Sparks Electrical News January 2021

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

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SUBMIT your photos of new appointments and promotions to People on the Move at sparks@crown. co.za. All photos must be in jpeg format and high resolution (at least 1 MB when attached).

Glencore Copper

ACTOM Electrical Products

ABB

Endress+Hauser

Storm Solar Solutions

Turck Banner

SCANTHISQRCODETOREADTHELATEST ISSUEOFSPARKSELECTRICAL NEWSONYOURMOBILEDEVICE.

Tariq Bakeer Regional Managing Director Middle East

Andreas Bahne Winder Engineer

Keegan Munian Project Engineer

Adrien Fariala Electrical Technical Services Superintendent

Theo Storm CEO

Kenneth McPherson Sales Director

SPARKS_CROWN AD 2020.pdf 1 2020/11/04 06:31:58 PM

BRIGHT SPARK TAKE A GUESS What is black when you get it, red when you use it, and white when you are all through with it?

SCAN TO WATCH THE VIDEO 58 000

DECEMBER SOLUTION You cannot take a picture with a wooden leg; you need a camera.

FEBRUARY FEATURES • DBs, switches, sockets and protection • Energy efficiency • Lighting

Buyers’ guide • Distribution boards, switches, sockets and protection

• A replica of the print version is published on the Sparks Electrical News website, giving advertisers exposure in print as well as online • Adverts are hyperlinked to the advertisers’ website in the digital issues • 6 599 subscribers ensure exposure is generated in our fortnightly eNewsletters • Over 4 000 PDF replicas of the magazine are emailed every month, more than 1 000 into Africa and 3115 to local recipients within South Africa.

MARCH FEATURES

• Energy measurement and supply • Tools of the trade • Lighting

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Buyers’ guide • Tools and instruments

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MY

Turn topage7 towinR5000 worthofHellermannTyton Toolsand Instruments

Stats for October 2020

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Editor: Gregg Cocking Advertising: Carin Hannay Design: Anoonashe Shumba Consultant: Ian Jandrell PrEng, BSc(Eng), GDE, PhD, FSAIEE, MIEEE Publisher: Karen Grant Deputy publisher:

www.sparkselectricalnewsmagazine.co.za

CMY

JUNE 2020

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882 Twitter

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REGULARS: CONTRACTORS’CORNER

BUYERS'GUIDE : ENERGYMEASUREMENTANDSUPPLY

FEATURES : TOOLSOFTHETRADE

ENERGYMEASUREMENTANDSUPPLY

LIGHTING

A WICKED PROBLEM  THE COVID19 IMPACT ON SOUTH AFRICAN SMMES

ByTheoMashego,ChiefExecutiveatMbali International

post reach

6 591 eNewsletter subscribers

717 Facebook

post reach

S ixyearsa o,afterei htyears incorporate, I left to tryandbuildabusi- ness in the en ineerin space.After two years of tradin ,with close toR1M spent,my partner and I had only two orders to show for the hard work we put in. Funded byMaurice Radebe (Chairman of SasolOil) and JonathanNarayadoo (retiredCOOofAfrox),havin sold thepipedream about buildin a con lomerate thatwould alsomeet their needs to ive backandcreateemployment,wewerehitby the realitiesofSouthAfrica’s small business environment and the diŒculties of new entrants, espe- cially in sectorsat thecoreof theeconomy. As Iwas updatin myCV and polishin my formal shoes,an op- portunity to acquire a financially stru lin family-owned business was brou ht to our attention.The businesswas in linewithwhatwe weredoin . Ithad rou hly 12-14 employeesand therewasa levelof risk to their job security.Havin studied business,andwith the sup- portofMrRadebeandMrNarayadoo,wehad thebusinessacumen; they had the brand,experience andmarket. Seein the potential ali nment andwantin tomake a di—erence, includin with the is- sues of unemployment, I raisedmoney throu h family and friends who, fora small stake inmyvison,werewillin to fund thebusiness. Needless to say, the past six years have been the tou hest ofmy life.Notonlyhave Ibeenfi htin afi ht that I feel Iam losin ,Ihave not returned anythin to those partnerswho bou ht intomy dream and vision.To their credit,they continue to supportme todate.How- ever,asmost reach retirementa e,anotheralready in retirementand with the recent impact of COVID-19 on their personal livelihoods, the reality of limited resources is re-emphasised.And likemany,we findourselveswithemployees thathavea lifelineofmonthsatmost. Five years into my journey, I looked at what Sipho and Anna Radebehadbuilt as a familybusiness established in2006,their ac- complishmentasMbali IndustrialSolutions,and Ialso tooka lookat the businesswe had acquired in2014,Unidrive ElectricMotors.Re- alisin the syner ieswe had in the businesses andwantin to row thebusinesses intoa roupofcompanies thatcould levera eshared resources,optimisation and supply chain eŒciencies,we decided to start a journey to house the companies underMbali International. With a view to havin a roup of companies that compete inter- nationally,and not just locally,when the opportunity to buy another previously advanta ed family-owned business presented itself,we jumpedat theopportunityandclosed thedeal.

Aswith variousacquisitions, inte rationbecameaproblemandwe found ourselves in a situationwhereoneofour employees joinedoneof thebusi- ness’s customers and set up the same shop as us.Understandin our abili- ties and that competition is par for the course,we did notmind the new entrant.However,ournewcounterpartsusedourethnicity tochallen eus in

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2 560 Unique website visitors

Wilhelm du Plessis Published monthly by: Crown Publications (Pty) Ltd P O Box 140

Bedfordview, 2008 Tel: (011) 622-4770 Fax: (011) 615-6108

4 134 Sent PDF replicas of the magazine

e-mail: sparks@crown.co.za Website: www.crown.co.za Printed by: Tandym Print

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.

SPARKS JUNE 2020.indd 1

2020/05/20 05:58:50PM

This publication is distributed to electrical contractors, wholesalers, distributors, OEMs, panel builders, Eskom, mining electricians and consulting engineers (electrical) as well as libraries, members of IESSA and public utilities.

For advertising call Carin Hannay on +27 (0)11 622 4770 or email carinh@crown.co.za

Total 7 200 per month.

For editorial call Gregg Cocking on +27 (0)11 622 4770 or email sparks@crown.co.za

Publisher of the Year 2018 (Trade Publications)

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

JANUARY 2021