As South Africa looks to revitalise its manufacturing sector in the ongoing quest to create decent jobs, it could take more than a few salutary lessons from home-grown market leader Andrew Mentis (Pty) Ltd, trading as Mentis Sales.
 

As South Africa looks to revitalise its manufacturing sector in the ongoing quest to create decent jobs, it could take more than a few salutary lessons from home-grown market leader Andrew Mentis (Pty) Ltd, trading as Mentis Sales.

Now the leading supplier of steel grating on the African continent, Andrew Mentis was started modestly as a precision engineering works in 1950 by the man after whom the company was named. With its founder’s ingenuity and tireless pursuit of quality, the business grew even beyond the country’s borders, and now has a significant footprint in Australia and New Zealand.

“Our recipe for success today continues to build on the philosophy of our founder, which includes specialised engineering expertise, innovation, high-quality products and constant investment in the latest technologies,” says Lance Quinlan, national technical sales consultant at Andrew Mentis.

The company’s unique Rectagrid grating, which it began manufacturing in 1967, remains the leading grating in South Africa, despite other manufacturers now replicating the design. As early as the 1970s, the company invested R1 million in specialised Austrian-built equipment to achieve the quality it sought – giving the business the world’s most modern fusion-welding equipment for grating.

“Now more than ever, South African manufacturers need to compete on the global stage, so we need entrepreneurs to follow in the footsteps of our founder Andrew Mentis, who can harness the combined power of skills and technology,” says Quinlan. “This needs to be a national focus in the country’s efforts to keep local manufacturing vibrant and create jobs in which people can grow their skill-levels.”

At its 55,000 m2 premises Elandsfontein, Johannesburg, the company walks this talk – employing over 300 people at the most modern grating manufacturing facilities in the southern hemisphere. Beyond its steel and fibreglass floor grating, it makes a wide range of expanded metal building products and meshes. This includes Interlink tubular, solid and angle iron hand-railing; Die-Line Safety walkways; Mentrail and EasyRail Highway Guardrail systems; Steel Floor tiles; and Hexmesh.

“By pioneering our own grating and expanded metal products, we have developed a substantial database of intellectual property and applications experience,” he says. “This ensures that the value we create is embedded in the South African economy, so we are self-reliant in terms of design.”