One has to embrace new technological and smarter engineering processes to remain the leader in sheet metal manufacturing, and that is precisely what Johannesburg-based sheet metal products manufacturer World Power Products (WPP) has done.

'We offer our customer's a smarter and more cost-efficient service, making us still, Gauteng's leading choice in sheet metal fabrication and manufacture,' says  WPP MD Jan Görtzen.

He joined WPP in 2013 and, along with factory manager Igmar van Rie, has successfully steered the company through the streamlining of factory processes coupled with the consolidation of operational space and machinery. These upgrades have turned WPP into a smart and efficient enterprise that is not only highly innovative in design, but offers a faster turnaround time with a better pricing structure than what is available elsewhere in Gauteng.

Long and Proud History
WPP was a family business that was founded by the Bahlig family and has proudly serviced the needs of its customers for over 50 years.  The company's initial part production and repair work soon expanded into the manufacture of high-precision sheet metal components, primarily for the telecommunications sector. Now, in addition to the custom-built cabinets and enclosures associated with WPP, the company offers specialised design services to meet specific customer requirements.

WPP is renowned for its expertise in the manufacture of high-precision, custom sheet metal products as well as standard mild steel and stainless steel enclosures and cabinets. We also manufacture the more specialised enclosures that house electrical and electronic components and data systems. While these items remain our core offering, we are able to fabricate other niche products, such as locks, handles, hinges and even camera lighting enclosures, in fact, we pride ourselves on being able to design and produce any product that is made from sheet metal, be it a standard or custom built design, says Van Rie, noting that some 70% of WPP's production is custom designed.

WPP's experienced team of designers offers full turnkey design services who work with customers from the conceptualisation stage, monitoring the progress and quality of all projects through to final product manufacture and delivery.

Smartly Upgraded
'To make WPP's operations smarter and more efficient, we analysed our factory procedures and identified areas where we could become more seamless and streamlined in our manufacturing processes. To this end, we remodelled and reduced the required factory space and now use 17 000 m2; established a more logical and innovative factory flow that has improved our quality assurance inspection procedures; implemented in-house training to upskill our staff to operate the latest in high-tech machinery that we have invested in, reduced our turnaround time and offer our existing and future customers the most cost efficient product in the country. The R10-million we have invested in machinery, technology and renovations is a reflection of our commitment to the growth of WPP and its customer base,' emphasises Van Rie.

Our Capabilities
The WPP factory comprises a logical flow through of specialised manufacturing operating rooms and comprises laser cutting, bending, punching, powder coating, milling and turning, plating and tool making. All of these operations are manned by professional and qualified technicians.
The company's manufacturing expertise enables WPP to explore the development of new products to meet ever-changing customer and market requirements.

The Future
Gˆrtzen states that WPP has found that in the past, outsourcing of certain functions has not delivered the quality it sought or is renowned for, hence, the company's investment in technology to ensure these functions can be completed in-house to the standards it requires.

'We are extremely fortunate that as markets have grown and changed, WPP has not only kept abreast of what our customer's need but have expanded into the design and manufacture of specialised products.

'We are a 100% proudly South African company manufacturing products that are 100% South African. All of us at WPP take great pride in our work. We are a serious player in the sheet metal industry and our products are of a first-world quality. We embrace the future positively and believe you will not get better service, attention to detail and cost effectiveness elsewhere. Our professionalism is our future,' he concluded.