The fact that Andrew Mentis Pty is family-owned and, until quite recently, family-run is both its biggest strength and its biggest weakness, says deputy chairperson Clive Worthington. A few years ago, it would have been inconceivable for the company to have appointed a non-family member as MD. This has all changed with the appointment of Ted Jarvis to the position.

Jarvis is now set to diminish the weakness as perceived by Worthington, by bringing in non-family outside expertise to a company which turns over R100-million a year.

It is part of Andrew Mentis Pty’s folklore, lovingly mentioned, that Mary Mentis, founder Andrew Mentis’s wife, worked the lathes in the early factory. This tradition of family involvement has continued. All the members of the family are now or have been involved. Worthington, himself, is married to Mentis’s daughter Helen. Second-generation Clive and Roy Mentis play instrumental roles in the company, while even a third generation of Mentis members can be found on the factory floor and in the offices. Third son, Brian, manages the family farm in Hoedspruit in Mpumalanga.

Each Mentis child now has a 25% share of the company. It is these, the people, with their collective expertise, that Worthington sees as a great asset.

However, the family context is also Andrew Mentis Pty’s greatest weakness, he says. The company realised that it was rendering itself vulnerable by not bringing in outside expertise. Jarvis’s biggest contribution to Andrew Mentis Pty is his expertise in expanded metal and roofing gained from his long spell with Valmetex, which is in the process of being relocated from Boksburg to Elandsfontein. Jarvis is thus challenging the company to accept a more prominent role for his first love, expanded metal. Though the company’s flagship product is Rectagrid, followed by road barricading and handrailing and stanchions, deputy MD and director of engineering Roy Mentis jokes that Jarvis would probably stress the role of expanded metal.

Jarvis is particularly interested in new security applications for expanded metal, where he notes there are big and growing markets. He says that, because expanded metal is made from a single integrated piece of steel, it is stronger, noting that would-be thieves, trying to cut holes in a product made from expanded metal, would meet their match.

“Just when you think you’re through, you find another five strands,” he says.

The family nature of the business intrigues Jarvis. He likes the fact that decisions are made in South Africa and not in a boardroom abroad. He also appreciates that there are none of the technological agreements and constraints generally found in a typical South African corporate environment.

Against this uncluttered background he is free to lead Andrew Mentis Pty on a new growth path which could well include an additional manufacturing plant outside of South Africa.

Company: Andrew Mentis Pty Activity: Manufacturing and engineering Shareholding: The shares are divided equally between the four Mentis children, Helen Worthington, Roy Mentis, Clive Mentis and Brian Mentis each owning 25% of Andrew Mentis Pty Turnover: More than R80-million/year Projected turnover: Not disclosed Divisions: Head office – Elandsfontein; branches with service workshops and distribution facilities – Durban, Cape Town and Welkom; branches which only distribute – Pretoria and Carletonville Subsidiary companies: None Age: 50 years Location: North Reef Road, Elandsfontein, Gauteng Site ownership: Owned by Andrew Mentis Properties Pty Site area: 73 000 m2 Area under cover: 38 000 m2 Directors: A Mentis; C Worthington; EJS Jarvis; R Mentis; C Mentis; CJ Green; H Worthington Management: Andrew Mentis (chairperson); Clive Worthington (deputy chairperson); Ted Jarvis (managing director); Roy Mentis (engineering director); Clive Mentis (research and development director); Chris Green (sales and marketing director) Labour structure: 348 staff members of which 238 are production staff, 30 are engineering and maintenance staff, and 80 are administration, managerial and sales staff Affirmative action: Equal opportunity, committed to employment equity Products/services: More than 70 000 t produced in 50 years. Rectagrid and Gripweld grating; Valmetex, Mentex and Flatex expanded metals; Interlink handrailing systems; Mentrail highway guardrail Research and development expenditure: R3-million/year Main equipment: Rolling mills and fusion press welders for grating; expanded-metal presses and flattening rolling mills; robot and other welding equipment for handrailing and grating fabrication; machine shop and toolroom for maintenance and machine manufacture Value of fixed assets: More than R20-million Main contracts: Mining houses, Telkom and provincial Order book: R8-million-worth of annual supply contracts; R3-million other on hand; many short-term contracts of relatively low value Main suppliers: Steel (ex Iscor, Highveld, MacSteel and others); Steel tubing (ex RIH and Trident Sterling); Galvanising (ex Monoweld, Alpha, Supergalv) Quality assurance: ISO 9001-1991 Safety: No NOSA star rating