From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report.

Sashnee Moodley:
Technical solutions provider BMG, which is part of Invicta Holdings, has officially launched its BMG World site, in Johannesburg last month. Mia Breytenbach tells us more.

Mia Breytenbach:
The company marked the official opening of the upgraded BMG World distribution and engineering facility by hosting a two-day event with site tours, product exhibits and working demonstrations.

The investment to upgrade the Droste Park facilities into a leading-edge distribution centre is to centralise functional and support operations onto one site.

BMG MD Gavin Pelser explained that through this rationalisation initiative, BMG strives to achieve cost optimisation and to enhance customer service capability.

Pelser and Invicta Holdings nonexecutive director David Samuels opened the facility in September.

While Pelser underscored the vision for the facility, he highlighted that the upgraded BMG facility is the culmination of a consolidation and supply chain re-engineering strategy that began nearly ten years ago.

BMG MD Gavin Pelser:

“We invested more than R400-million onto the site, in the last four years, this has been used mainly in our distribution centre, where we have put in automatic warehousing, warehouse management systems, as well as the JDA system for stock analysing.”

“We have over 300 000 line items that we pick out of our warehouse everyday they range from an O ring seal that weighs 2 g to a gearbox that can weigh up to 50 t, we also ensure that we get 120 containers a month, 40ft containers where we can unpack these and move them into our warehouse. We move every day around 50 t to 60 t of product to the corners of South Africa, including Africa, we are now in 9 countries in Africa”.

“We have moved from being a supplier of products to solutions where we have incorporated our gearbox manufacturing facility as well as our fluid tech, hydraulics and pneumatics facilities as well into this facility, so hence BMG World that offers you every single component you need. We like to call it the one basket where you can come get everything that is industrial for your needs…”

Mia Breytenbach:
The facilities also include an advanced manufacturing centre and general engineering workshop, specialist assembly and repair workshops for drives, conveyors, hydraulics and pneumatics, as well as electric motors, electronics, gaskets, lubrication systems and filtration systems.

This enables BMG to continue to provide high levels of operating efficiencies and service delivery.

The company has also invested in the latest materials handling equipment. This includes high bay reach trucks to optimise volumetric efficiency. Special machinery at the new facility includes eight dock levellers that will handle the containers

Key specialist machinery at BMG World includes a 200 kW regenerative load test rig. The rig uses technology to transmit and apply loads of up to 30 000 Nm, with the lowest energy consumption.

As training and skills development is key to BMG, the company has also upgraded the facility to host the BMG Academy of Excellence’s practical and theoretical training.

The academy applies Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority accreditation for skills development and training.

BMG MD Gavin Pelser:
Our training is one of our most important facets in this business, we have an academy of training where we train not only our own staff, but customers as well.

Mia Breytenbach:
In celebrating the BMG World Site, Pelser emphasised the site as special, or one of a kind. With partners and suppliers that commented on the world-class elements of the facility, Pelser believes this shows South African capability and potential.

BMG Gavin Pelser: We are definitely on par, so South Africa as a country has the technology to develop beyond the rest of the world…”

Mia Breytenbach:
BMG customers now have greater accessibility to BMG’s products, through more than 148 BMG branches and a wide distribution network in South Africa and in Swaziland, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania,

However, BMG has further expansions in the pipeline. Pelser explained that BMG aims to have more than 30% of its R4-billion turnover coming from business in Africa.

The company will also pursue a wider footprint on the continent.

BMG Gavin Pelser:

We are opening up in Ghana in November we are going East West and Central Africa this is our growth strategy.

Sashnee Moodley:

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy.