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Elementary my dear Watson
The acquisition of Pi Shurlok has enabled Durbanbased PFK Electronics to diversify says MD Gary Stanton who talks to Africa Outlook. Writer Ian Armitage Project Manager Eleanor Watson
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his is a pivotal moment in the history of Durban-based PFK Electronics. The firm is a renowned designer and manufacturer of aftermarket electronic vehicle systems, telematics systems, and alcohol interlock devices, and in November it completed the acquisition of automotive electronic components manufacturer Pi Shurlok. It was a watershed moment and will enable the company to diversify and expand. That was the point, says managing director Gary Stanton. “It is a bid to diversify our core business to include the manufacture of vehicle components for local and international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),” he explains. More than that, it increased production capacity – significant growth within PFK Electronics over the last five years meant it lacked production capacity. “The last 18 months have been very interesting,” says Stanton. “We’ve had some fantastic organic growth in the business both through existing customers and products but also with the introduction of new products that we’ve designed ourselves. On top of that, in the last six months, we have acquired Pi Shurlok which adds capacity from a production point of view and turnover diversification as well. It means we are now firmly entrenched in the aftermarket and the OEM market. “Our organic growth has been very aggressive. PFK Electronics has been growing as a company by about 30 percent each year for the past six years. Pi Shurlok hasn’t, but we plan on turning the OEM segment of our business around. With immediate effect the OEM segment of our business is renamed PFK Shurlok. This rebranding provides a strong linkage between the two formerly separate companies.”
According to Stanton, the plan is to grow the OEM business and the acquisition is a “good opportunity” for PFK Electronics to diversify into the OEM arena of contract manufacturing – also known as build-to-print – instrument clusters and plastic injection moulding. “We have amalgamated the businesses together and our production facility is now where the Pi Shurlok facility was so our production facility has moved and merged into one and that has doubled our capacity. That was very important.” PFK Shurlok has established a reputation as an ISO/TS-16949, Ford Q1 and VDA-6 OEM certified first-tier
View of our surface mount technology room
supplier, which, says Stanton, “Are very prestigious ratings that now allow us to supply more products to the OEM market.” Before the acquisition, PFK Electronics’ fully-automated surfacemount device placement capacity was 70,000 components an hour; it has increased to over 150,000 since the acquisition, he says. “What the acquisition does is bring in production technology that we didn’t have access to, as well as broaden our range by giving us access to PFK Shurlok’s combination meter instrument cluster, and exhaust emission-control technology, and it broadens the customer base. “The acquisition represents a huge growth opportunity. With combined business, I’d like to think in five years time that we’re going to be in a position where we’ve doubled our turnover. It is going to be a big effort but everyone is all focused on it.” Stanton explains the new combined staff complement is 550, with office and manufacturing facility floor space of over 10,000 m2. PFK Electronics has acquired production and test equipment, including in-circuit testers and selective soldering, and the
720 TAB (Tethered Alcohol Breathalyser) The 720 TAB serves as a starter cut should the breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) in the sample provided be above the legal or pre-set limit. The 720 TAB can also request repeat samples while the vehicle is in motion to test for alcohol consumption while driving. Should the driver fail a breath test, the result can be relayed via GSM to a control centre and the vehicle will immobilise as soon as the ignition is turned off. The device is equipped with two override functions, giving maximum mobility in an emergency situation and all events, pass or fail, are stored in the unit’s memory.
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PFK
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Informer Advanced Battery Operated GSM/ GPS Wireless Tracking Device The Autowatch Tracking Informer is a versatile device for applications such as stolen vehicle recovery and monitoring, trailer tracking, container tracking and asset monitoring and recovery. A unique battery operated GSM/GPS wireless tracking device, the Informer operates on an internal battery with a life of more than two years (depending on reporting rate settings). The reporting interval can be set to suit the specific customer application, providing a compelling combination of mobility, longevity and adaptability. acquisition has made it one of the biggest electronic product manufacturers in South Africa. His focus is on PFK’s traditional business too. Stanton says plans are in place to grow its alcohol breathalyser immobiliser systems and the telematics and fleet management products under the Autowatch brand. “I believe our aftermarket products will in future also become an OEM installation. Under Autowatch we have our Autowatch Tracking, so we’re talking to a lot of insurance companies at the moment where we’re introducing different tracking devices to them in addition to our very successful stolen vehicle recovery products. We have launched The Autowatch Profiler system. It is an insurance telematics driver behaviour and profiling system; insurers are very interested by it.
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A Market Leader: The Ghost Wireless Immobiliser At the forefront of the Autowatch Classic Tracking range is the Ghost Wireless Immobiliser. When installed, the product communicates with the Classic Tracking Unit, and is controlled by the WUWA (Walk Up, Walk Away) remote. With its tiny dimensions (59mm x 15mm) the Ghost is ideal to hide in a vehicle’s wiring harness and is almost impossible to find. An infinite number of Ghosts can be interfaced to a single unit, and the Ghost even continues to function if the tracking system itself is found and removed, immobilising the vehicle.
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“We also see growth in our Alcolock range. We are a designer and producer of alcohol breathalyser based immobilisers and we have the Ignition Interlock which uses breathalyzer technology which is integrated into a vehicle immobilisation system so, effectively, if you blow into it and you’re over the limit, it keeps a record of that, immobilises your vehicle and stops you from driving. Our focus at the moment has been overseas on that. We’ve already sold over 20,000 systems into Europe and sales into the US are looking very promising. Ultimately our aim is to increase the number of Ignition Interlocks supplied to the local automotive sector to reduce the amount of alcohol-related road deaths and public transport accidents. “The other area under the Autowatch brand is our traditional vehicle security alarms and immobilisers which we sell to over 500 fitment centres in South Africa. We’ve got about 60-70 percent of the local market share and we have had so for quite a long time. We believe there are some fantastic opportunities into the rest of Africa and our growth strategy will focus on this in the next three years.”
PFK’s instrument cluster assembly and inspection facility PFK also has an injection moulding facility
MyDrive: Intelligent driver profiling
MyDrive offers real-time monitoring and interpretation of driver behaviour. By combining this expertise with AutoWatch’s technical innovation, AutoWatch is able to provide products that are both internationally competitive and locally relevant. At the heart of the technology is a profiling algorithm that assesses driving behavior based on social and psychological measures coupled to actual driving data. This data includes realtime storage of driving behaviour and map analysis which provides insurers with a historic overview of driving behavior, instead of a series of isolated “snap-shots.”
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PFK was established in 1985. It has experienced significant annual growth in recent years, and key to this success is innovation, quality, flexibility in design and manufacture and keeping engineering at the core of the business. “One of our catchphrases is ‘transforming challenges into opportunities’ and we just love to do that. I think it’s really the people passion in the business that does it. We have focused a hell of a lot on recruiting the right type of person, the right type of personality. We do a lot of profile testing before we select people and we need them to fit into the culture and the ethos of the company here. We want people who view a challenge as an opportunity rather than getting bogged down by it. We’ve also got great innovation throughout the business and take pride in providing great customer service, our product quality is good and it’s a one stop shop – we design, we manufacture and we distribute, which makes us very competitive from a cost point of view.” Expect to see a lot more of PFK Electronics in 2013 and 2014. To learn more visit www.pfk.co.za.
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E n q u i r i es Tel (UK): +44 (0) 1603 559 151 Tel (SA): +27 (0) 21 527 0053 ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com
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488 Umbilo Rd KwaZulu-Natal Durban, 4001 South Africa Tel: +27 31 274 7200 Fax: +27 31 205 4324 Email: headoffice@pfk.co.za
www.pfk.co.za