South Africa: Eyeing Australia for Greater Growth
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
8 September 2008
Posted to the web 8 September 2008
Johannesburg
RECOIL has been operating for the past 25 years, and from modest beginnings the company has grown to become one of the biggest and most versatile manufacturers of refrigeration products in SA.
Recoil supplies directly to the South African market, third-party exports and direct exports to Europe, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.
The company's product range includes evaporators, condensers, chilled water coils, liquid receivers, vertical and horizontal condensing units, blast freezer coils and static fin coils.
Earlier this year the company added packaged condensing units to its product range. These compact units can be mounted on walls or floors and are available in capacities from 4,7Kw to 25Kw.
The company introduced several new products last year. These included the launch of the company's dual discharge blower range, which has adjustable louvres and an internal air guide designed to increase air throw by as much as 40%. A complete overhaul of the ageing small evaporator range was also introduced. This included the fitment of the brand new 300mm diameter external rotor/motor from German supplier ebmpapst.
Recoil is privately owned and employs 240 people at its factory in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni.
MD Theo von Bardeleben says the company is ideally situated to supply the South African market and has excellent road and rail links to the major ports for exports.
He says Recoil has been active in the export market for the past 10 years and is placing emphasis on expanding this market. It has a supply agreement with Australian-based Refrigeration Equipment Sales, a wholesaler of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, components and accessories. This company is a subsidiary of the New Zealand based Realcold Group.
"Their GM, Robbie Hunt, has been instrumental in working with us to grow the product range and sales volumes into this region. Our commercial director, Neil Harty, who will be responsible for the Australian operation, will ensure we are competitive and that the strategic direction of the company is aligned with the growth targets."
Recoil also sells its products to original equipment manufacturers for beverage coolers, supermarket display cabinets and air-conditioners.
Evaporators, condensers, condensing units and liquid receivers are primarily for sale to the refrigeration wholesalers. The farming and fishing industries are also important markets for the group, says Von Bardeleben.
Recoil is fortunate in that it does not have to compete with cheap imports into the domestic market.
"We do not have that kind of competition. We sell engineered products manufactured to order."
However, in the export market, Recoil faces considerable competition from other markets. For this reason it does not compete in the lower end of the market, preferring to be placed as a quality manufacturer using premium materials and components, which allows it to be benchmarked against the best-in-class globally.
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Exporters generally make their losses and gains depending on currency fluctuations, but Von Bardeleben says for Recoil a weaker rand does not automatically translate into a windfall. "We have a number of components that we import in US dollars. So we do not really get the net benefit of a weakening currency," he says.
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