Providing access to some of the world’s most renowned brands is a key part of Renttech South Africa’s value offering for its customers.  The company’s distributorship of the Harris range of metalworking products is helping to realise the company’s goal of becoming the leading Southern African supplier of welding and construction-related equipment.

The Harris Products Group, with an extensive global presence and a strong emphasis on quality and safety, chose Renttech South Africa to distribute its product range in South Africa in September 2012. And the new Harris service centre at Renttech’s premises in Wadeville - the only one of its kind in South Africa - will offer local clients many benefits when it comes to convenience and accessibility to service and products.

Gerrit van Zyl, Managing Director of Renttech South Africa, explains: “Our new Harris service centre will bring our customers a much wider product offering, improved stock-holding and increased availability. We will offer the same service standards, based on the international ISO certification, as the Harris Group globally, and all products will be repaired and refurbished to Harris’ strict standards.”

For Fabio Pedracolli, Managing Director of the Harris International Products Group, Harris’s relationship with Renttech is based on a highly synergistic partnership which will leverage off Renttech’s expanding footprint.

“The market sectors we serve in South Africa mirror those of Renttech South Africa – particularly mining, petrochemical, rail, ship building and repair, paper and pulp, food and beverage and heavy industry.  Our product reliability is well-known across all these different market sectors, having served the South African market for 60 years.  Harris is very confident of Renttech South Africa’s professionalism, technical abilities and expertise to support our products in this country.”

The Harris Products Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Lincoln Electric Company (a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic welding system, plasma and oxy-fuel cutting equipment) manufactures a range of products used in the brazing, soldering, welding, cutting and gas distribution industries. These include torches, pressure and flow control equipment for welding and cutting, as well as laboratory, laser and high purity gas applications. These products are carefully designed and tailored to suit various applications and industries.

Renttech South Africa, which offers the largest fleet of rental welding equipment in Southern Africa, provides industry with the rental and sales of a wide range of welding, power generation, lifting, rigging and construction-related equipment, and consumables.

“The Harris range of metalworking products has a flawless reputation in industry, and is a perfect complement to our current product range,” says van Zyl. “The products are renowned for quality, safety and durability.  All Harris products are manufactured to ISO 9001 standards, so we can assure our customers of industry best practice equipment.”

The Harris Group is looking forward to leveraging off Renttech South Africa’s extensive experience and working knowledge of local industry, particularly its 20 year track record in the petrochemical sector.

“Renttech South Africa’s s expanding footprint nationally and growth strategy on the continent of Africa were important factors in the distributorship agreement,” notes Pedracolli. “We believe that our relationship with Renttech South Africa, through their operational footprint, technical ability and great stockholding capacity will consolidate and expand upon the Harris brand and reputation in South Africa.”

For Renttech South Africa, the Harris distributorship and new service centre feed into its strategy of providing its extensive client base with a reputable single point of contact of all gas welding, cutting equipment and consumable requirements. It also underlines the company’s commitment to quality, and making South African industry aware of counterfeit products which, although they may offer attractive pricing, feature lower safety standards.

“We are confident that our repair centre, with a combination of Harris engineering and product management, and Renttech South Africa’s technical expertise and superior inventory management will provide a new level of customer service.  Based on Harris’s commitment to best manufacturing practices, we now have the ability to offer extended warranties and a guarantee of products of uncompromising safety and quality,” van Zyl concludes.