PERFORMANCE FOCUS The company is having its new products certified, and aims to grow exports
Electrical terminations specialist company Pratley is having a range of its products recertified, and new products certified in countries to which it exports as part of its drive to grow its exports and diversify the range of products sold in these markets, says Pratley CEO Kim Pratley.
Expanding its markets is also supported by Pratley’s focus on controlling as many aspects of its supply and value chains as possible to ensure the high quality of its materials and the performance of its products. This applies to all of its divisions and product ranges, including adhesives, electrical and minerals.
Ensuring high export-service levels is critical to sustaining and growing exports, in addition to ensuring that products are of the highest quality, and more than exceed the certifications they hold, says Pratley.
“Many of our explosion-protected electrical products in particular protect the health and lives of people; there can be no compromise on their quality and performance,” he emphasises.
Noting the tepid local economic conditions and short-term expectations, Pratley says boosting exports is a firm part of its strategy, in line with its focus on diversification to overcome market fluctuations and limit exposure to only one market and industry.
“We export a fair amount to Africa, the Middle East and Europe and have a presence on every continent. “We have a small presence in the US, which we are also aiming to grow through new products and organic growth.
“We are also localising our products for these markets, for example, to meet consumer packaging regulations. The programme to recertify our products is well advanced and is necessary to benchmark the improved performance of our products that hold certifications and to certify our new products.”
Further, Pratley adds that the company’s research and development (R&D) underpins the development of new products and improvements to existing products, and provides inputs that are used to improve its existing industrial processes, products and supply chains.
“New ideas, whether from the R&D teams or our operational teams, are shared across the company’s business divisions. This is a key component of our strategy of serving diverse markets. “Over our 72-year history, we have learnt that, when one market or sector is down, another may be stable. We aim to continue this strategy of diversification and development.”
The company will launch new electrical and mineral products over the next few months, with the development of its mineral products promising to yield interesting products. The company is also aiming to improve the efficiency of its adhesives manufacturing processes and will increase automation in its production facilities.
Meanwhile, Pratley highlights that talented people leaving the country is a major concern, emphasising that the diversity of specialisations in the company and the ease with which employees can get involved in projects that interest them help to ensure that employees find their work fulfilling.