegations have since
philosophy of providing ‘professional
visited Lesley Liu, the founder and
tools at an affordable price’.
chairman of Ingco, every six months
A week after the Global Conference,
since then, to implement the company
it was time for the ribbon cutting
philosophy and strategy. Initially 12
ceremonial event to officially open
products were focused on, imported
Skillcraft’s warehouse facility based in
in large quantities and sold at very
City Deep, Johannesburg. The event
low prices. “The growth of Ingco China
was well attended by buying groups,
during the six months between our
suppliers to Skillcraft, some media
visits was staggering. The Ingco China
participants and the Skillcraft staff.
warehouse was half full, then it was full,
The current Skillcraft Agencies’s
then there was a second warehouse,
managing director, Angelo Angelos’s
then there was a third. The testing
father, George Angelos started
labs were in prefab huts behind the
Skillcraft Agencies 30 years ago as
warehouse. Eventually they were in
NOVEMBER 2021 DIY & INDUSTRIAL TRADE NEWS
Some of the team celebrating the brand’s success.
The new well-stocked warehouse.
