Back in the 80s when many saw fibre optics as a space age material, Interconnect Systems was the first private cabling company in SA to invest in a fully automatic fusion-splicing machine. Prior to this, only Telecoms giant Telkom owned this type of equipment. Interconnect purchased its first Fujikura to meet the needs of Sasol, for linking single and multimode fibre at a number of its plants.
To this day, Sasol continues to rely on Interconnect. In fact, through the years the company`s innovative spirit and quality-conscious approach have earned it the support of many loyal customers. Among them hundreds of discerning blue chip companies such as Absa, FNB, Ernst & Young, Siemens and PricewaterhouseCoopers, as well as a growing number of SMMEs.
Interconnect has achieved many SA industry firsts:
* First installation company to purchase its own high-pressure compressor for blown fibre installations. This promises customers a super-fast response to call-outs for the deployment or `blowing in` of this fibre type.
* First and only company to design and engineer a high-volume cable looming machine which mass produces correctly tensioned cable bundles off-site. This reduces labour costs and time spent on site, which reduces costs to the customer.
* Among the first to offer customers CAD floor plans, network diagrams and other drawings.
* The first to offer customers custom-designed, stylish network boxes and flush-mount face plates, back in the days when off-the-shelf products were rather ugly.
Best known for its ability to handle incredibly fast-track installations and `impossible` deadlines, the company has earned the respect of many of SA`s leading architects, electrical engineers and system integrators.
With its national footprint and BEE credentials, Interconnect Systems is one of the few cabling companies that can offer a one-stop solution to the country`s best-known corporations, chain stores and government institutions. For example, Nampak, Edcon, JP Morgan, and recently, the Department of Justice. Interconnect Systems also has the muscle to pull off large contracts outside of our borders - up in Africa and abroad.
Group MD, Willie van Aswegen, is a leader who inspires his people because of who he is and what he believes in. It`s Willie who has always had the vision which has led to the Interconnect brand being delivered to a large share of the local market. The perfect foil to Willie, Group Technical Director Tai van Aswegen, keeps his eye on the operational details. His technicians have been known to say that when Tai walks onto site, if there are any anomalies on the cabling plant, he`ll sniff them out within seconds.
One of the management team`s strategies for keeping customers happy is to speed up the career progress of the people in the organisation who take real pride in what they do. Believing that this is what consistently raises the company standard - which is essentially what continues to widen the gap between Interconnect and the competition.
Jayne Phiri, Interconnect`s Group Marketing director, comments: "In an industry that is constantly changing and particularly volatile, for the past 20 years Interconnect Systems has managed to stay steady and on course. Because we`ve set our sights on providing world-class cabling and communications solutions to our clients, I fully expect that we`ll maintain our position as forerunners in the industry."
Share