Plumbing Africa January 2020 | Page 50

48 BUSINESS AND TRAINING 48 BUSINESS AND TRAINING Kutana sees value and synergy in Atlas Plastics In 2019, Kutana Group acquired a 34% stake in the Little Lions Investments (LLI) group of companies, which owns 100% of Atlas Plastics (50th anniversary featured in the business section of Plumbing Africa, November issue). “We only invest in businesses if we believe there is an alignment of our values and we can meaningfully contribute to the long-term sustainable growth of the business,” explained Claire Du Bourg, investment principal at Kutana Group, “and we believe we have found a great addition in Atlas Plastics.” Other key drivers for the investment in LLI was their strong management team, an established customer base and a strong emphasis on quality, service delivery and production efficiencies as well as a diverse range of products and their commitment to the communities in which they operate. A factor that played a role in Kutana’s decision was that Atlas Plastics has been run by the Lategan family since inception. “As a family-run business, Atlas’s values of honesty, trust and communications strongly align with the values and culture of the Kutana Group. Claire Du Bourg, investment principal at Kutana Group. “We recognised the need to put a succession plan in place and to transform the company in order to set it up for long-term sustainable growth and development.” “Our first action was to appoint black women to the board of directors of LLI as we believe in being actively involved in driving growth for the business and supporting the management teams where needed, whether it be in governance and controls, business development, group synergies and group services, financing and banking support.” www.plumbingafrica.co.za @plumbingonline @plumbingonline The succession plan will entail the development and mentoring of black talent as well as the development and promotion of internal staff. Externally, regarding enterprise and supplier development, Atlas already has two supplier development businesses operating on their premises, that assist with the assembly of the toilet huts and explosives housing. Kutana CEO, Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantembe @PlumbingAfricaOnline January 2020 Volume 25 I Number 11