Plumbing Africa Directory 2019 | Page 5

FITTING THOUGHT Adding value wins the pipe relay With the dawn of a new year on our doorstep, the reflective question again surfaces: what can we do better next year? D espite the obviously stressed environment — which is the SA Inc. story for 2018 that reverberates throughout most sectors — the plumbing industry in particular saw some significant and positive movement in the grand scheme of things. Several companies in the plumbing arena celebrated milestone birthdays this year, varying from 20 to 50 years in business. Inevitably, the question on fellow plumbers’ lips is, what is the key to their success? Not surprisingly, the common denominators are: quality and customer service. In today’s world, adding value to your customers is no longer a special offering; in fact, customers expect added value as the norm. Businesses of the future need to consider what added value can be transferred to customers to make the service offering more convenient and appealing. This is particularly relevant in the water space (with plumbers being the guardians of how this precious resource reaches end users), where the pace of development in ideas and technologies happens more rapidly than our ability to acquire the knowledge on it. Keeping abreast of technology and changes in the sector is also high up on the success- factor chart — relying on the ‘same old’ is no longer going to be good enough. The number of serious potable water shortages is affecting countries around the globe — not only South Africa, but many African countries and even Great Britain, Australia, ISSN 1812 - 1705 Audit Bureau of Circulations Apr - Jun 2018 Controlled free distribution         3575 INTERACT MEDIA DEFINED Reg. 2014/092774/07 | VAT. 4560266159 www.plumbingafrica.co.za and parts of Asia. This has not only been linked to the expanding population, but to the vast food production requirements, industry processing, and the number one world risk: erratic weather, which, in recent years, has produced extreme drought conditions in many areas. Logic would then lead us to the point where on-site water harvesting and re-use will become part of everyday life. Having knowledge of these solutions in itself creates value for clients, not to mention the systems that could be installed — businesses should capitalise on these opportunities. This year, Plumbing Africa again covered many of these topics to provide you with greater insight from experts in the field, and to highlight the importance of keeping up to date with technology advancements. At a recent event, co-hosted by the Department of Science and Technology, there was a lot of debate about the future of our water. One topic that was discussed particularly sparked my interest: decentralised wastewater systems and specifically, on-site waste management, which potentially will change the entire water and plumbing sectors. Given the time it would take to process required legislation and standards, if and when this is eventually implemented, plumbers would need to understand the technology and processes involved as no doubt, they would be the ones fielding calls when something goes wrong. Through the tough times, the future always holds exciting prospects. Having been a part of the plumbing industry for nearly 25 years, Plumbing Africa always aims to add value to our readers, online communities, and exhibition media platforms and so, we will continue to provide you with relevant class-leading information that empowers businesses through specialist industry intelligence. We encourage your feedback, so please engage with us — what you have to say is important to us. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the latest member of the Plumbing Africa team, Warren Robertson. Warren joins us as senior writer and will be your go-to contact should you wish to share any news, events, projects, technical articles, or just your comments. Warren has been writing across many sectors over the years and has built up a significant understanding of many industries. Please contact Warren on [phone] or at [email protected]. I look forward to 2019 being a year of progress and further positive changes for the plumbing sector as we embrace change and technology. Happy plumbing! Ben OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Sean Macnamara, CA (SA) OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE • Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA) • Sani`ter Africa, Plumbdrain Africa • Polymer Hot & Cold Technology Group (PHACT) • Plumbing Design Association (PDA) PRINTER Typo Colour Printing Specialists Cnr Bezuidenhout & Beaufort St, Troyeville 2094 Tel: [phone] DELIVERY/SUBSCRIPTIONS [email protected] DISTRIBUTION/MAILING CAB Holdings (Pty) Ltd 1 Trein Street, The Gables, Cleveland, 2001 Tel: [phone] CONTENT MANAGER & MANAGING EDITOR Benjamin Brits • [email protected] SENIOR WRITER Warren Robertson • [email protected] SUBEDITOR Elaine Enslin OPERATIONS MANAGER Chantelle van Deventer [email protected] DESIGN/LAYOUT Selina Morulane • [email protected] NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES Director: Dale Macnamara • [email protected] Process coordinator: Estelle Thurtle [email protected] HEAD OFFICE Interact Media Defined (Pty) Ltd 13A Riley Rd, Bedfordview 2007 PO Box 695 Edenvale 1610 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [email protected] FINANCIAL MANAGER Laetitia Arnott • [email protected] MANAGING DIRECTOR Richard Bicker Caarten ADVISORY COMMITTEE • Andrew Camphausen • Chris Kyle • Evert Swanepoel • Francisco Habib • Gary Chandler • Lawrence Benatar • Steve Brown 3 DISCLAIMER While every reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the advice and information given, neither the editor, publisher, proprietor, staff nor any official body represented or published in this issue, will accept responsibility for any damages, loss, injuries or false claims that may arise or be made in the content. Disclaimers by individual companies are hereby overridden. Reproduction of any of the content is expressly forbidden in terms of the Copyright Act of 1987 with all amendments. All requests to reproduce must be made in writing to the Publisher and such confirmation must be given in writing before proceeding. A copy of where the reproduction was published must be supplied to the Publisher at the above address. No reasonable request will be refused provided all conditions are met. All Publication and Exhibition titles are registered as trade marks in terms of the Trade Marks Act of 1993 and are held by Interact Media Defined (Pty) Ltd, Reg No 2014/092774/07. Plumbing Africa Directory 2019