News
NEWLY APPOINTED MD AT
JCI TALKS NEXT LEVEL FOR BUSINESS
RACA Journal had the opportunity to chat with managing director & general manager ( Sub-Saharan Africa ) of Johnson Controls International ( JCI ), Shiven Sukraj , to discuss what ’ s on the table for the company ’ s drive and growth in the region .
The appointment of Sukraj came into effect at the beginning of the year ( 2022 ) and encompasses a vast skillset of doing business locally and across the African continent . He has held several positions and at some of the country ’ s largest entities over his career to date . Additionally , he has a substantial knowledge base of industrial-type operations , business development , and ‘ how to ’ in Africa .
These specialist skills align to JCI ’ s current pathway of re-inventing the local brand and positioning the business to better serve their customers in the African market . “ As a legal entity , operating in South Africa for example , businesses need to have the necessary ‘ licenses to operate ’– meaning meeting the certification requirements required by the country and various industries that are served or intended to be served by the business . Achieving these certifications is our immediate focus that we aim to conclude by the latest , in the third quarter of this year . A lot of energy is being directed towards this objective , because for our business to remain relevant and to access previously untapped market opportunities , obtaining the right credentials is a key enabler – these credentials don ’ t only include local certification requirements , but also international-level standards so that customers can reap the value of working with a multi-national company ”, says Sukraj .
Once JCI has concluded this step , they will be positioned to expand their footprint and penetration into various other previously untapped markets and industries for the business across the Sub-Saharan continent .
According to Sukraj , what is also becoming increasingly important today is that businesses are adopting the treatment of the workspace as individual ecosystems - where one effectively and accurately manages elements like ventilation , cooling or heating , lighting , access control and building occupancy . This is where JCI is able to provide excellent solutions from its global portfolio perspective that will be rolled out locally . Here , their flagship software platform – OpenBlue – has the ability to integrate all of a customer ’ s different facility components together and deploy an effective
© RACA Journal | Benjamin Brits
strategy to manage these services based on occupant location and needs - as opposed to an inefficient workspace with a discrete , uncoordinated services approach . This means enabling facility operators or tenants to use energy more efficiently and at the same time enhancing the occupant health measures in the workspace .
“ JCI has become far more active in the control space . The increased economic activity of populations on the continent has resulted in increased workspace demands , with a focus on adapted HVAC and industrial refrigeration ( due to COVID requirements and the need for energy efficiency in operations ). HVAC and refrigeration are further driven by increasing urbanisation , population growth and a rapidlyexpanding digital economy that requires more data centres on the continent – all of which are predominantly reliant on cooling technology . JCI is privileged to count among our customer-base , some large clients across various sectors where their requirements in HVAC & R are quite demanding and involve precise temperature control . We certainly don ’ t
Johnson Controls South Africa new managing director – Shiven Sukraj .
www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za RACA Journal I July 2022 5