Sparks Electrical News July 2020

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

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PERSONALITY OF THE MONTH – LOUIS PELSER Simplicity is the true art of genius

ways, and allowed us to be involved in a number of successful projects.

is the way we have built this business. Stick to what you know best, but never stop thinking creatively.

Sparks: Have you won any awards? LP: No, not any industry awards. Only a few ‘Man of the Match awards’ for the 3 rd rugby team in school! Sparks: Who has been your inspiration or have you had a mentor who has influenced your career? LP: Mark Wynn, MD of Copper Tubing Africa, saw potential in me and al- lowed me to free my mind in the sales environment. He also taught me how to stay calm under pressure and how to address any difficult situation with an open mind. Sparks: What, to your mind, is one of the biggest challenges facing the industry at this time? LP: Being a local manufacturer, it is definitely the high cost of electricity and labour which makes it a challenge to be competitive. Sparks: What do you enjoy most about your job? LP: I truly enjoy thinking out of the box and being able to see new products materialise in the factory, and then eventually being sold in the market. Also being able to establish new footprints for SW Products, in the form of continuously reaching out into different regional areas and sectors. Sparks: How do you motivate your staff? LP: I maintain a close, open relationship with staff to be able to motivate them on a personal level. Making all staff feel part of the team is crucial to keeping them motivated and committed. Sparks: If you could ‘do it all again’, would you change anything? If so, what would that be? LP: No, I would not change a thing. Currently it is almost like a fresh start for SW Products with new ventures and projects. With our teamwork, we are excited about new horizons. Sparks: Would you advise a person leaving school to enter the electrical industry? And why? LP: Yes, definitely. The electrical industry continuously offers exciting new developments and is certainly not going to phase away soon. In fact, it is only developing and growing year on year. Sparks: What is your advice to electrical contractors and electrical engineers? LP: Stick with high quality products that offer local support. As you know, when it comes to electricity, you cannot afford any ‘short’ cuts. offices, supermarkets, retail, warehousing and street lighting. To ensure the industry is sustainable, it is important to attract youth into lighting. Younger people are prepared to take risks and to embrace new technologies at a rapid pace. Having a balance of youth and experience within the industry and in manufacturing companies is crucial to ensure long-term success. The young are the innovators as they bring new technologies to the fore and force the older among us to question the status quo. The unfortunate history of the South African lighting industry – which has seen multiple factory closures over the past two decades – is that many companies were not prepared to attract young employees or to invest in new technologies and, without these important enablers, it was a recipe for disaster. Around 70 to 80% of traditional lighting manufacturers have had to curtail operations, and this has impacted the quality of the products that are being supplied in certain environments. Investing in local lighting manufacture, developing skills and providing quality solutions for our unique conditions could help to reverse this trend. Enquiries: www.regentlight.co.za Sparks: What is your favourite quote? LP: ‘Simplicity is the true art of genius.’ Keeping things simple, but creative,

Sparks: Name three things on your ‘bucket list’. LP: Business wise, I would like to double SWProducts in a year’s time, along with achieving a stable and strong local manufacturing environment. On a personal note, I would like to travel South Africa on my motorcycle.

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 615 7193

Louis Pelser, Sales Manager of SW Products. S ales Manager of SW Products, Louis Pelser, attributes his success to out-of-the-box thinking. With a philosophy of keeping things simple whilst still encouraging creativity, his goal is to double the size of the company within a year. Sparks: Where were you educated? LP: I grew up in Potchefstroom and went to Hoër Volkskool. I studied at the Vaal University of Technology satellite campus in Klerksdorp. Sparks: How long have you been involved in the electrical industry? LP: I have been involved on the manufacturing side for 20 years. I have worked at Copper Tubing Africa (our sister company) and SW Products for 15 years now. Sparks: When and where did you start your career? LP: I started as an architectural draftsman in Potchefstroom. Afterwards I went into mechanical designing at Denel, also in Potchefstroom; this was due to my passion for drafting and designing. From there I started at Copper Tubing Africa/SW Products and moved into sales, with a very strong technical background. Sparks: What are the greatest changes you have seen over the years? LP: The greatest changes must be the automation of manufacturing processes, which have allowed companies to be more consistent and competitive. Sparks: What major projects have you worked on and what is your great- est accomplishment? LP: I do not want to single out projects, but after moving into my sales position, I manged to combine sales with my mechanical and technical background for amazing new products and ventures for SW Products. My out-of-the-box thinking managed to get the factory out of their traditional Long-term serviceability and the technical back-up Long-term serviceability and technical back-up are crucial to many lu- minaire suppliers in the country. What I mean by serviceable is that if there is an issue in many years’ time, the service technician can easily re- place a damaged component. Obviously, this is a positive for the circular economy as fixtures are not discarded. This is a major problem with many fully imported fixtures as they cannot be serviced and must be replaced when problems arise. With long-term serviceability and technical back-up it is also possible to integrate additional technology into a luminaire if the environment changes, from a standard on/ off luminaire it is possible to integrate dimming or daylight harvesting where the luminaire will automatically adjust the light levels to a prescribed lighting level that will accommodate natural light and reduce energy. Being solutions-driven is something all lighting manufacturers should strive to be; you need to differentiate yourself from the standard wholesaler or importer who can only offer a limited package. However, as I have said many times, lighting is also becoming much more applications-driven and different approaches are required here. Applications are typically education, industrial, auditoriums, commercial

WHY LOCAL LIGHTING MANUFACTURING IS CRITICAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

JULY 2020