JSE-listed Allied Technologies (Altech) yesterday opened subsidiary Altech UEC's new set-top box manufacturing facility, which was spurred on by SA's imminent move to digital television.
The plant, in Durban's Mount Edgecombe, is a 13 500m2 facility that incorporates all Altech UEC's facilities under one roof, from plastic moulding to painting, printing, surface-mounting of components and packaging.
Altech UEC's facility can produce three million decoders a year, a figure that can be doubled through the installation of new lines, which will take about three to four weeks, says CEO Craig Venter, speaking at the opening ceremony.
Venter says it has taken Altech UEC 14 years to get where it is now after the first box rolled off its production line in 1997. He says the manufacturer is ready to make boxes once SA turns on digital broadcasting. “We've taken the lead here.”
SA is moving to digital terrestrial broadcasting using the European DVB-T2 standard, an upgrade to the first generation DVB-T version. The country has set itself the ambitious target to turn off analogue signal by the end of 2013.
However, about nine million set-top boxes will be required to convert the new signal for viewing on older television sets.
Communications minister Roy Padayachie says digital television will enable South Africans to move into a new world of multi-channel content. “Today, we are sitting at the threshold of such a major change.”
Padayachie says digital television gives SA the opportunity to grow companies into global brands, because countries in sub-Saharan Africa will need boxes as well. “The opportunity, in fact, is enormous.”
“We're ready for digital television, and we're ready for the Southern African Development Community,” says Venter.
Consolidation moves
Venter says the facility is the only one of its kind in Africa and is on par with any specialised decoder manufacturing centre around the world.
Altech UEC CEO Peter Balchin says the company moved its manufacturing facilities from six different buildings into one.
The new factory is located in a building that used to house a cash-and-carry outlet and only required customisation, Venter says.
Altech has spent about R1 billion during the past five years to ramp up its production facilities, notes Venter. It has invested in the bulk of the machinery, which has now been moved to the new site, over the past three to four years, he adds.
Balchin says Altech moved into set-top box production after MultiChoice launched DStv in 1995. The company started making decoders in 1997, having previously only designed and developed the boxes. By 1999, the company had made a million boxes.
By the end of last year, the company had manufactured 10 million decoders for clients in countries such as Australia, Dubai and Turkey. This year, it will complete another three million boxes, says Balchin.
Altech UEC was the first company in the world to manufacture dual-view and personal video recorders, says Balchin. Altech UEC employs about 1 000 staff, including 300 software engineers.
The company goes through 1.5 billion components a day, and spends R100 million on supplies each month, adds Balchin.
Venter says local intellectual property development is key to creating jobs and reducing poverty. A local Silicon Valley may sound far-fetched, but poverty can only be eradicated through economic growth, he points out.
* ITWeb attended the opening courtesy of Altech.
Share