JOHANNESBURG –September 16, 2018 – Surge Technology and DEHN Africa are proudly celebrating over 30 years of doing business together in the surge and lightning protection industry.

This is according to Paul van As, LV divisional manager of Surge Technology, who says, “The history of the two companies began in 1984, when Hans Slagter, the then-MD of Pontins, signed an agency agreement with DEHN + SÖHNE in Germany to sell its product range locally in South Africa. Initially, Pontins concentrated on external lightning protection products, but with DEHN also having an extensive range of surge arresters, this created a whole new market in South Africa,and thus Pontins RSA was born. Using the DEHN Blitzductors for data lines, and VM280 power surge arresters, Pontins RSA was the first company to offer guaranteed lightning protection for weigh bridges.”

Van As joined Pontins RSA in 1988 as a sales engineer to market the DEHN surge arrester range. He was sent over to DEHN Germany for training under Dr Peter Hasse, joint MD of DEHN Germany as well as Chairman of the IEC standards on surge and lightning protection.
In 1989, Pontins RSA, as the leader in the surge protection industry in South Africa, changed its name to Surge Technology. DEHN owned 26 percent shares in Surge Technology, which then began manufacturing the DEHN VM280 and Blitzductors in South Africa, responding to local demand. There was even a time, says Van As, when Surge Technology exported product back to DEHN Germany. He describes three of the flagship products - 100kA (8/80) DEHNventil VGA, the 40kA DEHN VM280 and the Blitzductor – as follows:

• The 100kA (8/80) DEHNventil VGA was one of the first products available in South Africa that could withstand direct lightning, and it was used extensively on sites exposed to direct lightning.  A lightning counter was fitted on a Telkom microwave tower in KZN and it recorded over 30 direct lightning strikes, with no damage reported. Similar success stories were obtained from Transnet (railways) and Sentech (the SABC), which also owned many high sites.
• The 40kA DEHN VM280 became the industry standard for surge protection in electrical distribution boards. These units were installed extensively where a high level of protection was required and some of these units supplied and installed in the early 1990s are still in use today, showing the quality of the DEHN product range.
• The Blitzductor became the industry standard for surge protection for data cables and was used extensively by the Department of Water Affairs and in sewerage plants to protect the 4-20mA loops used to monitor and control these plants. The same units were also used in mining for the protection of instrumentation connected to PLCs, as well as on weigh bridges.

“In 1994, DEHN and Surge Technology launched the first lightning current arresters in South Africa that could withstand 100kA (10/350).  These units had to be separated from the Class2 arresters with at least 15m of cable. At the same time, the VM 280 was replaced by the DEHNguard 275,” explains Van As.

“In 1998, Surge Technology started marketing the DEHN range of HV safety equipment. Due to the hard work of Johan van Staden, these products became the industry standard used by Eskom, municipalities and the mining industry. These products include voltage detectors, phasing sticks and safety earthing devices.

“In 2001 the first combination Class 1 and Class 2DEHNventil was released. This was a game changer and was used extensively in the cellular telephone industry, as well as Telkom SA, Transnet and Sentech in broadcasting. Its compact size reduced the space required in electrical distribution boards from 20 DIN module spacings 360mm down to 144mm. In 2006, the new look modular Red line products were released.”

In 2013, DEHN Africa opened in Gauteng, South Africa, but Surge Technology continued to sell and market the DEHN range of surge arresters and HV Electrical Safety equipment as a Value-Added Reseller.

Hano Oelofse, technical director at DEHN Africa, says, “The history of Surge Technology and DEHN showcases the excellent work that has been pioneered in the lightning protection industry in South Africa to date. Ours is a country with a high lightning flash density in many geographical areas, and we at DEHN Africa therefore look forward to continuing our ongoing partnership with Surge Technology for many years to come, in the quest to protect life and property from lightning.”

Concludes Van As: “This remains a very successful partnership, allowing DEHN Africa access to market via a Level 1 B-BBEE company under the hands-on leadership of our managing director, Mohau Mokhele. With our Surge Technology employees having represented DEHN for over 30 years, we have a wealth of experience and knowledge of DEHN products, and the surge and lightning protection industry in general. Surge Technology and DEHN Africa look forward to many more years of working together to grow our market share in the surge and lightning protection industry.”