Owing to a challenging economic climate, hydraulic systems designer and manufacturer Rand Building Hydraulics (RBH) has streamlined and consolidated its business operations, says CEO Robin Fowkes.
Streamlining a company’s business operations to improve efficiency is the only way to remain afloat in a tumultuous economy, says Fowkes.
He tells Engineering News that RBH has been negotiating with its overseas suppliers to reduce costs and has been improving the training and output of its personnel.
Despite the current economic circumstances, however, Fowkes remains positive and says that RBH is preparing for an imminent improvement in the economy. However, he admits that this upturn may come later rather than sooner.
Fowkes, who describes himself as a “subdued optimist”, believes that one of the positive aspects of an economic downswing is that it encourages businesses to streamline their processes.
Economic downswings can also serve to remove the ‘deadwood’ in the economy, thereby creating healthier and more robust sectors once the economy turns.
Fowkes warns, however, that this is not necessarily the outcome of an economic downturn and worries that rapid growth in other parts of Africa is shifting investors’ focus away from a sluggish South African economy.
“Industry’s demand for pay increases, compounded by intermittent labour unrest, is not conducive to promoting business and, though the cake is smaller, there are more pieces to cut,” says Fowkes, further explaining that, while prices are rising in other industries, such as mining, prices in the hydraulics industry have not changed much, therefore profit margins have decreased substantially.
Meanwhile,RBH has ventured north of South Africa, primarily aiming to supply the mining industries in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia.
RBH mainly supplies the agriculture industry in the Western Cape and has expanded its footprint in South Africa by opening a new Branch in Welkom, in the Free State, which strengthens its presence in the agriculture industry. With 35 years’ experience in the hydraulics industry, RBH is an ISO 9001-accredited company that prides itself on its skilled staff – which the company believes is integral to its success – and its ability to customise its service offering to fit clients’ requirements.