While the Hi-Tech Security Solutions Local Manufacturing Round-table was hailed a success, two local companies could not make it to the event and sent in comments via e-mail.
Controlsoft Security is a company that entered the access control marketplace in 1991. Controlsoft started out as a South African-based company before opening offices in the UK in 1999 and the USA in 2001. Inhep Electronics Holdings is a South African manufacturer of electronic security equipment. The company also distributes CCTV brands.
Jonathan Summers from Controlsoft Security says the company’s largest markets are South Africa, the Middle East and Europe, with the fastest growing being the UK, UAE, Qatar and Brazil. “We are access control specialists and offer our clients broader expertise in identifying a solution beyond just the products that we manufacture,” Watson explains. “We test every product before dispatch in order to ensure that the product works first time, out of the box.”
Strong growth
Bryan Watson from Inhep, known under the IDS brand (Inhep Digital Security), says the company manufactures a wide range of intrusion products, including alarm panels, keypads, passive infrared detectors, radio transmitters, base stations and repeaters, GSM and SMS communicators, remote controls and receivers, as well as a range of power supplies.
The main market for IDS intrusion products is South Africa, where market growth remains strong, but with the market mature and well-penetrated, opportunities for expansion within existing business models are constrained.
“We are currently developing a range of alternative business models, products and channels to market which we believe hold great potential,” adds Watson. “We have used this base to export to numerous African countries, where the IDS brand is the industry standard, as well as South East Asia, Australasia and Europe.
“We have recently concluded a distribution deal for our product in China, now the largest market for intrusion products in the world.”
Watson adds that to cater for growing volumes and large export orders with short lead times, IDS is revamping its manufacturing process. “The focus is on improved process management, the introduction of lean principles and the achievement of international quality certifications.”
When asked how IDS competes with cheaper imports, Watson says selling against cheap products is not easy, but the monitoring and response industry is very sensitive to quality because of the safety factor. False alarms and product failures represent a significant risk and also have cost implications.
“There are exceptionally cheap alarm panels available out of China in particular, but our customers have built faith in our reliability over many years. That said, we view every cheap import as a potential threat and are constantly reviewing imported product to ensure we remain as sharp on pricing and design as possible – in an open and competitive market, even great quality does not give one the right to overcharge.”
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