When the East London operation of Leoni Wiring SA - the local subsidiary of the international wire manufacturer, Leoni AG - decided to upgrade all its PCs, it had two choices: it could follow its parent company and opt for an international supplier - or it could support the local economy
"We wanted to go local," says Rhys Gottwald, network administrator at Leoni Wiring East London, which manufacturers all the harnesses (wiring) used in the production of Daimler Chrysler (Mercedes Benz) vehicles in SA.
"The entire focus of our company is to used local suppliers and support local industries wherever possible. The issue was to find an East London company capable of supplying around R1 million worth of international brand PCs as and when required, and at the right price.
First Technology, an independent IT solutions provider with branch offices throughout SA - including East London - was able to meet Leoni`s requirements thanks to the group`s sophisticated infrastructure and excellent relationship with the PC vendor, IBM.
"The level of service provided by First Technology more than justified our decision to deal with an East London company." Gottwald says.
Bridgette Dunlop, corporate account manager at First Technology East London, says the company had previously supplied Leoni with consumables and some hardware.
"This is one of the largest hardware orders ever handled by First Technology in East London. By working closely with IBM, we were able to deliver the PCs on time and within budget," she concludes.
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First Technology is one of SA`s largest, independent IT solutions providers, offering customers solutions and services that maximise business productivity, reduce the risk associated with deploying new technologies and minimise the total cost of IT ownership. The company has fully-fledged branches in every major business node across SA and maintains one of the largest teams of highly skilled technical personnel in the country.
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