News


Company profile: Saflec

EMP 2020 Electronics Manufacturing & Production Handbook News

Saflec was founded in 1980 as an owner-managed company, designing, manufacturing and marketing security and industrial metal detectors. The staff complement consisted of a handful of key people, but grew rapidly and within two years a move to bigger premises in Roodepoort was necessary. In 1994 the company moved to its own three-storey premises to further expand production.

When starting to manufacture its own products, a fibreglass manufacturing facility was also constructed to build the walk-through security metal detector frames. Saflec’s electronic designs are continually developed and advanced using local engineers.

Saflec’s products have continually evolved over the years with an in-house design capability for both the electronics and fibreglass frame design, which has resulted in a number of firsts, such as a five-piece portable walkthrough metal detector featuring multi-zone detection.

Today Saflec’s designs are comparable to those produced by the major metal detector companies from Europe and the US, and are superior to many cheaper and less reliable products currently available from the East. The benefits Saflec offers to the local market, apart from its advanced designs, are the reliability of its products and the company’s local service capacity.


More than box-dropping

Saflec prides itself on its excellent backup service, made possible by having local control of its manufacturing, ample stock of spare parts and a dedicated team of engineers. A large percentage of Saflec’s staff complement has been with the company for more than 20 years.

Over the years, Saflec has been able to score some major successes, such as supplying all the cricket stadiums with walk-through metal detectors for the Cricket World Cup in 2002, as well as the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Saflec is also a firm favourite in government departments.

The company has also expanded beyond South Africa’s borders and supplied large quantities of security detectors to the government of Uganda, and public and private organisations throughout Africa.

Saflec’s products are all locally designed, developed, manufactured and supported, and the company has a long relationship with various South African government departments, such as the SAPS.


Products in the market

The company’s top-of-the-range detector is the Panache, which has 15 individual zones which can be calibrated separately. It also includes an audio function that varies the tone of the audio alarms dependent on the height at which the metal is carried. The unit uses microprocessor technology with touchscreen input to the various functions. The indication of where the metal is located is also displayed down each side, as well as on the central display.


The MZ15 is also a 15 zone unit, but the position of the metal is only on the display. This reduces the cost of the unit.

The third unit is the P21 which gives an audio alarm when a pre-set level of metal is exceeded. The position of the metal would then need to be determined by using a handheld detector.

All the units are manufactured from durable fibreglass, which is unique to Saflec’s models and can be made in different colours or custom designed to suit the insignia of government departments. A battery backup facility is available which will allow operation for an average of eight hours during power outages.

Saflec also has a range of industrial metal detection systems in the market, currently being used in a variety of industries where detecting even small amounts of metal is a vital part of the organisations’ security and health and safety programmes.


Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Electronic News Digest
News
A brief synopsis of current global news relating to the electronic engineering fields with regards to company finances, general company news, and engineering technologies.

Read more...
4000 A containerised DB for power project
News
Power Process Systems has successfully completed the design, fabrication, and commissioning of a 4000 A containerised distribution board for a wind/PV solar hybrid renewable energy project.

Read more...
Datacentrix Industrial Indaba 2025
News
Datacentrix recently hosted its inaugural Industrial Indaba 2025, where industry leaders explored how digitalisation, resilience, security and compliance are shaping the future of sustainable industrial operations in Africa.

Read more...
RS brings solar light to 150 000 people
RS South Africa News
The company’s three-year partnership with SolarAid aims to raise £1 million through corporate donations, matched funding, product contributions, and fundraising to accelerate access to safe, sustainable energy.

Read more...
Microchip and AVIVA Links collaboration
Altron Arrow News
Microchip and AVIVA Links have achieved groundbreaking ASA-ML interoperability, accelerating the shift to open standards for automotive connectivity.

Read more...
World’s leading supplier of grid automation products
News
Hitachi Energy was recognised as the global market share leader in grid automation for electric power transmission and distribution utilities by ARC Advisory Group.

Read more...
Vivashan Muthan appointed as head of export sales and operations at RS South Africa
RS South Africa News
With a career spanning engineering, business development, and sales leadership across sub-Saharan Africa, Vivashan Muthan brings a wealth of expertise to his new role as head of export sales and operations.

Read more...
Google equips university students across Africa with free access to advanced AI tools
News
A 12-month Google AI Pro plan has been launched for students in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zimbabwe to build foundational AI skills.

Read more...
Africa’s space economy projected to be worth $22,6 billion in 2026
News
South Africa is gearing up to be at the forefront of the growth in the space industry, creating thousands of jobs, driving innovation, and boosting the national economy.

Read more...
Distribution partnership with MacDermid Alpha
Testerion News
MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions India Private Limited has announced that as of 01 September 2025 Testerion will be the sole importer and distributor of their products to the South African market.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved