SEGENSOLAR
RELIABLE ELECTRICITY FOR SOUTH AFRICA SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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INTERVIEW: SEGENSOLAR
RELIABLE ELECTRICITY FOR SOUTH AFRICA 2 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Chris Radley, Director at SegenSolar (Pty) Ltd, about the importance of clean, reliable energy for residential and business users in South Africa, a comprehensive online portal, and investing in online education. By Ciara Jack Segen Ltd is the largest solar photovoltaic wholesaler and distributor in the United Kingdom, with a 25% share of the domestic solar market. Named to the Sunday Times Top Track 250 list of leading mid-market private companies for 2020, Segen Ltd was founded in 2005 by current CEO Andy Pegg. In October 2015, Segen opened their subsidiary in South Africa, SegenSolar (Pty) Ltd. “We opened our office and distribution facility in Randburg in 2015, which is where we’re currently operating from,” says Chris Radley, Director at SegenSolar (Pty) Ltd. “We started with a handful of staff. It was a case of first year setting up the infrastructure, getting the planning and the software sorted. Since then, we’ve seen some nice growth. We opened a general distribution facility in Cape Town in 2017, and now we have got just over 100 people on board to look after the operations locally.”
Today, SegenSolar supplies the South African market with a wide range of solar panels, PV inverters, battery storage systems, and mounting products from manufacturers including Victron Energy, Kodak, Solis, Huawei, Pylon Tech, Freedom Won, Canadian Solar, EP Solar, and Renusol. SegenSolar also offers customers access to the Segen Portal, which allows customers to design complete solar systems with their ‘Quick Quote’ software, as well as the more detailed ‘Design a PV System’ program. CONSTANT SUPPLY Mr. Radley is all too aware of the need to find sustainable means of providing power to South Africa. Since 2007, South Africa’s generation capacity has been insufficient to meet demand, and Eskom, the state-owned utility, has implemented periods of load shedding, resulting in rolling blackouts across the country. Solar generation is a cost-effective, clean way of adding capacity to the grid, and when paired with battery technology, can allow homes and businesses to maintain a supply of electricity even during planned grid outages. “About 85% of our revenue is focused towards the residential customer base, with the remaining part made up by the commercial base,” says Mr. Radley. “We put in a lot of effort to stay informed of local market SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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INTERVIEW: SEGENSOLAR
PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR ENGINEERING ( PTY ) LTD DESIGNERS OF SOLAR PV SYSTEMS Designers and Manufacturers of electrical balance of system products for residential and commercial Solar PV Systems The items that we design, manufacture and supply include • DC Combiner boxes • DC Protection boxes • ACDBs • Earth Neutral Bridge boxes • Change over units • Battery bank protection and isolation boxes Mike Kirby Email : mike@pvse.co.za Mobile : 0 823 248 845 Alex Lockyer Email : alex@pvse.co.za Mobile : 0 646 581 557
developments. We stay in touch with our customers on a daily basis and use their feedback to research potential new products to meet the future market’s wants and needs. This is, in our opinion, an extremely valuable process to ensure that our product range stays relevant to the market.” “In addition, we’ve also seen more energy-efficient products released by the manufacturers, which of course reduces the overall price,” says Mr. Radley. “People are very cost-conscious, and a more efficient product and output definitely contributes to
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a more cost-effective system. The volume of PV installations also scales this phenomenon up. That really helps to make solar budget-friendly.” SOLAR PORTAL The Segen Portal, which provides convenient access to SegenSolar’s range of products at the click of a button, has been instrumental in improving access to solar PV. “The portal is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Mr. Radley. “When customers register on that portal, they gain access to
pvse.co.za
a wide range of functionalities, including pricing, stock availability, and the ability to place orders and make payments. They can also use the portal to design systems, create quotes, and we use it to communicate marketing messages. The portal is our main focus for the business. Coupled with the portal is the stock availability, which is a key factor in our service offering. We only promote available stock, and we inventory our stock daily. We continuously update expected time of arrival, so the customers can see when the stock is scheduled to arrive.”
EMBRACING THE FUTURE GoodWe (Stock code: 688930) is a leading, strategically-thinking enterprise which focuses on research and manufacturing of PV Inverters and energy storage solutions. With an accumulative installation of 16 GW installed in more than 80 countries, GoodWe solar inverters have been largely used in residential and commercial rooftops, industrial and utility scale systems, ranging from 0.7kW to 250 kW. GoodWe inverters offer reliable operation and excellent performance and are well recognized by customer worldwide. GoodWe’s philosophy is to always create win-win partnerships with customers by identifying and integrating the most advanced components and techniques available, while offering an unparalleled after-sales service. Technological innovation is GoodWe’s main core competence. With an in-house
R&D team of approx. 200 employees in two R&D centers, GoodWe can offer a comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions for residential, commercial and utility scale PV systems, ensuring that performance and quality go hand-inhand across the entire range. GoodWe and Segen are perfectly aligned with regards to objectives, values and future outlook. Our goal is not only to provide their customers with any inverter solution they need and to cooperate closely with Segen in all matters of after-sales needs and support, but also to carry on training and coaching their sales people and installers on our products. It is our great pleasure to partner with Segen in South Africa which has proven to be nothing less than a win-win situation, ensuring that our products will be able to reach more customers in this key region.
www.goodwe.com SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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INTERVIEW: SEGEN SOLAR
“AFSIA ARE DOING EXCELLENT WORK PROMOTING SOLAR ACROSS THE CONTINENT. THEY’VE BUILT A VERY STRONG NETWORK ACROSS AFRICA, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BRING A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE TO THE INDUSTRY.”
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SegenSolar see their most valuable service as helping customers find the most relevant and efficient technology for their specific application. “We offer a wide range of products which are well-researched and good quality, to meet the demands from our customers,” says Mr. Radley. “We state our product and procurement aims, and we ask our suppliers to review their existing product range and to introduce new products to our existing portfolio. We only work with reputable suppliers with a proven track record.” SUSTAINABLE PARTNERSHIPS In 2020, SegenSolar became an early member of the newly-founded African Solar Industry Association (AFSIA). AFSIA advocates for the widespread adoption of solar power across the continent through education, events, and initiatives. “We started the partnership earlier this year, and we already have quite a close-knit community,” says Mr. Radley. “AFSIA are doing excellent work promoting solar across the continent. They’ve built a very strong network across Africa, and they continue to bring a wealth of knowledge to the industry. We believe it will be a very good relationship for both of us.” Since the COVID-19 pandemic brought large swathes of the world to a standstill, SegenSolar has hosted a series of free webinars for installer customers, offering online training on the Segen Portal and SegenSolar’s range of solar equipment, teaching customers how to install the products correctly. Customers are encouraged to ask questions, preparing them to set up SegenSolar’s systems properly and in such a way to maximize efficiency and energy output. Together, AFSIA and SegenSolar intend to expand these training opportunities, and to offer certification to installers. “We are looking to bring more solar to this country,” says Mr. Radley. “At the moment, the industry is fast-growing and is alive with potential. We are expanding our existing product range and we are adding new suppliers to our portfolios. Our existing suppliers are bringing out new products, and we are bringing those to our customers. There are continuously new launches and new releases, which we’re very excited about. We already have a strong presence across Southern Africa, and we are looking at ways to expand our footprint even more. We’re working on several new initiatives at the moment, and we’re hopeful they will bring us benefits into the future.” c SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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245 Masjien St, Strydompark, Randburg, 2194, South Africa +27 11 085 2600 info@segensolar.co.za segensolar.co.za
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