Eskom’s woes pump up generator sales

While the South African electricity crisis hit most businesses in the country negatively, Generator and Plant Hire (GPH) saw phenomenal growth with turnover up by 100%. As power utility Eskom struggled to generate enough power to meet demand and experts predicted economic recession, GPH saw its profits soar. The company specialises in the sale, short-term hire and long-term rental of all sizes and types of diesel-powered generators from 10kVA up to 1000kVA. “As the need for stand-by power systems increased due to Eskom’s power supply problem, our business really exceeded expectations,” MD Dave Pretorius told FTW. “But the business of generator hire and sales is all about back-up support as machinery can and does go wrong. Our approach of being available to our clients 24 hours a day has been a major contributor to our success.” Pretorius says the outlook for the company remains positive especially in the run-up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup. “As the supply of electricity remains erratic, we expect to see an increase in the demand for hire and sales in the country.” The company, which is also the appointed agent for SDMO, a French manufacturer of gensets that meet all ISO standards, was recently awarded a major tender for 180 units to be installed at various locations in South Africa and Botswana. “We are very upbeat about the future. Another exciting development from SDMO is the introduction of an LPG gas-powered residential genset, which is affordable and economical to run compared to petrol and diesel.” GPH serves the construction and mining industries, parastatals and local authorities, cellphone companies, shipping lines and other commercial and industrial customers. “Reefer container business is growing with more demand from a wider variety of shipping companies and transporters.”