PROFILE
The welding division, better known as SA METALWORKS WELDING strives to provide our customers with innovative products and specialised services. We supply reputable(? vs more flattering word?) quality products across the welding spectrum from stick welding (MMA) to seamless flux and metal cored wires (FCW), covering the full spectrum of steel and other metals and alloys.
SA METALWORKS WELDING is lead by a competent Executive. Two of its members have both been involved as executive directors in the welding and steel sector for the past seven or eight years. A third member spent many years in the steel and steel fabrication environment as an industrial engineer.SA MetalWorks has selected leading global manufacturers of Premium welding consumables to enable our company to deliver the best products at highly competitive prices. Our team of committed professionals offer a complete range of welding equipment and consumables in the range of MMA, MIG, TIG, welding machines, plasma cutting and personal safety protection equipment.
We have a combined experience of fourteen years of welding technology exposure at executive level in our company.
SUPPORT TEAM
SA METALWORKS WELDING is lead by a competent Executive. Two of its members have both been involved as executive directors in the welding and steel sector for the past seven or eight years. A third member spent many years in the steel and steel fabrication environment as an industrial engineer.
We offer technical support to our sales staff and directly to customers. This includes the the services of a highly qualified code welder and staff being able to service and repair welding machines supplied by us.
Our warehousing facilities is managed by a person who have been involved in industrial products for a long time. This was preceded by a senior management responsibility for FMGC in a large corporate, spanning 14 years. He and his staff certainly understand, and are able to cope with the hectic stuff of helping our customers who order today and who wanted it delivered yesterday!
We are continually developing and expanding our sales force. They undergo rigorous training (including technical) which is so necessary in an industrial sales environment. They are often our first line of contact, although all key customer accounts are managed at senior level. Our sales staff are our ambassadors and we recognize the importance of their professional conduct.
Accounts of suppliers and customers are individually managed by dedicated personnel.
SERVICE SUPPORT
As stated in our product profile of welding machines- inverters, plasma-cutters, etc we stressed that each detail, from conception, development, construction and finishing is driven by a concern for excellence. These products meet the highest international criteria for sturdiness, reliability, functionality and safety.
This said, it remains a necessity to demonstrate our technically advanced products, and to supply the actual users thereof with technical support and guidance if and when required. Even the best products need regular service and maintenance, and although repairs itself should really be an absolute rarity, even repairs may be necessary from time to time.
We have technical support, and repair and maintenance personnel on standby, but we also seamlessly integrate this support with our supplier. Collectively we offer an even better and more complete service.
TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE:
Our sales and support team is generally available from Monday to Friday between 07h30 and 18h00. For urgent enquiries, and especially when starting out with new equipment our Technical Department can be reached at any hour, as pre-agreed. We can also relay queries to the Technical Department of our international supplier.
DEMONSTRATIONS
We willingly undertake demonstrations with our technicians at the end user. This may even involve the presence of a technician from our overseas supplier in the event of a significant investment in a number of machines.
VISITS TO THE MANUFACTURER
A customers with a large investment in our machines, or planning such investment is offered an opportunity to visit the manufacturer, accompanied by one or more of our own technicians or sales managers. This would include training and demonstrations (see below).
IN-HOUSE PROGRAMMES AND TRAINING
Our establishment is open all year long whereby the customer is free to meet our specialised staff and inspect our products. We offer, in conjunction with our supplier, specialised courses for Service; Maintenance; Trouble-shooting; Sales Presentations; Product Training; Hands-on Welding.
WEB ASSISTANCE (AND SECURE/CONFIDENTIAL LOG-IN SITE)
We are busy setting up a social media network, to complement email and our website, which provides a technical area. We are also able to access our suppliers secure website with availability of autonomous use of downloading technical documentation, manuals and video clips of all our products, for use by ourselves as well as our customers. Data access to be facilitated upon request.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Although SA METALWORKS WELDING is not directly involved in R&D, we are continuously engaging with our suppliers to find new and better solutions to problems and other challenges experienced by our customers in their day-to-day operations. Sometimes the improvements are small, sometimes it may be significant.
We try to select those type of suppliers who are willing and keen to push the boundaries. Our welding machine supplier, for example, has been pushing the boundaries in the mining environment, and has developed welding machines, inverters and plasma cutters which are no world-leading. They are now the ONLY manufacturer in the world to produce welding machines approved for use in underground mines! This achievement was reached because of a willingness to really listen to their distributors and customers, and to address the problems. This company, incidentally spends 10% of revenue on R&D.
One of the areas where SA METALWORKS WELDING can make a significant contribution, is to guide our customers away from outdated technologies or those that suffer from low productivity. In comparison to the First World where, for example, coated welding electrodes (MMA) account for less than 15%,it is still making up about 70% of all welding consumables in Africa (somewhat less in South Africa). Shielded arc welding (MIG) wires, which are inherently more productive, account for less than 25% in Africa and SA, ranges from 50% – 60% in Japan and the USA, up to about 65% in Europe. The highly productive technologies of submerged arc welding, and flux or metal-cored wires can grow four to eight-fold to match Europe/UK, USA or Japan.
Although we will certainly deliver what our customers demand, we believe, as an innovative company, to gently guide our customers towards enhanced productivity, where perhaps direct costs are more than offset by productivity gains and cost savings in the process.