Sparks Electrical News September 2020

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

16

ACDC Express

Ethos Engineering

LED Light Consult SA

Schneider Electric

Antley Group

Thomas Hall Branch Manager, Paarden Eiland

Nico Brits Senior Project Engineer

Paul Nel Partner

Ramon Meiring Sales Representative, Western Cape

Siphumelele Nhlapo Human Resources Director

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BRIGHT SPARK TAKE A GUESS How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?

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AUGUST SOLUTION Mt. Everest. It just wasn’t discovered yet.

OCTOBER FEATURES • MCCs and motor protection • Energy measurement and supply • Lighting

Buyers’ guide • Motor control centres and motor 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.

NOVEMBER FEATURES

• Cables and cable accessories • Standby and emergency power • Lighting

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Buyers’ guide • Standby and emergency power

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Turn topage7 towinR5000 worthofHellermannTyton Toolsand Instruments

Stats for May 2020

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Editor: Gregg Cocking Advertising: Carin Hannay Design: Anoonashe Shumba Publisher: Karen Grant Deputy publisher:

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LIGHTING

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

ByTheoMashego,ChiefExecutiveatMbali International

post reach

6 599 eNewsletter subscribers

654 Facebook post reach

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

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

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

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

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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 6 242 per month.

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

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2020