GKD consists of two separately-registered companies.

The company has two focused businesses: GKD Buismet, supplier of consumable products in the form of woven wire and synthetic meshes, filter media for filtration and solid liquid separation as well as architectural products, and GKD Delkor, supplier of solid liquid separation equipment for use in the mining, sewage, pulp and paper and industrial effluent industries.

The company GKD Kufferath is based in Duren and is a family-owned business, which has been in the family for three generations. The company was founded in 1925 by the Kufferath brothers.

GKD Delkor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GKD Buismet which, in turn, is 100% owned by GKD Germany.

The CEO of GKD Buismet is Roy van Blerk. The company currentlyemploys 110 people comprised of machine operators, administration staff and production staff.

The general manager of GKD Delkor is Gary Whitford. The company currently employs 27 people comprised of mechanical engineers, process and chemical engineers.

GKD Buismet was established in South Africa in 1994 when GKD company bought out 100% of the local Buismet company which was then an agency.

Initially the company only added value to the products in the form of seams and edge treatment. In 1996 a number of fine mesh weaving looms where imported from Germany and a production facility was set-up. The aim of GKD, at the time, was to take previously-disadvantagedindividuals who were unemployed and teach them skills required for the weaving industry.

The end result of this program is the employment of 35 people on looms, 10 people on the endless weaving, 15 people in the punchingdepartment, and 20 people inindustrial sewing.

Two long-serving employees, Douglas Manyike and Phillip Ndlovu participated in the programme.

Manyike, who had been unemployed after Gazgold Company closed, started as a quality controllerat the Tarlton factory over 10 years ago.

He was instrumental in starting up the weaving department.

Training was provided by GKD Germany, which supplied two skilled operators, one on a full time basis.

Manyike is now employed as a stock controller and has aspirationsto manage a much larger store or ware-housing facility within GKD.

Ndlovu, on the other hand, joined Witney Industrial straight from school.

He joined GKD when Witney was bought over and was trained in the factory 1 section where belts are measured and cut before beingfinished with clipper seams and edge treatment.

His training was provided by a previous employee who was trained in Germany.

Ndlobu aspires to becoming afactory manager.

The company has been exportingconsumable filtration media aswell as stainless steel mesh to all continents for the last six years.

It was started with a factory havinga square metreage of 1 000 m2. In 1996an additional 1 600 m2 was added. An additional 1 000 m2 was addedin both 1999 and 2003, which brings the total factory area to 3 600 m2.

In January this year, GKD bought the Delkor company from IST and formed GKD Delkor.

In January 2006, an additional800 m2 of office space was added to the existing 450 m2 to accommodate the growth.

Delkor is a supplier of solid-liquid separation equipment, comprised of Thickeners, both conventional and High-Rate, Horizontal Vacuum Belt Filters, the Delkor Linear Screen and Delkor Filter Presses.

Since the acquisition, Delkor has introduced two new products in the form of the Maxflow polishingfilter and the Pneumapress tower-type filter.

The company has been successful in recent months in receiving orders for a large CCD Thickener circuit for a copper plant in Zambia, as well as Delkor Linear Screens for use in beach sands applications. A large number of Filter Presses of various sizes have also been supplied to a major platinum-producing company.Underground Settlers are currentlybeing installed in a number of sites and two orders have been received for turnkey underground muddewatering systems comprised of Settlers and Filter Presses. The value of these orders vary between R1-million and R10-million. The merge of these two companies has resulted in being able to offer a significant aftermarket support business, which offers spare parts, repair work, and scheduled refurbishment programs for Delkor equipment as well as for competitor’s equipment.

GKD is committed to providing opportunities and learnership to previously disadvantaged individuals in order to upgrade the local people in the Randfontein area, and provide them with the skills necessary for them to be able to support themselves and their families.

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