Much like South Africa was seen as an automotive hub, white appliance manufacturer Defy aimed to establish the country as a hub for the export of white appliances, Koc chairperson Mustafa Koc said on Monday.

As Koc subsidiary Arcelik Group leveraged its $324-million acquisition of Defy, the company planned to use its newly upgraded and expanded manufacturing facilities to export beyond sub-Saharan Africa and into the regions where the Turkish company operated.

Following the 2011 acquisition, which was described as the biggest investment by a Turkish company into Africa, Arcelik injected nearly R500-million into revamping Defy’s three manufacturing hubs.

The renovation of the Durban-based Jacobs facility, which produced freestanding stoves, built-in ovens and hobs, tumble dryers and console air conditioners, and the introduction of two new production lines at its Ezakheni, Ladysmith, hub, which manufactured electric chest freezers and electric refrigerators, were completed within the first two years of the buyout.

The latest facility to get a facelift was its electric refrigerator manufacturing facility, in East London, which was officially “relaunched” with an expanded floorspace of 4 600 m2 on Monday.

Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said the move was a sign of the growing relations between the two countries. The Ezakheni hub was awarded R30-million in incentive grants by South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Davies said the white goods industry was increasingly making its mark as the growth of the African middle-class outpaced economic growth.

As more and more electrification takes place across the continent, he said the first things consumers equipped themselves with were refrigerators and televisions.

“The young population of the continent, growing urbanisation and the rapidly increasing middle class convinced us to make this investment,” said Koc.

The R120-million Defy East London expansion resulted in production of 200 units a shift of side-by-side refrigerators, with plans in place to expand this further to 300 units a shift within a year.

This would bolster jobs at the already 400-employee-strong facility by another 100, after Arcelik already created 300 additional jobs across all three manufacturing facilities since the acquisition of Defy.

“Our goal is not only to supply the South African domestic market, but to also make Defy a production centre for export markets in Arcelik’s global supply network,” said Koc in East London.

Arcelik employed about 25 000 people across 14 facilities and boasted exposure to China, Turkey, Romania, Russia and South Africa, besides others.