united we grow

MAGAZINE FOR THE EMPLOYEES OF THE ALTRON GROUP
ISSUE 4/2013
UNITED WE GROW
BU S I NE S S PR O F I L E
1
FROM OUR EDITORS
Time to rest and reflect
Regulars
Editorial1
News in brief
2
On a High Note
5
CSI Profile
30
Ally’s Tech Corner
32
10
Danie du Toit, MD of Altech Multimedia, and Rodger Warren,
MD of Altech UEC - driving Altech’s Mount Edgecombe
operation to new heights.
Features
Business
Projects
10
The Altech UEC story
4
Interim results
14
AMA amalgamates with
Discovery
16
Bytes into Africa
6
Altron re-branding
24
Project Fusion shops smarter
20
Sustainability success
8
Project Titan progress
26
Shared services in Powertech
18
Powertech’s order book
28
An academy for all
Unbelievable as it may seem,
the year-end is upon us and
we are all looking forward to a
well-deserved break after what
has been another exciting, but
challenging, 12 months
at Altron.
We welcome the launch
of our new corporate
identity programme as well
as the imminent festive
season. The latter provides
an opportunity to reflect on
the objectives and ideals
we have set ourselves,
both personally and
professionally, during 2013.
It has certainly been a
most eventful year for our
group. The high point was
undoubtedly the significant
re-organisation of Altron’s
assets held under Altech,
Bytes and Powertech and its
buy out of the Altech shares
it did not already own. As
a result, a whole new era is
descending upon our group,
both locally and abroad.
Altron has been refined
to present a singular access
point to shareholders, while a
more centralised and efficient
operating model has been
established. Briefly, this
means that all duplicating
services will be cut to the
bone to realise economies of
scale and competitiveness
between the group’s various
units will be minimalised.
As a result, we will be able
to approach our customers
with a broad, integrated
technology offering. In his
column on page 5, our CE,
Robbie Venter, expounds on
this, as well as our much
improved financial results for
the half year.
Elsewhere, we are proud to
pay tribute to the management
and employees of Altech UEC
in our cover story for this
issue. Mount Edgecombebased UEC has enjoyed a
remarkable year, earning them
the Best Company in Altron
award for 2013.
As editors of Profile,
we are honoured and
privileged to be part of
the Altron family and thank
our founder and chairman for
his festive message on page 5.
May you all enjoy a blessed
holiday season with family
and friends and let us enter
2014 with vigour, enthusiasm
and determination to make
our group, as well as the
world around us, an even
better one.
Happy holidays!
Grant and Liezl
Editorial information
Profile is co-edited by Grant Rogerson and
Liezl Kruger of the Altron Group Corporate
Communications Department.
The Profile editorial committee members are:
Michelle Doyle – Altron
Ipelegeng Thibedi – Altron
Regula Niehus – Powertech
Marius Venter – Bytes
Chris Van Zyl – Altech
Profile is also available on the Altron internal
website (Alix) or on www.altronprofile.com
PROFILE is printed on TOP ART paper, supplied and partly sponsored by NOR Paper, a Bytes Document Solutions
subsidiary. TOP ART is a triple-coated, environmentally friendly art paper. It is also wood-free, made with cellulose
pulp that is chemically treated to obtain a high level of whiteness. The treatment uses no chlorine gas.
Grant Rogerson and Liezl Kruger
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter:
http: //www.facebook.com/AltronGroup
@Altrongroup
Direct all queries to:
Tel: 011 645-3600
Email: grogerson@altron.com/lkruger@altron.com
Design and production:
Words’worth (www.words-worth.co.za)
On the cover The new Altron logo that was launched in November.
2
B U S I N ES S P R O FILE
BU S I NE S S PR O F I L E
3
NEWS IN BRIEF
Kudos for Bytes People Solutions
High-profile visit to Altech UEC
The guests
have spoken
Following the Altron strategic
session that was held at Zimbali on
the KwaZulu-Natal north coast in
August, the Altron executive team
visited the newly upgraded Altech
UEC factory at Mount Edgecombe
near Durban. Photographed at the
factory are (from left) Neil Kayton,
Laurence Savage, Danie du Toit,
Alan Sullivan, Rajesh Ramkawal,
Rodger Warren, Willie Oosthuysen,
Robbie Venter, Michelle Doyle,
Andrew Johnston, Seara MacheliMkhabela, Sean Hemphill, Peter
Riskowitz, Andrew Holden, Mike
Lynch, Rob Abraham, Craig Venter
and Grant Rogerson.
BDS impresses at Africa Print
Bytes Document Solutions (BDS)
won the Best Stand award at
the Africa Print Roadshow in
Johannesburg. BDS introduced
Graduate from afar
the local market to the Xerox
Wide Format IJP 2000 printer at
the show and made its first two
sales to the African market.
The BDS sales team, with the Xerox Wide Format IJP 2000 printer, at
their award-winning stand at the Africa Print Roadshow.
Shyamsundar Jhade (centre) travelled all the way from India to
present at the 2013 Altech Academy student presentations event
on 7 November. Shyamsundar is from the India Design Centre in
Bangalore, which is part of Altech Multimedia. He attended the
Systems Engineering Programme in Stellenbosch. Photographed with
him are Craig Venter, group executive: Altron TMT/CEO:Altech, and
Dr Willie Oosthuysen, Altron group executive: technology and strategy.
Celebrating the BPS achievement are (back row from left) Zane Haasbroek; Theo Bohnen; Albert Viljoen;
Alwyn van der Linde; (front row from left) Portia Rabonda; Madelise Grobler, MD of Bytes People
Solutions; Mteto Nyati, MD of Microsoft; Pieter Nel, business unit executive, ICT Academy at Bytes People
Solutions; and Sharon Oosterberg, partner business development manager, Microsoft Learning Experiences.
Bytes People Solutions (BPS)
recently won two awards that
attest to its excellence as a
training provider. The company
was named Best Training
Provider at the Achiever Awards,
as well as Microsoft Learning
Partner of the Year for 2013.
The Achiever Awards,
which is hosted by Achiever
magazine and sponsored by BHP
Billiton, attracted more than
350 industry players. Entrants
were evaluated in terms of
industry relevance, innovation,
sustainability, exceptional
creativity and socioeconomic
impact. "We are delighted
to have won this important
award,” says Dr Madelise
Grobler, MD of BPS. “Bytes
People Solutions' evolving
business model - from training
provider to business process
outsourcing specialist - is what
gives us an edge in the market.”
The Microsoft award
recognises Microsoft partners
that have developed and
delivered exceptional
Microsoft-based solutions
during the past year. Two
programmes contributed to
BPS winning the award. The
first is a series of boot camps
for T-Systems, a Microsoft
partner, to help staff meet the
requirements to become MCSAs
(Microsoft Certified Systems
Administrators) for Windows 7.
The second initiative is a
Microsoft .NET development
programme that was presented
using BPS’ real-time training
facility. It was part of Microsoft’s
Student to Business programmes
that provide university graduates
with Microsoft skills and
certification.
BPS has been a Microsoft
partner for more than 15 years,
a relationship that has helped
the company to grow its revenue
significantly through the rollout
of new technologies. “In
partnership with Microsoft, we
are developing much-needed ICT
skills by implementing training
programmes that are innovative
and effective," says Madelise.
Following the 2013 Altron
Annual Awards, guests were
asked to give their opinions of
the event. About one-third of the
people who attended completed
the online survey and here is a
snapshot of their feedback.
The vast majority of
respondents rated the event
as either very good (48%) or
excellent (38%).
However, in their comments
several people said that they
felt the day was too long and
that not enough attention was
given to the award winners and
nominees. Most people enjoyed
the entertainment, while a few
expressed their doubts.
“We appreciate that our
guests took the time to give
us feedback,” says Grant
Rogerson, group executive:
corporate relations.
PTT gets
SANAS nod
The Powertech Transformers
Test Department has become
the first transformer high voltage
test facility in South Africa to
receive SANAS (South African
National Accreditation System)
accreditation. It means that the
department conforms to the
ISO/IEC 17025 standard and is
now authorised to use the unique
T0594 number and badge.
4
BU S I NE S S PR O F I L E
B U S I N ES S P R O FILE
5
ON A HIGH NOTE
Altron interim
results at a glance
(for the 6 months ending 31 August 2013)
Revenue
R4 134 million
Contribution to
Altron revenue
18%
31%
Star performers: Universal Systems
and UK operations.
Revenue
R4 196 million
Contribution to
Altron revenue
Revenue
R13 443 million
6%
5%
31%
Star performers: Powertech
Transformers and Powertech Batteries.
EBITDA
R871 million
5%
Normalised headline
earnings per share
91 cents
Revenue
15%
R5 140 million
Contribution to
Altron revenue
0%
38%
Star performers: Altech UEC, Altech NuPay
and Altech ISIS.
The Chairman’s message
I take this opportunity to wish each and every member of the
Altron family, as well as your loved ones, a very happy festive
season and a truly well-deserved holiday.
We have made substantial progress in overcoming a number
of hurdles this year. I do believe that, with our transformation
programme now firmly in place, all aspects of our business
operations will flourish in the New Year.
A group with such a rich and successful history as Altron
should take our current transition in its stride and then bed
it down as a well-loved public listed entity which we can
continue to be proud of in the years to come.
I thank you for your ongoing loyalty, hard work and
personal commitment. I appreciate all that you do to deliver
on our purpose in helping our stakeholders meet their own
We end this year on (if you’ll pardon the pun) a high
note. In mid-November the new Altron brand was
unveiled, the symbolic confirmation of our Project Titan
business strategy. I am inspired by the message behind the
brand – united we grow – and I hope that you like the look
of it as much as I do. With this re-branding we are making
an unequivocal statement that the new Altron is here.
Our August 2013 interim results also carried the “new
Altron” hallmark. Although only one month was accounted
for under the revised structure, all indications are that
significant progress is being made to improve the profitability
of our group. The executive team is really pleased with the
solid results achieved so soon after we embarked on Project
Titan, following the buy out of the Altech minorities.
In the months to come the streamlining and integration
of the Altech and Bytes businesses will start to take full
effect. We are already experiencing the benefits of sharing
customer relationships and our single go-to-market
strategy is enabling us to sell a combination of solutions.
Our next big project is the group-wide shared services
objectives. It is largely because
of all of you, that I have such
confidence in our future.
Enjoy spending time with your
loved ones and remember: united
we grow.
Dr Bill Venter
Founder and Chairman of the Altron Group
project. Although it will take time to
get used to the new environment, I
believe shared services will improve
efficiencies and deliver cost savings.
We have come to the end of the
year and the welcome change of
pace that the festive season brings
is around the corner. I wish you
all a peaceful and restful holiday
season and would like to take this
opportunity to thank you all for your
contribution to our group in what has been an eventful year.
Let us stay on course to build an even greater Altron in 2014.
Robert Venter
Chief Executive
Holding Co.
6
B R A N D P R O FILE
BR A ND PR O F I L E
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
7
Companies
Companies
UNITED WE
Over the next two to three years Altron will be changing from a financial
holding company to an integrated operating company. In preparation for
this evolution, Altron is changing the face it presents to the world.
UNITED WE GROW
GROW
P
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Ho
41 | InterbrandSampsonDeVilliers | Altron | August 2013
41 | InterbrandSampsonDeVilliers | Altron | August 2013
.
g co
ldin
How the rebranding supports the Altron strategy
Holding Co.
UNITED WE
GROW
ies
n
pa
m
Co
roject Titan, the buyout of the
Altech minority shares, was the
first step on Altron’s journey to
evolve from an investment holding
company to an operating company. Altron
now fully owns all of its subsidiaries,
which means that it will change the way
it funds and manages its businesses.
Up to now, Altron’s corporate brand
was known mainly by the investor
community and its shareholders.
Altron’s different group companies have
all been running largely independently
from each other through a strong
federated business model. “The model
has many advantages, one being the
accountability of managers,” says
Robbie Venter, chief executive of Altron.
“But the time has come to integrate
certain businesses, bundle products
together and leverage the scale of our
group. We are making a fundamental
shift from being a product-centric
business to a customer-centric business.
DINPro
We will no longer compete on the basis
Extra light
of individual brands (although
these
brands will continue toABC
exist) but as
Altron, one company that
abcprovides a
basket of solutions to its
customers.”
123
With this strategy in mind, the
brand strategy is to associate
the group
Light
Book
companies more closely with the
ABC
abc
123
The building blocks of the new brand
Primary placement
42 | InterbrandSampsonDeVilliers | Altron | August 2013
123
DIVISIONAL LOGO
123
Light of the new
Light
Book
The primary colours
brand:
SUB-BRANDS
STARCK BLACK
Secondary placement
ABC
abc
123
ABC
ABC
abc
abc
123
123
Book
Medium
ABC
ABC
abc
abc
123
123
Medium
Bold
ABC
ABC
abc
abc
123
123
MIDNIGHT BLUE
ELECTRIC BLUE
SKY BLUE
Pantone® 2756
Print
C 100 M 95 Y 5 K 0
Digital
R 45 G 46 B 131
#2d2e83
Pantone® 660
Print
C 80 M 40 Y 0 K 0
Digital
R 37 G 129 B 196
#2581c4
Pantone® 2915
Print
C 60 M 10 Y 0 K 0
Digital
R 99 G 185 B 233
#63b9e9
DARK GRAY
MEDIUM GRAY
LIGHT GRAY
COOL GRAY 1
Pantone® 5405
Print
C 72 M 43 Y 31 K 15
Digital
R 78 G 116 B 139
#4e748b
Pantone® 5425
Print
C 56 M 31 Y 24 K 6
Digital
R 123 G 152 B 172
#7b98ac
Pantone® 537
Print
C 31 M 17 Y 10 K 0
Digital
R 186 G 199 B 216
#bac7d8
Pantone® Cool Gray 1
Print
C 17 M 12 Y 15 K 0
Digital
R 218 G 217 B 215
#dad9d7
Pantone® Black
Print
C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 100
Digital
R0 G0 B0
#000000
VerdanaVerdana
Regular
Regular
Bold
Bold
PRIMARY
ABC
abc
123
FONT
COLOUR
Bold
ABC
abc
123
ABC
abc
123
C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 100
Digital
R0 G0 B0
#000000
ABC
abc
123
FONT
DIGITAL
Regular
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
OPQRSTUVWXYZOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmn abcdefghijklmn
STARCK BLACK
opqrstuvwxyz opqrstuvwxyz
COLOUR Pantone® Black
0123456789
0123456789
Print
ABC
abc
123
FONT
Verdana
Verdana
The font (or typeface)
DINPro DINPro
DINPro
used in the new logo
Extra light
Extra light
is called DIN Pro. For
ABC
ABC
all digital applications
abc
we use Verdana. abc
What happens next?
The new brand will be implemented
in phases. Phase 1 will focus on
stationery such as business cards,
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
email
signatures, letterheads and
OPQRSTUVWXYZ
complimentary
abcdefghijklmn slips.
opqrstuvwxyz
The
external rollout will commence
0123456789
in 2014 with the re-skinning of the
website
and the changing
of all
the
Medium
Bold
Black
external Altron marketing material.
ABC
abc
123
LOGO
CORPORATE LOGO
Altron brand, its values and its culture.
This is also the reason for our brand
proposition: United we grow.
The new Altron brand was launched
internally during November.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
OPQRSTUVWXYZ
PRIMARY
PRIMARY
abcdefghijklmn
opqrstuvwxyz
MIDNIGHT BLUE
0123456789ELECTRIC BLUE
Pantone® 2756
Print
C 100 M 95 Y 5 K 0
Digital
R 45 G 46 B 131
#2d2e83
SKY BLUE
Pantone® 660
Print
C 80 M 40 Y 0 K 0
Digital
R 37 G 129 B 196
#2581c4
Pantone® 2915
Print
C 60 M 10 Y 0 K 0
Digital
R 99 G 185 B 233
#63b9e9
MEDIUM GRAY
LIGHT GRAY
COOL GRAY 1
Pantone® 5425
Print
C 56 M 31 Y 24 K 6
Digital
R 123 G 152 B 172
#7b98ac
Pantone® 537
Print
C 31 M 17 Y 10 K 0
Digital
R 186 G 199 B 216
#bac7d8
Pantone® Cool Gray 1
Print
C 17 M 12 Y 15 K 0
Digital
R 218 G 217 B 215
#dad9d7
PRIMARY
BoldBlack
Blackof the new brand:
The secondary
colours
ABC
ABC
abc
abc
123
123
PRIMARYDARK GRAY
Pantone® 5405
Print
C 72 M 43 Y 31 K 15
Digital
R 78 G 116 B 139
#4e748b
BLACK FOIL
SECONDARY
BACKGROUND
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
ABC
abc
123
GLITZ & GLAMOU
SILVER FOIL
DIGITAL
SECONDARY
BACKGROUND
DIGITAL
8
BU S I NE S S PR O F I L E
B U S I N ES S P R O FILE
Project Titan
surfs the second wave
As Project Titan moves into the second phase of implementation,
Altron TMT is settling into its new structure and the business of
learning new habits.
D
r Willie Oosthuysen, Altron
group executive: technology
and strategy, explains that
the Altron TMT strategy is
unfolding in three waves. Wave 1 has
already been completed. Wave 2 will
take another 18-24 months or so to
implement fully. “In parallel, we will
start executing on accelerating the
profitable and sustainable growth of the
joint company,” says Willie.
Wave 1 – Define and set
up the new business structure
The first wave dealt with the
practicalities of setting up Altron TMT. It
started with the buy out of the minority
shareholders and the delisting of Altech.
The next step was to design the Altron
TMT business structure by mapping
the Bytes and Altech businesses onto
the TMT value chain to see where they
all fit. “We identified the overlaps and
synergistic areas and clustered them
together,” says Willie. Once the relevant
MDs had verified the new structures
it was announced and the MDs were
tasked with the implementation. The
new structure, which consolidates
Altron TMT into four divisions, came
into effect on 1 September (see structure
on page 9).
Wave 2 – Implement shared
services and cross and upsell
The second focus area consists of
two stages:
• Implement group initiatives to
help leverage the new structure at
operating company and Altron level.
Chief among these is defining and
developing a group-wide shared
services organisation that can deliver
revenue growth and cost-cutting
opportunities in business areas such
as call centres, human resources, legal
services and IT, while maintaining
or improving service levels to the
business.
• Map Altron TMT’s customers to see
where the opportunities are and
where the customer relationships live.
Another objective of this exercise is
to help the sales people to understand
the full Altron TMT offering. Once the
sales people see the full picture, they
can identify opportunities and pass
on leads to other divisions.
Concurrently, the market has to be
educated about who and what Altron
TMT is. “To this end, we have started
the process to refresh our websites
with the involvement of the company
executives,” says Willie.
Another initiative in this phase is
the implementation of a key account
management function to focus on the IT
big spenders, where we do not have a
portion of the wallet share yet.
Underpinning and determining the
success of all these initiatives, are HR
and change management. Changing
people’s habits and behaviour is neither
quick nor easy and requires careful and
specific attention.
Wave 3 – Follow a
clearly defined growth path
Only in Wave 3 does Altron TMT move
away from operational excellence issues
and into the real growth area. “Wave 3
is the growth story, the roadmap that
aligns and focuses our resources for the
future,” says Willie.
In this phase, Altron TMT will be
operationally ready to leverage all its
resources to serve its identified growth
markets.
Wave 3 also entails building confidence
with investors that our growth is
profitable and sustainable. Investors pay
attention to the execution of the growth
path, it must be executed against the
backdrop of a streamlined organisation
that runs on scale. “This is the minimum
shareholders and investors expect,” says
Willie. “We have a fantastic opportunity
ahead of us, not only to deliver unique
products to the market, but also to create
wealth for our shareholders.”
The combination of Altech and Bytes
under a single organisation is already
bearing fruit. As much as R43 million
has been saved through the removal
of Altech’s JSE listing costs, reduced
duplication and by the two companies’
headquarters sharing the same premises.
Furthermore, the Altron TMT order book
currently stands at more than R2 billion
as a result of a number of contracts
concluded across both Altech and Bytes.
The Altron TMT structure that came into effect on 1 September.
During October, Rob Abraham (left), Craig Venter and Willie Oosthuysen visited
investors and strategic partners in the United States and Europe to spread the Altron
TMT message and to secure and enhance our international technology partnerships.
Robbie Venter, Altron CE, was part of the delegation.
9
10
C O M PA N Y P R O FILE
C O M PA NY PR O F I L E
A
ugust 2013 was a dream
month at Altech UEC’s
Mount Edgecombe factory
in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
Not only did the manufacturing team
beat their toughest production target
ever, but they did so by 34 740 units.
“Our target was 582 000 set-top boxes,”
says Rodger Warren, managing director at
Altech UEC. “On 27 August the 500 000th
box rolled off the production line and by
the end of the month, we had produced
and invoiced 616 740 boxes.” Rodger and
his team have every reason to celebrate:
their previous best month was February
2013 when 356 000 set-top boxes
were completed.
What happened in the five
months in between? A number of
changes, answers Rodger, in terms
of capacity planning, production
equipment and people dynamics.
A plan to produce
Based on customer rollout plans, it
was clear that demand would increase
between March and August. Originally,
Altech UEC had budgeted to produce
three million set-top boxes but a wave
of orders increased the plan to five
million. From March to July, Rodger
and his team worked with their
customers and prepared the factory
to meet the production demand.
The R50-million upgrade
In July 2013, Altech UEC invested
R50 million to upgrade the
Altech UEC and Altech Multimedia
In the time it takes Usain Bolt to sprint 100m, the Altech UEC factory
produces three set-top boxes. But where Usain saves his best effort for
special occasions, the Altech UEC team delivers this performance every day
of the year. Here's a closer look at the 2013 Altron Company of the Year.
Altech UEC South Africa is one of three
trading companies, and by far the
biggest, in the Altech Multimedia group.
The other two are Altech SetOne GmbH
in Germany, looking after the European
market, and Altech Mediaverge in
Australia, serving the Asian market.
Altech Multimedia was formed in
September 2011 and owns 74.9% of
Altech UEC. The other 25.1% is held by
Power Matla Electronics, the company’s
BEE partner.
Altech Multimedia provides Altech UEC
with support services such as finance, R&D
and project management. “We know what
the market and our customers want,” says
Rodger. “That market intelligence is given
to Altech Multimedia and its R&D function
develops the products we have specified.
We then manufacture and sell.”
Rodger Warren, MD of Altech UEC.
The sub-Saharan
Africa market for
set-top boxes
is estimated to
be in excess of
60 million. Altech
UEC exports
set-top boxes to
every country
in Africa.
11
12
C O M PA N Y P R O FILE
Over the past few months, Altech
UEC has won the best company
awards for both Altech and Altron
at the Altron Annual Awards,
was named the best corporate
company in KwaZulu-Natal by
Productivity South Africa and was
a Technology Top 100 company
finalist. In addition, Alan Sullivan,
chief technology officer of Altech
Multimedia, this year won the
Altron Chairman’s Distinguished
Merit Award (the DMA).
Samsung, made
by Altech UEC
When Altech UEC built the Mount
Edgecombe facility, they decided
to not only manufacture products
designed by themselves but to also
work on contract basis for third parties.
As a result, the factory currently
produces 140 000 flat screen LCD
television sets per year for Samsung.
C O M PA NY PR O F I L E
Rob Abraham and Craig Venter meet Altech UEC employees during the Altron
executives' visit to the factory in August.
Mount Edgecombe facility to
meet the anticipated August
production requirements.
The upgrade touched three areas
of the plant:
1. S
urface mount technology is a
crucial, and capital intensive, area
of the facility. To expand output,
Altech UEC installed the Panasonic
Surface Mount Technology (SMT)
solution. The centrepiece of this
electronics assembly manufacturing
solution is the Panasonic NPM
pick and place installation – the
largest in the southern hemisphere.
Among other features, it can place
400 000 components per hour.
2. For the plastic casing of the set-top
boxes, Altech has installed top-class
plastic injection moulding machines
with robotic-controlled extraction.
Not only are they extremely
reliable and accurate, but these
machines also use less electricity
than their hydraulic counterparts.
3. L
ast but not least, high-volume
packaging lines were installed to
get six million set-top boxes per
year to Altech UEC’s customers.
As a result, Altech UEC can now
deliver six million set-top boxes
per year, instead of the initial
capacity to produce three million.
But the upgrade was not all about
machines. Rodger says that 120
specialised and sustainable jobs have
been created in the process. “We’ve
also sent a team of support staff
to overseas original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) facilities for
training. This has brought much
needed technical acumen and expertise
back into the local marketplace.”
Discovering our DNA
Realising that a dramatic increase
in production depends on people
as much as on machines, Altech
Multimedia launched a project in
May 2013 called Discovering the
DNA of Altech Multimedia. Altech
UEC participated in this exercise.
In a nutshell, employees were asked
to point out what Altech Multimedia
needed to do more of and what
it needed to do less of to be more
successful in the future. More than
1 500 opinions were gathered in the
first round of interviews. The opinions
were grouped into common themes.
Employees were then asked to vote
for the most critical success factors.
The result of the three-pronged
process has been a dramatic increase
in output. “By the end of September,
we had produced 2.3 million settop boxes,” says Rodger. “We
have now geared up to produce
another three million set-top boxes
by the end of February 2014.”
The Mount Edgecombe facility produces
a set-top box every four seconds.
In 2011, Altech UEC consolidated its manufacturing operations in the
custom-built 13500m2 factory at Mount Edgecombe.
13
14
B U S I N ES S P R O FILE
BU S I NE S S PR O F I L E
15
Just what the doctor ordered
As the era of a closed
medical aid scheme
comes to an end at
Altron, employees
can look forward
to the benefits of
belonging to one of
the biggest schemes
in the business.
O
n 31 December this year, the
Altron Medical Aid (AMA)
officially closes its doors.
After more than 20 years
of providing peace of mind to Altron
employees and their families, AMA is
amalgamating with Discovery Health
Medical Scheme. This transaction comes
into effect on 1 January 2014.
Roger Sedlmaier, principal officer
of AMA, says that the reasons for the
amalgamation boil down to protecting
the interests of both members and
Altron, and providing members with
quality medical cover based on their
needs and what they can afford.
Tough times
Over the past few years, AMA has
gone through tough times. When
Altron introduced the Total Cost of
Employment remuneration policy
in 2006, employees were given a
choice of medical schemes to join.
Most of the younger employees chose
Discovery while the older members
stayed with AMA. The scheme not
only lost members but the average age
of members increased significantly.
Older people often have more health
issues than the young and AMA saw an
increase in its claims ratio. "We were
faced with the scenario where we had
to increase premiums significantly and
amend benefits in order to protect the
scheme's solvency," says Roger.
AMA membership became
compulsory again for Altron employees
in 2010 in order to boost membership
and reduce the average age. By then,
however, the recession was biting.
The Altron group wasn't growing and
neither was the AMA membership.
With only 4 033 members, a number
of major claims in any particular year
had a dramatic impact on the financial
position of the scheme and it took a
long time to recover from such claims.
"Turning a medical scheme around
is tricky because one cannot plan or
budget for members' illnesses, operations
or accidents," says Roger. Despite this
challenge, the trustees implemented
a turnaround strategy that included
appointing Discovery Health as AMA's
administrator in 2010. This appointment
saved around R10 million per year and
by 2013 AMA was doing significantly
better than it had in a long time.
The amalgamation process
But the trustees knew that it was
time to change. For instance, AMA
always offered only two options and
because of its small membership base
could not afford to expand its offering
to include a low-cost option. Discovery
Health, in contrast, has 19 options that
cater for almost every budget and
health status.
Altron appointed Alexander Forbes
to manage the amalgamation. The
consultants evaluated AMA and
identified possible "suitors". The initial
list of 10 was whittled down to three,
namely Discovery Health, Fedhealth
and Bestmed.
Once Discovery Health was confirmed
as the most appropriate partner, AMA
members had their say. Following
intensive communication across the
group, members voted in favour of the
transaction. The last legal hurdle to
overcome was obtaining approval from
the Competition Commission and the
Council for Medical Schemes.
Now, in the last remaining weeks of
the year, AMA members have to choose
their preferred Discovery option for 2014.
Gains and losses
According to Roger, the biggest benefit
of AMA as a closed scheme was that it
was part of the “family”, managed by
employees of Altron, and thus allowed
for the personal touch. "We could
make exceptions within the rules to
accommodate special circumstances. In
an open scheme, especially one as large
as Discovery Health, there is much less
room for such latitude."
But while the personal touch is being
replaced with a well-oiled, professional
machine, members won't be left without
assistance. Aon will stay on as the
Altron broker to help members with
any issues arising from their claims. "If
members struggle to resolve a matter,
Aon and the Group Benefits team will
do all we can to assist," says Roger.
What members
have to do
If you missed the 18 November
deadline, choose your cover option
by mid-December.
If you don't make a choice, you will
be defaulted to either Discovery
Saver if you are on the Basic Plan
or Discovery's Classic Priority/
Comprehensive if you are on the
Enhanced option.
Make sure you receive your new
medical aid card. These will be
distributed by HR in the first week
of December.
If you don't get your card before
you go on holiday, contact the
call centre and ask for proof of
membership that you can use
while you are away.
www.howcanweprotectyou.co.za
www.discovery.co.za
Call centre: 0860 835 272
16
I N T E R N AT ION AL P R O FILE
I NTE R NATI O NA L PR O F I L E
17
Bytes’ African picture and plan
Africa’s average economic growth rate is
twice that of South Africa, making it a hugely
attractive growth market. While recognising
the opportunities, Bytes approaches the
continent with caution bred from experience.
Bytes SI Kenya
lB
ytes
SI operates a regional East Africa hub from Kenya and works with local partners in
neighbouring countries to execute regional projects.
lT
he operation was established in association with Altech when the latter bought Kenya Data
Networks.
lO
perational & technical manager: Ed Williams.
Bytes SI Mozambique
lB
ytes
SI operates a full branch office from Maputo.
operation was established 12 years ago when Bytes followed customers Illovo Sugar and Mozal.
lT
oday the Ministry of Finance and M-Cel are additional anchor clients.
lM
ozambique is a particular success story for Bytes SI.
lG
eneral manager: Arone Buque.
lT
he
“Africa is a specific focus market for us, but we’ve been around long enough
to have a healthy respect for the complexities of doing business north of our
borders.” Speaking to Profile is Rob Griggs, MD of Bytes Systems Integration
(Bytes SI), who manages the Bytes-owned companies in Africa.
Bytes SI owns seven in-country operations, excluding South Africa, on the
continent. In all cases Bytes has established a legal entity, offices and sales
engineering and administration capabilities. But this approach is changing.
Rob says that Bytes is already present in all the major economies, with
the exception of Nigeria, Angola and Egypt, and now assesses opportunities
on a case-by-case basis. “We are more inclined to enter into local
partnerships, instead of establishing in-country owned offices.”
In future, Rob expects Altron TMT to influence Altron’s Africa strategy,
with the Mauritius operational centre as focus.
Bytes SI Mauritius
lE
stablished
Rob Griggs, MD of Bytes Systems
Integration (Bytes SI).
Bytes Document Solutions
BDS has bought the Xerox operations in 26 African countries from Xerox. These operations
are not owned by Bytes but are in-country partners.
Craig Schweitzer at BDS looks after the Xerox operations in Africa.
Bytes SI UAE
lT
he
United Arab Emirates is not on the continent, but Bytes SI UAE is registered in Africa.
followed Group Five, the construction company, to Dubai when the latter won the
contract to build the new Dubai Airport. Other construction projects soon followed.
lA
t the height of the construction boom Bytes SI clocked, managed shifts and paid 70 000
migrant workers from Pakistan.
lC
urrent clients include SEHA, the Abu Dhabi state hospital group, Ferrari World theme park
and Al Naboodah, Group Five's partner in the region.
lG
eneral manager: Rodney Barrell.
lB
ytes
Bytes SI Namibia and Bytes SI Botswana
lE
stablished
14 years ago when Bytes SI followed existing customers as they established
subsidiaries in Namibia and Botswana.
lB
ytes maintains a market-leading presence in both countries.
lN
amibia MD: JD Krüger.
lB
otswana MD: Tino Robin.
12 years ago when Bytes SI followed Illovo Sugar to Mauritius.
manager: Irshad Mallam Hassam.
lB
ytes SI has a Global Business Licence Class 1 (GBL-C1) to run its Africa operations out
of Mauritius, taking advantage of the beneficial tax regulations.
lA
s far as possible, the licence will be extended to include the Altron TMT operations.
lD
irector: Tino Robin.
lG
eneral
Bytes Managed Solutions
Bytes MS and Bytes SI have won the contract to support all the Barclays bank branches in eight
African countries. The contract will be executed through the Bytes SI companies, where they have
a suitable in-country presence and with partners elsewhere. Bytes MS also supports large retailers’
point of sale (POS) and NCR equipment in Africa.
Peter Sullivan manages Bytes MS’ interests in Africa.
RealTime Bytes: Zimbabwe and Zambia
lF
ormal
joint venture between Bytes SI and RealTime Computers.
two-and-a-half years ago, RealTime Bytes Group is the largest IT company in Zimbabwe and one of the
top players in Zambia.
lZ
imbabwe manager: Ron Hyslop.
lZ
ambia manager: Ken Hyslop.
lE
stablished
Bytes Systems Integration
Bytes SI sells Alcatel Lucent PABX telephone systems and switches to 11 countries,
either through Bytes-owned companies or through a dealer/partner network.
18
B U S I N ES S P R O FILE
BU S I NE S S PR O F I L E
19
PTQP celebrates a successful first year
On 1 November, Powertech QuadPro
(PTQP) celebrated its first birthday. It
has been exactly a year since Powertech
acquired a 51% stake in QuadPro Power
Solutions and work started to merge
the acquisition with Powertech IST
Energy's turnkey substation business.
To say that the new business is a
success might be an understatement.
Over the past 12 months, the company
has secured orders to the value of
R200 million in all three of Powertech’s
identified growth markets, namely
infrastructure development, renewable
energy and Africa.
“We have worked hard to build a
firm foundation for the business this
year,” says Harry Browne, CEO of PTQP,
“and the effort is starting to bear fruit.”
He is particularly excited about
breaking into the Zambian market with
local joint venture (JV) partner Laatu
Company Limited. In September the JV
secured its first contract with Zesco, the
Powertech’s
order book
breaks the drought
Orders are flowing Powertech’s way, including the single biggest contract
ever for Powertech Transformers’ Cape Town factory and significant projects
in Africa and the renewable energy sector.
I
This picture shows the kind of minisubstations that Powertech Transformers'
Cape Town factory produces.
n order to meet the demands of the
R350-million contract from Eskom,
the Powertech Transformers (PTT)
Cape Town factory will have to
produce around 80 mini-substations of
different sizes per month.
The first substation for this contract
will roll off the production line in
December. The Eskom contract runs from
August 2013 to July 2015 and the minisubstations produced will be installed at
housing developments throughout South
Africa where Eskom supplies power.
To help free up capacity in Cape
Town, a small distribution transformer
(SDT) line was reintroduced at PTT’s
Booysens factory during June this year.
This allows the Cape Town factory to
focus on fulfilling the Eskom order.
Bernard Meyer, CEO of PTT, says that
winning repeat business in the highly
competitive domestic market is a feather
in his company's cap. “We can all be
proud of this achievement. It shows
that Eskom, which is one of our most
important customers, has confidence in
us as a strategic local partner. It is also a
welcome boost for local manufacturing
and the retention of jobs in the Cape
Town region.”
PTT’s Cape Town factory was
established in 1945, employs 308 people
and has the capacity to produce 1 800
mini-substations per year.
The facility is ISO 9001, 14001 and
18001 certified.
Africa and renewables
Powertech has identified renewable
energy as a strategic growth market.
Its focus on this sector has yielded
R300 million worth of cable and
transformer orders for the first two
rounds of the state’s Renewable
Energy Independent Power Producer
Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
In Africa, Powertech’s biggest recent
wins are a US$20-million contract in
Ghana to supply cables, and turnkey
substation work for Zesco in Zambia
worth R70 million.
When Powertech reported its interim
results, it had orders on hand to the
value of R1 973 million.
state-owned power company. Worth
US$ 7 million (more than R70 million),
the contract covers work at three of
Zesco’s substations.
PTQP has also established its
presence in the renewables market with
contracts for two wind farm projects.
It will deliver 132/11kV substations for
both Eskom’s Sere wind farm project
near Vredendal in the Western Cape
and Acciona’s Labonne project near
Gouda, also in the Western Cape. The
joint value of these two contracts is
almost R80 million.
In South Africa, the company’s
bread-and-butter projects continue
to be infrastructure upgrades in the
public sector.
Recent wins include a R36-million
tender from Tlokwe Municipality and a
contract from Transnet National Ports
Authority to carry out a R7-million
substation switchgear upgrade in
Richards Bay.
Powertech QuadPro’s CEO,
Harry Browne, and Gyavira
Bwalya, Zesco’s senior
manager, Distribution
Development, shake on the
signed contract between the
two companies. With them
are Daniel Ng’uni, Laatu’s
managing member/director
(next to Harry) and members
of the Zesco team who will be
responsible for the execution
of the project.
20
S U S TA I N AB IL IT Y P R O FILE
S U S TA I NA BI LI TY PR O F I L E
Our bottom-line turns a
brighter shade of green
Financial Sustainability
Core objective: improve profitable revenue growth through expansion.
Focus areas:
1. Income and growth
2. Cost and cash management
By managing economic, social and environmental risks and opportunities, we
drive sustainable, profitable growth. Our commitment to address shareholder
needs, maximise profits and minimise consumption of resources, is the
foundation of our purple print to financial sustainability.
Human Capital
T
Products and Services
he humble cardboard box is
Core objective: invest in our
Core objective: lead through
proving to be a money
spinner
biggest asset – our people.
innovation by embracing
Focus areas:
technology
and
market shifts.
for
Altech
UEC.
In
2012,
the
1. Transformation
Focus areas:
2. Human resources
1.
Innovation
company started collecting,
(core skills development,
2. Product and service
staff retention, succession
baling and selling the boxesofferings
that would
planning)
landfill
site.
3. Company culture previously have gone to aWe
are committed
to deliver
innovative and sustainable
The
financial
returns
on
this
simple
The key to our success lies with our people. Our red print
products and services to customers. This is our blue
to sustainable human capital highlights our commitment
print to providing improved financial and social
action
have
been astounding: R550 000
to train, develop and empower our employees. Through
benefits to our stakeholders while minimising our
the growth of our people, we prosper.
impact on the environment.
in 2012 alone.
Cardboard boxes are just one of six
waste
streams that Altech UEC is now
External Relationships
recycling. The others are dross, scrap
Core objective: build and maintain strategic alliances and key partnerships.
steel, brass wire and plastic and wood
Focus areas:
1. Clients and customers
pallets. The different types of waste are
2. Strategic partners
3. Suppliers
stored separately and either sold to, or
4. Environment
5. Corporate
social investment
disposed
of by, recycling companies.
year,
Altech
sales
from
Building and Last
sustaining
relationships
with allUEC’s
stakeholders
and caring
for
the environment is part of our identity. All our initiatives, strategies and
its
waste
streams
was
a
cool
R930
000;
engagement processes form the green print of our external relationships.
the 2013 year-to-date figure is already
R770 000.
Another sustainability success
story emanating from Altech UEC
relates to technology improvements.
By installing low-powered ovens and
electric moulding machines, the Mount
Edgecombe factory could double
the production of set-top boxes in
August this year, without using more
electricity. Together with LED lighting,
these technology upgrades are slicing
R700 000 per year off Altech UEC’s
electricity bill.
So you thought sustainability was expensive?
Think again. This year, the efforts of only
three group companies will save Altron at
least R5 million.
Workshop feedback
The Altech UEC story was just one of
the sustainability successes from around
the Altron Group that were shared at the
third annual environmental workshop in
September. Hosted by the Sustainability
Department, the workshop’s theme
was “saving costs through sharing
environmental initiatives”.
More than 40 CEOs, FDs and other
executive managers attended the
proceedings with 58 environmental
coordinators from across the group.
The workshop was fittingly held at the
Altech/Bytes head office in Woodmead.
The building’s green features helped to
keep the workshop’s footprint as small
as possible.
“The other two big savers this year
are Altron head office and Aberdare
Cables,” says Jannette Horn, Altron’s
group sustainability manager. By
installing an electricity meter and
meticulously comparing its readings
with the City of Joburg’s bills, it was
proven that Altron was being billed on
the wrong tariff. It took two years, but
the group received a refund of more
than R400 000 in May this year.
Aberdare Cables has implemented a
variety of measures at its Johannesburg
factory over the past year, from
retrofitting lights and installing power
factor corrections, to approving the
capital expenditure to install solar
panels. Together they will save around
R3.5 million by year-end.
“We are beginning to see the huge
potential of a sustainability mind set to
improve business performance,” says
Jannette. “It is exciting to see
how ‘green’ issues are increasingly
becoming business as usual.”
Jannette Horn, Altron’s group sustainability manager, and Dr
Pieter van der Walt, group alliances manager, who also oversees
the environmental data capturing and reporting process.
21
External Relationships
22
S U S TA I N AB IL IT Y P R O FILE
Since the environment forms part
of Altron’s overall sustainability
strategy, it was decided that the
gathering should in future be known
as the Sustainability Workshop
but that its focus would remain on
environmental issues.
Towards the target
At last year's environmental workshop,
the second one, environmental targets
were set for Altron to achieve within
three years. “In September we were at
the halfway mark, which meant that
the 2013 environmental workshop was
the ideal opportunity to review our
progress,” says Jannette.
All the environmental coordinators
reported on the three target areas,
namely emissions to air (scope 1, 2
and 3 as per the diagram in the "What
we measure" section), water use and
waste sent to landfill.
Last year 149 facilities reported on
their environmental footprint, compared
to 139 in 2012 and 109 in 2011. This
year, however, the trend is worrying.
“For the year to date only 95 facilities
have reported any data,” says Jannette.
This makes it extremely difficult
to identify trends and to verify our
progress.
“As a group we will have to be much
more serious about reporting data
frequently and accurately,” adds Pieter
van der Walt, group alliances manager,
who looks after the data capturing and
reporting process.
The three-year environmental targets
are not a frivolous matter. The Altron
Executive Committee approved them in
2012 and the Remuneration Committee
included them in the criteria for all
Altron executives’ incentive bonuses.
For Altron as a group, our
environmental footprint is a way
to create shared values, improve
the business and ultimately build a
sustainable group of companies.
S U S TA I NA BI LI TY PR O F I L E
Core objective: build and maintain strategic alliances and key partnerships.
Focus areas:
1. Clients and customers
2. Strategic partners
3. Suppliers
4. Environment
5. Corporate social investment
What
23
we measure
Building and sustaining relationships with all stakeholders and caring for
the environment is part of our identity. All our initiatives, strategies and
engagement processes form the green print of our external relationships.
Greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions:
Altron measures upstream activities
(scope 1), its own emissions (scope 2)
and downstream activities (scope 3),
as explained in the diagram below
of the World Resources Institute
(WRI). The measuring unit is tonnes
of carbon dioxide equivalents, or
tCO2e. The 2012 emissions baseline of
14.9 tCO2e was used to calculate the
group’s three-year reduction targets.
We narrowly missed the
target for scope 1 at the
end of the 2013 financial
year. Given the small number
of submissions, or even partial
submissions, for the year to date it
is difficult to guess if the group will
achieve the set target of 14,316 tCO2e
at the end of this financial year.
Electricity consumption
(scope 2) makes up 83%
of Altron’s environmental
footprint. The average reduction
target was narrowly missed at the
2013 year-end.
Scope 3 relates to all indirect
emissions. Here the group has
fared much better in achieving
its reduction targets, mainly by reducing
the volume of paper consumed.
waste management:
The group roughly produces
15 000 tonnes of general and
hazardous waste annually. Of the
general waste, 10% is reported to be
municipal waste that is sent to landfill.
Our reduction target is 2.28% for
the next three years, but we want
to minimise as much as possible the
waste we send to landfill sites and
channel this to more environmentally
friendly disposal mechanisms, such as
re-use or recycling.
WATER USE:
In 2012, Altron bought a
total of 685 016 kilo litres of
municipal water. Based on this, the
group agreed on a reduction target of
1.7% (or 34 345 kilo litres) per annum
for the next three years.
Due to inaccuracies in water data
reported in 2012, Altron had to
restate its water baseline in 2013.
As a result, we can only report
against the new target in the 2014
annual report.
“Although we are only focussing on
municipal waste for now, there are
excellent initiatives underway in the
group in terms of the recycling of
various types of waste,” says Jannette.
Many group companies are beginning
to re-channel their waste into
reusable product streams or exploring
friendlier practices such as re-using
and recycling.
Reporting of waste data has also
generally improved and continues
to be a focus for a lot of companies,
especially where there is money to
be made.
International flights
In 2012 Altron employees
travelled 16 637 643km on
international flights
(±1 322km /employee).
This equates to 415 times
around the world.
Energy
Water
In 2012 each Altron employee
used enough energy to power
a 2-3 bedroom home for one
year (±11 150kWh/employee).
In 2012 each Altron employee
consumed enough water to
fill 194 bathtubs to the brim
(±36.8kl /employee).
General waste
The World Resources Institute's explanation of greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions.
In 2012 each Altron employee
produced ±204kg of general
waste – enough to fill four
wheelie bins – that ended up
in landfills.
24
B U S I N ES S P R O FILE
BU S I NE S S PR O F I L E
25
In a world where economies of scale save time and money,
it would be foolish not to make our size work for us.
Buy big to save big
B
uy one for R10 or two for R18.
Better still, ten items will only
cost you R80. It’s like doing
your monthly shop at a grocery
store versus the corner café. One or two
items might be on special at the café but
overall you get the best deal on a trolley
of groceries.
The example illustrates the concept
of bulk buying and its potential to
save both the buyer and the seller
and the project is also standardising
the terminology used for services. For
example, if companies used to capture
marketing and advertising services
under different headings, it is difficult
to compare current savings with past
expenditure.
The success of Project Fusion
depends fully on the operational
companies’ support. The preferred
providers provide Altron with
management reports that indicate how
widely their products and services
are used across the group. “We’ve
negotiated corporate rates with these
suppliers and if we don’t use them we
lose those savings,” says Roger.
On the flipside of the coin, the more
business Altron gives the preferred
providers the easier it will be to negotiate
even lower corporate rates in future.
Who knew that boosting Altron’s
profitability could be easier than
shopping for groceries?
The process to appoint
a preferred provider
Project Fusion focusses on those items
or services that are used by the majority
of Altron group companies, and are
relatively easy to combine into a single
or limited provider offering.
The project team follows a rigorous
and transparent process when appointing
preferred providers:
1. Altron requests proposals from
prospective service providers.
2. A team of commodity experts, drawn
from across the group, assesses the
providers’ ability to meet the needs of
different companies in the group.
3. The commodity experts recommend
which supplier(s) to appoint.
4. T
he Altron Group Procurement
Committee ratifies the
recommendation.
These holidays you
can travel for less
When you make your holiday travel
bookings this year, be sure to contact
your company’s travel booker. As an
Altron employee you can enjoy the
corporate rates that have been negotiated on our behalf with the airlines,
car rental companies and hotels.
The booking systems of both Amex
Travel and Tours and Sure Travkor,
Altron’s two travel management suppliers, allows your travel booker to
book your local, private travel. All you
have to do is provide your credit card
details so that payment can be made
from your own bank account.
For more information speak to your
booker or visit http://alix.altron.
com/XChange/Fus/Root/travel.aspx
Who are the preferred providers?
money. With Project Fusion, Altron
is combining the buying power of the
group to generate savings and improve
overall profitability without impacting on
operational efficiency.
“The sheer size of the Altron Group
gives us huge savings potential,” says
Roger Sedlmaier, Project Fusion project
manager. “Here and there a nonpreferred provider might charge less for
an individual transaction or item – like
the corner café special – but the sum of
all the preferred provider transactions
over a year makes a massive difference
to group-wide expenditure.”
Project Fusion is therefore a longterm investment in sustainable savings,
instead of a hunt for quick wins.
This is also the reason why it is still too
early to measure the full impact of Project
Fusion. Not all the operating companies
are using the preferred providers yet
Travel and accommodation
Air Travel: South African Airways,
Comair (British Airways), Mango
Marketing and advertising
J Walter Thompson (JWT); Ireland
Davenport; Mortimer Harvey
Vehicle hire: Avis and Hertz
Employment agencies
Kelly; DAV; DGL; Phakisa Technical
Services
Accommodation: City Lodge; Protea
Hotels; Holiday Inn; Tsogo Sun; African
Pride Hotels and a variety of B&Bs.
Media placement
Full Circle Media
Office paper requirements
NOR Paper (part of Bytes Document
Solutions)
The Project Fusion team is currently
finalising preferred providers for:
Office stationery
Credit insurance (debtor insurance cover)
Debt collecting
Courier services (small parcels,
packages and documents)
UPS maintenance and servicing
26
strategy P R O FILE
strategy PR O F I L E
When colleagues
become customers
Shared services is
set to become a
group-wide reality in
Altron. In Powertech
it’s been running for
more than five years
and the benefits are
clear.
I
t took a fresh pair of eyes to spot
the shared services opportunities
in Powertech. Neil Kayton, now
the CEO, joined Powertech as FD
in 2004. In the large pharmaceutical
company where he came from, shared
services was the norm. “He was amazed
that in Powertech every company, no
matter how big or small, was doing
its own thing,” says Gavin Mack,
group information manager, Powertech
Shared Services. Neil was the catalyst
for shared services in Powertech that
started with IT and saw Human Capital
(HC), managed by group executive, Ian
Millar, follow suit in 2011.
It was clearly the right concept at
the right time. Several of the smaller
companies were struggling with IT audit
findings and even where the bigger
operations were helping the smaller
ones, the efforts were uncoordinated
and not managed as a core function.
The operations were also at risk of
outsourcing strategic decision making.
In terms of HC, one of the main
objectives was to empower HC/HCD
practitioners across the group with best
practice interventions, policies, practices
and procedures and to develop standard
and consistent reporting methodologies.
“Another aim was to implement HC/
HCD technology to automate manual
transactional processes where possible
and to ensure compliance with
legislative requirements,” says Ian.
“This minimises business risk and gives
the practitioners more time to deal with
their customers.”
Implementation in progress
Integrated technology is the backbone
of an effective shared services operation
and Powertech invested much time,
effort and money into consolidating
its network and standardising servers,
naming conventions, IT purchases,
policies and staff pay rules.
Powertech Shared Services currently
has two locations: Bryanston for IT and
remuneration benefits and Elandsfontein
for payroll. Some of the services staff
With shared services,
what is developed for
one is available to all.
What is
shared
services?
physically moved while others just
changed reporting lines but remained at
their old operations. Powertech’s servers
are housed in an off-site data centre,
part of Altech ATC.
In terms of IT, all the smaller
operations are fully on board and all
salaries and most wages are being
processed through Powertech Shared
Services. “We have rolled out SAP
Payroll to the larger operations and are
now implementing the last of the timeand-attendance sites and moving the
rest of the wages across,” says Gavin.
In the HC arena, group-wide tools,
such as succession planning and
performance management, have been
implemented.
Powertech Shared Services operates
as a cost sharing facility, hence no profit
is made out of the operations.
Benefits and lessons
The biggest HC benefit has been the
disappearance of silos, says Ian. “The
HC community now sees itself as a
team. People talk and share ideas and
initiatives, which prevents the wheel
from continuously being re-invented.”
Gavin highlights the standardisation
of delivery and facilities. For example,
as software is being standardised to SAP,
Powertech is starting to enjoy the benefit
of a common business language across
the group. Powertech’s IT also runs on
a switch-on at 08:00, switch-off at 17:00
basis for all the operations, which allows
backups and disaster recovery processes
to be managed centrally.
Furthermore, in the past, each
operation’s IT was as good as its budget
would allow. With shared services all
the operations benefit from the best
technology without having to spend large
amounts of money. Powertech uses a
per-user costing method so that even the
smallest company can use all the IT and
HC facilities at a cost it can afford.
With Altron about to embark on the
shared services journey, Gavin and Ian
share a few lessons from Powertech’s
experience. “Do things slowly with
as little disruption as possible. Earn
your stripes before trying to impose
a solution on all the others. Listen to
everybody to ensure buy-in. Go for the
low-hanging fruit options first and make
a success of them. Only tackle the more
complicated issues when there is a high
level of acceptance.”
A shared services centre (SSC)
is formed when the business
services that are used by multiple
parts of the same organisation
are consolidated into one
business unit, department or
division. Services most often
considered for this model
are finance, human resources
management and IT.
Some companies use a chargeback system to bill divisions that
use the service. Others absorb the
cost of shared services as part of
the continuing cost of running
the business.
The SSC’s core business is support
services. It has the mind-set
of a business and views the
rest of the organisation as its
customers. This creates career
paths for employees, along with
a sense of purpose and greater
professionalism.
Information courtesy of:
www.peeriosity.com
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/
definition/Shared-services
27
28
G rowth and development PROFI LE
Growth and development PR O F I L E
From individual learning
to organisational knowledge
With the establishment of Altron TMT, the Altech Academy moved
over to Bytes People Solutions. It now has a new mission and, in the
near future, will get a new name too.
T
he Altech Academy was
established to develop future
leaders and address the shortage
of critical skills in the Altech
Group. As such, it was an important and
successful component of Altech’s people
development strategy that had a positive
impact on the careers of employees who
were selected to enroll. In the BPS stable,
it has a different purpose, says Madelise
Grobler, MD of Bytes People Solutions.
“The academy is for the benefit of all
Altron employees, across all levels and
lines of business.”
Madelise sees the academy as a
vehicle to help Altron employees have a
long-term career in the group. Someone
could start as a contact centre agent
and by studying through the academy
work her way up in the organisation. “If
talented people know they have access
to training opportunities that unlock a
career path, we will lose less talent to
other companies,” says Madelise.
Academy learning is also a vehicle
to develop a shared vision in the
organisation and functions as a hub for
creating and transforming individual
learning into organisational knowledge.
“Our learning interventions are
designed using the principles of businessbased action learning,” says Madelise.
“As a result learning is fully integrated
within the work environment and
supported by coaching interventions.”
Academy learning activities are also
based upon competency models. A
participant might need development in
various competency areas and for this
reason as many sources of ‘diagnostic’
information as possible are used. These
include psychometric and other needs
assessments to ensure a real return on
investment.
The academy's 2014 curriculum
reflects its mandate to develop skills
for the Altron Group as a whole. In
deciding what to offer, Madelise’s team
looked at the work skills plans of all
the group companies, considered the
Department of Higher Education’s
definition of scarce skills and asked for
input from the Altron business leaders.
The outcome is a curriculum that offers
programmes in four strategic areas:
1. Management and leadership
development for junior, middle,
senior and top managers.
2. Sales enablement.
3. Customer service.
4. Specialised and scarce skills.
The Altech Academy will be relaunched, and its new name revealed,
early in 2014.
Dr Madelise Grobler, MD of Bytes People Solutions.
29
Altron YPC members
learn their lemons
Being an effective leader is more about who you are than what you do.
You may want to take this statement with a twist of lemon.
F
ifteen Altron YPC members
recently did a leadership
development course with a
difference. Called LEMON
Leadership, the programme helps
delegates to understand who they are as
leaders. In a world rather obsessed with
knowing what to do, this is indeed a
fresh approach to leadership.
According to Brett Johnson who
developed the LEMON Leadership
model, practitioners in the human
resources field broadly agree that the
lack of leaders is the number one issue
in the world today. He believes this
stems from the fact that our definitions
of leadership are too narrow. “We know
lots about entrepreneurs and managers,
The 5 leadership LEMONs
According to the LEMON model,
there are five types of leaders
and we are all a combination
of all five.
For more information, visit
www.lemonleadership.co.za
but there are other types of leaders
about which we know precious little.”
LEMON Leadership aims to expand
our leadership horizons, and the Altron
YPC decided to test the concept.
Presented by Voyage Consulting,
the purpose of the workshop was for
leaders to understand themselves and
their team members better. To this end,
it involved a pre-assessment profiling of
each candidate, followed by a role and
character clarification session.
“I found the profile frighteningly
accurate and informative,” says Wayne
Munilall, technical manager of power
operations at Aberdare Cables and
chairman of the Altron YPC.
For Machiel Engelbrect from Bytes
the workshop highlighted how different
personalities would handle different
situations and scenarios. Michelle
Doyle, Altron group executive: corporate
communications, echoes this sentiment:
“The LEMON course helped me to
understand myself and my team better.”
Jannette Horn, group sustainability
manager, found that the LEMON concept
highlighted the reasons why people
do and say the things they do – it is
not personal, it is just our “make-up”.
Understanding how people are put
together can really mean the difference
between loathing working with a person
and getting the best value out of him or
her. “I never knew how important it was
to understand your colleagues,” she says.
30
C S I P R O FILE
C S I PR O F I L E
The gift of
independence
The students at ACTION learn how to use Microsoft Office to prepare them for the workplace. Students who cannot see use
computers with synthesizer packages that enables the machine to "speak" the words on the screen.
A
ction for Blind and Disabled Children (ACTION) is
a non-profit organisation that gives children with
disabilities a chance at independence. Earlier this year
Altech contributed to this cause with a donation of
R68 000, enough money to sponsor 10 students for a year.
The work this organisation does, is truly remarkable.
They provide blind, partially sighted and disabled children
from disadvantaged backgrounds and who have an aptitude
for computers, with specific career training on personal
computers. The programme culminates in the students writing
the internationally recognised Microsoft Office Specialist
(MOS) exam. Once they have passed, ACTION helps the
students to find work mainly at call centres. The organisation
also provides accommodation for students who live too far
from the training centre to commute.
According to ACTION’s Dianne Knapp, the organisation is
uniquely positioned to provide opportunities to young people
with disabilities. “We have relationships with banks, insurance
companies and other businesses with call centres that employ
our students once they have completed the 18-month course.”
Students can start their studies with ACTION when they are in
Grade 8 and continue until Grade 12.
“Our aim is to help blind or disabled young people to
become self-sufficient and productive members of society.
We want to build self-confidence and self-esteem, rather than
handing out food and clothes for the rest of their lives.”
ACTION receives no state funding; the organisation relies
fully on corporate and private donations.
31
Finding their voices
Science has long since proved that children who are born deaf
can learn to speak naturally and normally. The facilities where
they can get the necessary assistance and nurturing, however,
are few and far between.
One such place is the Carel du Toit Centre in Cape Town.
At its main campus in Tygerberg and satellite schools in East
London and Bloemfontein, deaf children of all backgrounds are
learning to speak in a structured school environment.
Karen Rademeyer, fundraiser at the Carel Du Toit Centre,
says that children with hearing losses have special educational
needs. “Success depends on the early identification of hearing
loss and fitting of hearing-aids or cochlear implants. Providing
there are no further complications, a large percentage of deaf
children can acquire the speech and language abilities they
need to adapt intellectually, socially and emotionally in a
society of hearing people. Many of our learners continue their
education in mainstream schools when they leave here.”
Leon Harmsen, group human capital manager at Powertech
Transformers, recently experienced the work of the centre firsthand when he visited to hand over a Powertech donation to
the value of R45 000. Powertech Transformers, Aberdare Cables
and Powertech Batteries each contributed R15 000.
“The visit lifted my spirits,” says Leon. “I felt re-energised
and humbled by the experience and the compassion, kindness
and dedication of everyone associated with the centre.”
One of the highlights of Leon’s visit was poetry readings by
the children who participated in the National Eisteddfod – and
achieved 90% and above.
Runners on wheels
Chris Potgieter, Altron, group legal manager, is also the vice-chairman
of the KHOSA Road Runners club in Krugersdorp. Every year the club
hosts an event where people with disabilities take to the road with
the runners. This year, Chris approached fellow running enthusiast
Jacqui Burn, at Powertech Transformers, and secured a donation of
300 water bottles that were handed out to the race participants.
Powertech Batteries also supported the race with a donation of
300 Sabat-branded caps.
“It was a hugely successful event,” says Chris. “More than 200
disabled persons participated and many helpers and supporters
attended. This event is an annual highlight for all of us.”
The KHOSA Road Runners and their guests-on-wheels at the
start of the race.
Leon Harmsen, group human capital manager at Powertech
Transformers (left), poses with some of the 147 children at the
Carel du Toit Centre in Tygerberg, Cape Town.
Leon listens attentively to a lesson.
32
T E C H P R OF ILE
TE C H PR O F I L E
All Altron employees - Save 0860 12 00 12
33
on to your phone, for when you need a battery.
ALLY’S TECH CORNER
Smartwatches are all the rage in the world of geeks
at the moment. I’ve seen a few Pebbles on wrists in
South Africa, while others are sporting Samsung’s
Galaxy Gear. But do they live up to the hype? Here’s
what my investigation reveals.
L
et’s start at the beginning and answer the first question first: what is a
smartwatch? It is wearable tech, basically a smartphone on your arm so you don’t
have to take the real one out of your pocket. It pairs via Bluetooth to your phone.
For now there are three watches available, manufactured by Sony, Pebble and
Samsung. They all have their pro and cons, but for the purposes of this column, I’ve
chosen to look at Samsung’s Galaxy Gear. It is the most expensive smartwatch and, one
would suspect, the most advanced.
Thumbs up:
Thumbs DOWN:
l It
l It
has a built-in mic and speaker
that allows you to make and receive
calls – although you might feel a bit
silly shouting at your wrist while doing so.
l The built-in pedometer is handy.
l The camera is easy to use and fun to play with.
l It delivers your phone's notifications on your wrist.
Calendar reminders, emails and text message alerts
all appear on the screen when the watch is within
range of the phone.
lY
ou can send text messages, but there is no support
for emails.
lT
he watch already has a decent number of apps,
including fitness ones such as Runtastic and
Runkeeper. Others, such as Vivino, which lets
you take a photo of a wine label and get more
information, are fun to play with.
Have a tech query?
Drop me a line: ally@altron.com
is uncomfortable to wear.
only works with one phone, the
Galaxy Note 3.
lT
he battery lasts a day and a half with
moderate use and you need a charging
station to charge it.
lY
ou often have to press the power button to activate
the watch and see the time; simply flicking your wrist
does not always do the trick.
lF
acebook, Twitter, Skype and WhatsApp are among
the apps that are not supported yet.
l It
I agree with most reviewers that there's clearly
a potential market for smartwatches, but that it
might be a good idea to hold off on buying your
first one for a little while longer.
Don’t get stranded,
e!
ic
o
h
c
t
n
e
ig
ll
te
in
e
th
e
mak
There’s one thing your car is totally dependent on for lights, alarm, music,
tracking device and that’s your battery. Nothing works without it and you
wouldn’t want to be caught with a flat battery.
The answer is the Willard Battery Call Centre, an extended hours service that will deliver
and fit a new battery when you need it most: at home, office or at the side of the road!
That’s 0860 12 00 12 for complete driving peace of mind.
Just quote your employee number, and you will not pay the call out fee.
For info about the other smartwatch options, have a look at
these useful reviews:
www.gizmag.com/pebble-watch-review/28990/
www.gizmag.com/sony-smartwatch-2-review/29367/
Willard Batteries. The Power of Technology.
WE, AT ALTRON, ARE EMBARKING
UPON EXCITING TIMES.
AS THE BUSINESS TRANSITIONS
FROM A HOLDING COMPANY TO AN OPERATING COMPANY,
NOW IS THE OPPORTUNE MOMENT
FOR THE BRAND TO TRANSITION AS WELL.
AT ALTRON, WE BELIEVE OUR BEST INDIVIDUAL ASSETS
ARE OUR BEST COLLECTIVE ASSET.
AND SO WE ARE FORGING ONE RARE
AND PROSPEROUS ENTITY.
UNITED WE GROW.