BUSINESS AND TRAINING
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plumbing and construction merchants and planning its
expansion into Africa.
Rossi says, “Ever since its establishment in 1961,
Caleffi has sought a long-term strategy in order to
be recognised in the market as a quality producer,
recognising that if we compete only on price, we could
not be competitive. We never enter a market to test the
water and then leave – we’re here for the long term.
Our differentiator is to provide a service supporting our
products, including knowledge transfer and pre- and
post-engineering, whether we are present in a market
(such as in South Africa) or as an importer.
“Worldwide, our marketing strategy has been to
approach designers to specify our products for new
or existing installations – given we sell technical
products which require explanation as to their use
and advantages. We don’t simply sell a product, but
rather a state-of-the-art system which requires an
explanatory discussion. Designers often like to know
how a product is used, not just locally, but where
technological trends are going internationally from
among the more than 90 countries where Caleffi
is active. Therefore, Caleffi Italy will often back up
CalAfrica’s educational activities. Once people are
educated, we have globally received good feedback
and positive perceptions, and it is the same here in
South Africa,” says Rossi.
Alongside the designer segment, CalAfrica has been
successful in garnering the insurance market, he says,
and now adds the merchant segment to that strategy
for penetrating the market.
When Italian plumbing applications manufacturer
Caleffi Hydronic Solutions started in the 1990s with its
process of globalisation, the first country it looked at
outside of Europe was South Africa, where it already
had relationships – in this instance with Abraham
Fullerton. The resulting CalAfrica became the exclusive
distributor of Caleffi in Southern Africa.
Fabio Rossi, Caleffi Italy export area manager together with his technical support
manager, Stefano Carini, who provides technical assistance on demand for installations
of Caleffi systems.
KEY FACTS
1. Caleffi manufacturing site:
• Approximately 90% of production is located at Fontaneto.
• Fully automated systems.
• Land area of 135 000m 2
• 112 machines, 36 of which are presses for plastic moulding, 60 assembling machines
and 16 transfer processing machines.
• 1 billion plastic components per year.
• 90 employees on two shifts.
• 70 million pieces assembled.
2. Caleffi headquarters:
He explains that the group’s strategy in each country
depends on local conditions. In South Africa, there
is a strong merchant presence, and this is Caleffi’s
preferred route to market – but this is not the case in
every country, says Rossi. • Caleffi HQ spans a land area of 140 000m 2 of which almost 90 000m 2 is covered.
A further aspect of Caleffi’s strategy is the expansion
into Africa. It has a presence in North Africa (which
it serves from its French operation), Angola (served
from Portugal), and Mauritius, while further planned
expansion will be realised from South Africa. “We
previously lacked the resources for a comprehensive
strategy to open up Africa for Caleffi, and we are
currently in the process of establishing contacts
and learning about them via CalAfrica. We have
an agreement for them to open up Botswana and
Namibia. We haven’t rushed this due to our long-
term strategy – we make sure of a country before
entering, and then do so step by step, determining
which products are suited to each market and what
marketing strategy. • Caleffi HQ is home to the CUBOROSSO research and development centre and the
MAV, the automated vertical warehouse.
Another component of the strategy for South Africa,
says Rossi, is to introduce new technologies and new
products to the market to increase the technical level
October 2019 Volume 25 I Number 8
• The facility handles more than 350 million machined parts.
• The facility produces approximately 20 million finished pieces a year.
• 400 employees work at Caleffi HQ, working over two shifts.
of the Caleffi systems themselves. This strategy also
underpins the search for partners in Africa which
have the appropriate level of expertise to understand
and educate users on the technical aspects of the
systems. “They are not easy to find. In other regions,
such as the Middle and Far East, it took years of
visiting and educating the local market for us to get
established with a suitable partner – because the
partner is representing our brand and strategy, and
we have to have trust in them.
“This is an evolution of a strategy that Caleffi started
20 years ago,” he concludes. PA
www.plumbingafrica.co.za