LOCAL MANUFACTURING
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100% LOCAL
All raw materials are sourced locally. “We do not import
anything, apart from the machinery. We essentially make
everything in-house. We have sheets coming in and the
finished products going out.
“It has been quite a slog for the past 10 years. But it has
also been exciting, and that excitement is still with us.
That is because we develop new products on a weekly
basis. In fact, we have just developed two shower drain
ranges,” Berti adds.
He says many companies are looking at ways of
reducing the amount of input materials required, without
compromising on quality. “It’s about supplying fit-for-
purpose products.”
Berti laments the fact that there are very few national
standards governing the drainage systems industry
in South Africa. “I think this should change. The way
I see it, you only need to have your equipment tested
every few years. I find that ridiculous. It is true that an
inspector could come past here and check to see that
our components haven’t changed. But, so long as the
products meet the agreed sizes and have been tested at
some point, you are good to go. Clamping down on the
national standards would cut out a lot of the false claims
that are being made in the industry,” he argues. Herbish
guarantees its products in terms of manufacture and
materials used. “Effectively, it’s a lifetime guarantee; you
would have to implode buildings before you replace one
of our floor drains or grease traps!”
He says input costs in local manufacturing are high.
“Anybody could potentially cobble a few machines
together and, with some basic tools, start producing.
But the question is: Who is going to buy those products?
You’ve got to make enough volumes to support the
business, with all its fixed costs. I have seen some prized
jobs out there. I cannot let inferior quality products leave
my factory.
the laser cutter.” The company has also had to prepare
itself for power interruptions and has a backup generator
on standby.
Berti says the company is looking at adding machines
that will improve its quality even further. Producing
plastic components has crossed his mind. “We have
considered a hybrid offering where the floor drain is
stainless steel and the water seal plastic. We have run
some 3-D modelling and done some 3-D printing to
check how everything looks.”
There are pros and cons to consider, though. While
plastic water seals do not get stolen like steel ones do,
plastic tooling and injection moulding are prohibitively
expensive. “You never know what type of reception you
will get from the market. Plastic components are quick
to make, but they can break. Their chemical composition
can change over time and become brittle. Holes can be
made in them and leaks can result. Some people use
harsh chemicals like peroxide to kill off bacteria. Rubber
and plastic components can be affected by that.”
Those are worries and perhaps the main reason why we
haven’t gone down that road yet,” he explains. PA
“Clamping down
on the national
standards would
cut out a lot of the
false claims that
are being made in
the industry.”
1.
2.
Staff are loyal to their
jobs and are continually
upskilled.
All Herbish products
are embossed with the
company’s logo.
1
2
“My philosophy is that before our components go into the
ground, our customers are going to touch them and look
at them closely in their hands. They must think: ‘Wow,
this is a quality product.’ There is a philosophy in our
manufacturing. I call it the ‘broken box syndrome’.”
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
He says the manufacturing process is fairly labour
intensive. “Limitations come from the labour force
you have. We try to automate as much as we can. We
have one welding robot that helps a lot. The fibre laser
is paramount and so we don’t need subcontractors.
We don’t use our guillotines much anymore. We have
progressed from the guillotines to the plasma cutter to
May 2018 Volume 24 I Number 3