Sparks Electrical News October 2017

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

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MAJOR TECH LAUNCHES VETi 2 RANGE

T wo years of development and testing have brought about the launch of Major Tech’s VETi 2 range of switches and sockets. In response to industry and market demand, the VETi 2 range was designed to provide an upmarket design, with superior quality, at an affordable price. “We launched the VETi range a couple of years ago. It is a modu- lar system, middle-of-the-range product that has done exception- ally well. VETi 2 looks different, it works differently and one of the many things we like about this product is that it is very modern. We always aim to develop the best product that customers want and that meets South African regulations,” says Major Tech CEO, Pat Shaw. VETi 2 is not your average switch and socket range but rather offers a completely new monoblock design and concept that is IEC

Enquiries: +27 (0)11 879 2000

and SANS compliant. VETi 2 is the first socket in South Africa to accommodate a switched socket with 1 standard RSA socket, 2 V- slim sockets and 2 USB ports (2.1 amp cumulative). Having partnered with Major Tech in the launch of VETi 2, the Voltex Group is the first distributor of electrical products to carry the complete VETi 2 range. Stanley Green, CEO of Voltex (Pty) Ltd, says: “We believe in building solid foundations and relationships with our suppliers. For us, that is key to growing our business – we have loyal suppliers we are able to rely on and, in turn, they are able to rely on us”. Available in white and charcoal, the ultra slim and flat design keeps the VETi 2 product flush to the wall surface. The stylish switches, manufactured from a polycarbonate and ABS blend, boast a perfectly flat switch whether in an ON or OFF position.

DHL EXPRESS UNVEILS ITS FIRST GREEN FACILITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA DHL EXPRESS , the world’s leading international express services provider, has unveiled its first green facility in Sub-Saharan Africa. The facility, located in Bryanston, Johannesburg, has a state-of-the-art 10 000-litre rainwater har- vesting system and rooftop solar energy genera- tion plant, which significantly lowers the building’s carbon footprint and reduces energy consumption by 55%. The decreased energy consumption is partly due to a 34 kW solar photovoltaic system that re- duces the demand for grid power by at least 25%. The facility also uses highly efficient LEDs, cou- pled with sensors designed to turn off lights in unoccupied offices automatically. This contributes energy savings of up to 35%. Most of the lighting used in the warehouse is switched off by a timer at dusk. The facility’s energy consumption and solar energy production are monitored and reported in real time. Anthony Beckley, vice president, Operations, DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, says, “The ‘greening’ of the building is in line with Deutsche Post DHL Group’s (DPDHL) goal to reduce all lo- gistics-related emissions to net zero by the year 2050. The measures we put in place have reduced the building’s overall energy consumption by 55%. “Even though the Bryanston project is still in its infancy, early results based on performance indi- cate that despite the cost of electricity and water increasing, the estimated payback period for the building’s upgrades is currently around three years, down from an initial estimate of 4.5 years,” Beck- ley adds. The energy savings of the facility will be tracked for the next three months, after which DHL Express will begin the roll-out of green upgrades to additional sites across Sub-Saharan Africa, includ- ing the rest of South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique. “The last and critical outcome we hope to achieve out of this ‘greening’ of facilities is to edu- cate our employees on the importance of work- ing together to attain our collective zero emissions goal. We are in the process of implementing green policies, geared at saving resources and reducing carbon emissions, which will help shape a compa- ny culture. This is the first step in creating greener, more efficient supply chains throughout our Afri- can operations,” Beckley concludes.

Enquiries: www.dhl.co.za

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

OCTOBER 2017