Power management company Eaton signed a premium distribution partnership deal with electrical components manufacturer Diesel Electric Services last week in Sandton, which will result in Diesel Electric distributing between 80% and 90% of Eaton’s range of comprehensive products and solutions into sub-Saharan Africa.
Under the terms of the deal, both companies agreed to a yearly renewable partnership, which is expected to benefit different sectors in Africa, with solutions that will be efficient and relevant for different operations.
With Diesel Electric having business relationships with various consulting groups and end-users in Africa, the partnership will help customers achieve performance-optimised data centres with reliable, increased efficiency and more flexible
data-centre designs.
“As a company that prides itself on pleasing its customers at all times, it was important for us to partner with a company that shared the same values that we share,” Eaton Africa MD Shane Kilfoil said during a media briefing in Sandton.
He added that Diesel Electric had the same values, as the company provided a one-stop turnkey solution for its customers that would simultaneously be cost and time efficient.
Diesel Electric MD Kevin Donaldson pointed out that the company would use Eaton products and solutions to manufacture its own range of products, including diesel- or gas-driven generating sets, specialised products for baseload transmitter stations and uninterrupted power supply, fuel conditioning systems, switchboards, installations and reticulation, as well as services and rebuilds.
“Also, the partnership will expose our clients to all-inclusive solutions under one Eaton and Diesel Electric partnership to fulfil the long-term Diesel Electric business model’s aspiration of providing a ‘one-stop bespoke power solution’,” he reaffirmed.
Besides the growth opportunities and expected geographical expansions into more African countries that the partnership would provide, Eaton Africa regional controller Matteo Vitali further pointed out at the media briefing that skills development remained a key focus aspect for the partnership.
Currently, the combined workforce of both com- panies comprised 900 workers throughout Africa, he noted, adding that, “with markets in Africa emerging at a rapid rate, we have to continuously invest in our skills offering and train more personnel”.