Top Gauteng exporter makes global impact

Family-owned medium manufacturer Disa Anodes walked away as the JCCI/ Nedbank 2009 Gauteng Exporter of the Year. The sole designer and manufacturer in South Africa, and one of the few in the world, of corrosion protection anodes and ancillary equipment, Disa Anodes was also named the winner in the Medium Manufacturing category. An overwhelmed director Bruno Tranchina told FTW: “Finding a niche market and making it work is not always easy, but we have managed to do it with not just one, but two products.” Exporting to Italy, Austria, Portugal, France, the UK, Spain, Germany, Egypt, USA and South America, they have also found markets in Nigeria, Libya and Tunisia. “The anodes are used for the external protection of buried or submerged pipelines, storage tanks, reinforced concrete and other buried metallic structures, as well as inside water tanks,” said Tranchina. “They are an extremely cost-effective method of anticorrosion protection in harsh environments.” Launched in 2001, the Gauteng Exporter of the Year competition highlights the contribution exports make to the provinces’ GDP and job creation. Other winners this year were Agro Tractor House in the category emerging exporter, which showcases new entrants into the export arena, I-Slices SA in the small manufacturing category and Rand York Minerals which won the large manufacturing category.