RACA Journal: ISSN 1812-772X
Hot and chilled
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
NEED TO BE SOUGHT OUT
G
eorge Bernard Shaw once said, “Change the plan but not the goal.” This will ring true
for the short- to medium-term future in this country.
Economists now believe that there is an oversupply of retail and commercial stock at
this point in time, and for the foreseeable future this sector will slow dramatically with more
development in areas such as cold storage where we can expect a change in the supply chain to
cater to market needs.
How drastically and rapidly the market dynamics in South Africa change! This may not bode
well planned construction projects and those in progress, but it opens up opportunities for
other services to the HVACR sector for example continued maintenance, and with the general
response and heightened awareness of ‘germs’, businesses will likely explore this.
Another element is the fact that buildings now have a far lower occupancy rate as many
more people are working from home or remotely. This also creates a new opportunity for home
office comfort, but also a potential major problem for the electricity grid.
Having participated in a recent virtual event (SAIRAC JHB AGM), the guest speaker was
renowned South African economist Mike Schussler, who pointed out that statistics indicate the
lowest level of business confidence since 1975 – when the business confidence index was first
initiated in South Africa.
However, he also pointed out that the South African private sector was in a financial
position (with a general positive cash flow) to change the fortunes of the country. In addition,
unlike other countries around the world, the South African private sector shows a positive
disposable income and ranks Top 10 in the world for savings in pension funds – which, overall,
gives the private sector economy a lot of legs.
Further, the general feeling on forecasts is that there will be a significant boom once the
lockdown is over and our Covid-19 peak is over, whereafter we will continue in what is known as
a long U-Shape recovery over the next two years to reach pre-lockdown activity.
One particular note worth mentioning – which surprised me, but which I welcomed greatly
– was Shussler’s comment on the role of marketing for a business. This was in fact the fourth
item on his list of how he suggests business in the sector can make it through these difficult
times. He said, “Don’t stop marketing. Now is the time when you may lose contracts or clients
and you need to gain more clients which will take time – and awareness of your business is
more important than ever.” Having over 20 years’ experience in a marketing environment
myself – this couldn’t be more true. Far too many companies underestimate the length and
process of the buying cycle.
In this issue we cover our regulars – local and international news, our regular contributors’
comments, and we continue with the Bitzer Refrigerant Report. Our feature is on evaporative
cooling and our project is the expanded Fourways Mall that has claimed the spot as the largest
mall in South Africa with over 170 000 m² of retail space. Our profile is on tech wiz, Cameron Clark.
I trust you find value in this issue and should you have any comments, complaints or
compliments I would love to hear from you. This is your magazine and I would like to ensure
that you are reading about what you like and what to know about. I look forward to engaging
with you, and please feel free to follow our social media channels too!
I’ll leave you with a quote from one of the best investors of the century, Warren Buffett:
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted that tree a long time ago.”
Let’s plant trees and not chop them down before they have had a chance to root! RACA
Ambient greetings, Ben
Office: +27 (0)11 579 4940 | Cell: +27 (0)82 94 00 701 (call/text/WhatsApp)
Email: [email protected]
www.hvacronline.co.za www.hvacronline.co.za
RACA Journal I October 2020
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