Unilever South Africa has added to its power protection systems by purchasing an additional 250kVA UPS along with two static switches from local UPS manufacturer, Meissner. This move means that Meissner products are now being used in at Unilever`s head office, as well as sites in Boksburg and Maydon Wharf.
Carl Stone, product manager at Unilever, explains the local company structure, saying that Unilever SA`s products are divided into two categories - home, personal care and foods.
"Home and personal care combines international favourites such as Skip, Ego, Mentadent P and Vaseline Intensive Care with locally developed brands such as Dawn and Impulse. Our range of margarines such as Rama, Flora and Stork forms the cornerstone of our foods division together with Knorr, but we are developing tea brands such as Lipton, Glen and Joko, OLA ice cream and Simonsberg cheeses.
"Given the diverse operations within the Unilever stable, our enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is crucial. This system is supported from head office and the Meissner products that we incorporate into our IT infrastructure ensures that all electronic equipment is supplied with clean, uninterrupted power. Without this continuous flow of power, our business could suffer great losses, financially and otherwise," he adds.
Graham Beyleveld, sales director at Meissner, says clean power is often neglected. "Companies that install UPS technology do so to protect expensive electronic and computer equipment from power fluctuations, outages and, to a certain extent, lightning. And in recent years we have seen a dramatic uptake of this technology as companies have come to realise the risk associated with unprotected power systems."
However, Beyleveld adds that installing the correct UPS is only part of the answer. "This sort of equipment must be serviced regularly and tested frequently if it is to be of use when it is needed. Meissner ensures that their service levels are in keeping with the client`s expectations."
Stone agrees, saying that Unilever supports suppliers that offer good service. "Cost is not the ultimate factor for us. Unilever cannot tolerate poor or unreliable service in the IT arena as we are reliant on our computer systems to function. We have strong relationship with Meissner, built over an extended period of time."
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