Altech has a long and proud history in the South African technology sector, with roots dating all the way back to the founding of Allied Electric by a 33-year-old telecoms engineer named Bill Venter in 1965.
During the years since, it has grown both organically and through acquisitions, at times consolidated and at others restructured.
The net result is a company that has grown from an initial staff complement of just six, to a technology powerhouse that employs more than 12 000 people worldwide. It generated revenues of R27,6 billion in the 2014/15 financial year, during which period it spent R227 million on research and development, R110 million on skills development and R10,7 million on socio-economic development projects.
Throughout most of Altech’s existence, the division which is nowadays known as Altech UEC has been a critical part of its business. At its 13 500 m² factory in Mount Edgecombe, KwaZulu-Natal, Altech UEC produces up to five million consumer electronic devices a year for local and international markets, making it Africa’s largest developer and manufacturer of set-top boxes (STB). It celebrated the production of its twenty millionth such device in February 2014 and, during one particular day of that same month, the plant manufactured some 39 660 STBs, which equates to 1 unit rolling off the production line every 2,2 seconds.
The ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified plant also has automotive TS16949 certification, enabling it to manufacture electronic components and vehicle tracking systems for local and international motor car makers. The company also manufactures flat panel televisions and tablets at its vertically integrated facility and has three main process lines: electronic assembly of printed circuit boards, plastic injection moulding and final assembly, integration and testing. Altech UEC’s 85 engineers and technical design staff make use of state-of-the art design and design modelling tools such as Cam350 PCB DFM software, Solid Edge CAD/Cam modelling software, environmental duty cycle testing, plastic injection moulding MFA-finite element analysis, jig and fixtures tool room and a process engineering failure mode investigation laboratory.
Altech UEC forms part of the Altech Multimedia group, which also counts Altech MediaVerge and Altech GDL (Global Digital Logistics) among its members. The man in charge of Altech Multimedia is managing director Francois Stols, who was handed the reins in July 2015.
Although only a few months into his current job, Stols is a veteran of the Altron Group, having spent 36 years in its employ. Prior to his current role, he was the Technology Executive at Altech Netstar, and his aassociation with UEC Technologies (a precursor to Altech UEC) started in 1987 when the company was then a leading manufacturer of military defence components.
In the 1990s, Stols was instrumental in founding UEC Commercial, a company focused on technology-driven ventures such as the design and manufacture of electricity prepaid meters and electronic toll road systems. In 1994, under his leadership, the company partnered with Irdeto and MultiChoice to develop one of the world’s first Digital Satellite TV (DSTV) decoders. Initially the product was to be manufactured by other organisations under licence, but in 1996 UEC Technologies sold off its other non-core businesses to focus exclusively on this technology.
After a sabbatical of several years in the mid-2000s, Stols returned to Altech in 2012 to assist Altech Netstar in the redesign of its products and technology infrastructure. He has received recognition for his expertise in successfully taking local products to global markets, being a recipient on behalf of Altech UEC of the President’s Export Award from former President Thabo Mbeki. Stols is also a past recipient of the Altron Distinguished Merit Award (DMA).
Never stop growing
Although Altech UEC was not one of the three companies to be given orders to make the first lot of set-top boxes for government’s subsidy scheme for poor households, Stols is confident that the company will get its fair share of orders as soon as the Treasury allocates budget for more free STBs. “I have no idea what rationale they used to allocate the first three transfers of orders, but I have met with the chairman of USAASA (Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa) and he has assured me that with the next transfer we will be allocated volumes,” he states.
The factory was prepared and hoping to start manufacturing these STBs late last year, but has not been idle in their absence. “For us it’s a bit of a waiting game on that front at the moment, but our factory is not 100% dependent on these types of once-off opportunities. We were able to load the factory quite nicely with other opportunities during this period, and in fact it is currently running at close to capacity.”
When looking to the future, Stols sees potential for growth outside of the country’s borders, particularly in the area of high-end products for the international market, but will seek to maintain Altech’s commitment to the local market, and even expand into new markets. “We are looking at diversification into verticals that are closely aligned to the business we’re currently conducting,” Stols concludes. Some of these opportunities are the production of flat-panel TVs for various manufacturers, tablet computers and lottery terminals with integrated advertising displays.
For more information contact Chris van Zyl, Altron Group Services, cvanzyl@altech.co.za
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