Power management company Eaton on Thursday signed a premium distribution partnership deal with electrical components manufacturer Diesel Electric Services, which would see Diesel Electric distribute about 80% to 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 was expected to benefit different sectors in Africa with solutions that would be efficient and relevant for different operations.

With Diesel Electric having business relationships with various consulting groups and end-users across the African continent, the partnership would help customers achieve performance-optimised data centres with reliable, increased efficiency and more flexible data centre designs.

“Being 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 possessed 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 Diesel Electric 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, uninterrupted power supply, fuel conditioning systems, switchboards, installations and reticulation, as well as service and rebuilds.

“Also, the partnership will expose our clients to all inclusive solutions under one Eaton and Diesel Electric partnership, as well as fulfill the long-term Diesel Electric business model’s aspiration of providing a ‘One-stop bespoke power solution’,” he reaffirmed.

Besides the growth opportunities and anticipated geographical expansions into more African countries that the partnership would provide, Eaton Africa regional controller Matteo Vitali pointed out that skills development remained a key aspect of focus for the partnership.

“Currently, we have 900 workers throughout Africa when combining the workforce of both companies. With markets in Africa emerging at a rapid rate, we have to continuously invest in our skills offering and train more personnel,” he explained.

He added that, over a year ago, Eaton Africa had implemented a Sales Graduate Programme, which put students through an internship programme where they were placed at different operations in Africa. Students hailed from different parts of Africa and were not restricted to South Africa.

Already having identified the benefits of the programme, through its partnership with Diesel Electric, Vitali indicated that more graduates would be trained through the programme.

“This is as a result of our belief that investing in young professionals is equivalent to us investing in the future,” he stated.