Top Cape-based outsourced manufacturing firm, Tellumat Electronic Manufacturing, has again boosted its capacity, gained a Gauteng presence and added to its BBBEE credentials, by buying the non-core printed circuit board (PCB) assembly facility from Denel Optronics.
Denel Optronics, now Carl Zeiss Optronics, owned 70% by Carl Zeiss Optronics Gmbh and 30% by state-owned defence company Denel, specialises in the design, development, manufacture and support of electro-optical products for the military, aerospace and naval markets. It decided earlier this year to put its non-core mechanical manufacturing and PCB assembly business units out on tender.
Tellumat entered a successful 50/50 joint bid with a majority black-owned consortium led by Norman Clark, an ex-GM of Denel Optronics, says Murison Kotz'e, head of Tellumat Electronic Manufacturing.
"With a presence now in both Gauteng and the Western Cape, Tellumat now has a national manufacturing footprint. This is important, especially in the initial stages of a product`s development, where the customers may want to be close to the manufacturer, to be able to provide their input during the industrialisation stages," Kotze says.
Tellumat CEO Rasheed Hargey says the new company will continue to service its existing customer base, of which Carl Zeiss Optronics is the largest client. "We will also endeavour to expand our portfolio of offerings and client base, particularly in Gauteng," he says. Norman Clark has assumed the position of MD of the new company.
The acquisition comes six months after Tellumat`s acquisition of Rhomco Manufacturing, which boosted Tellumat Electronic Manufacturing`s capacity, equipment base, staff, management expertise and customer book.
Tellumat Electronic Manufacturing`s total throughput for just one of its customers currently exceeds 40 000 circuit boards per month, giving the SA market a cost-effective, quality, high-capacity alternative to cheap mass production in the Far East.
Hargeys says the acquisition is part of Tellumat`s mission to be a world-class technology innovator, offering full-turnkey supply of products, services and solutions in its core areas of business - defence, telecoms and manufacturing.
"This transaction also improves our Level 4 BBBEE standing (`Superior Contributor`), and gives us a foothold in the most important economic region in the country, with little standing in the way of further expansion."
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