Prominent SA electronics entrepreneur passes away
29 April 2009
News
Allan McKinnon died peacefully on 23 March, surrounded by family and friends. McKinnon founded Allan McKinnon and Associates in Johannesburg in 1976.
Peter Vichos, Allan’s brother-in-law and business partner, looks back on Allan’s career: “When Allan married Christine, he had just left a company that manufactured a range of specialty lubricants. Upon their return from honeymoon, he and Christine started their own industrial lubricants company called Alchris Moly Products, which made the same type of specialised lubricants that he sold at his previous company.”
The business proved to be very successful, but McKinnon wanted a greater challenge and began looking into the local manufacture of television sets in South Africa, where television was still new in 1976. Being the consummate entrepreneur, he was friendly with the Canadian trade commissioner to South Africa.
At that time, Electrovert was still a Canadian company (owned by the Fodors) and they had asked the Canadian Trade Commission to find them an agent in South Africa, as they had heard that many foreign companies were going to be setting up shop there. The Trade Commissioner mentioned to McKinnon that he was looking for someone who could sell and service ‘wave solder machines’. When he heard that they were used in the assembly of electronic PCBs, and apparently a TV had several of these strange items in them, McKinnon promptly asked the trade commissioner to give him the agency.
McKinnon took on the Electrovert agency, and soon sold his first wave solder machine. When it was delivered, and the customer asked him where the solder and flux was, he did not know what the customer was talking about! The customer (who later became one of his personal friends) suggested that McKinnon visit a tradeshow overseas so he could familiarise himself with ‘the process’. So, he attended the first of many trade shows that he was to visit.
So began Allan McKinnon and Associates, to which McKinnon added such agencies as Heller Industries, Alpha Metals, Dyna Pert, Herbert Streckfuss, Plato PMP, Camalot and many more.
In 1980, McKinnon emmigrated to the United States in search of ‘the big fish’, and settled with his family in Dallas. He started in the US with the Herbert Streckfuss agency, and established an agency network throughout the US. He also founded FSI in Irving, Texas, a PCB wet process equipment manufacturer.
McKinnon was very influential to a number of the South African industry’s companies and personnel. He leaves behind a very strong legacy in the people he mentored.
Further reading:
From the editor's desk: Inspiring the next generation
Technews Publishing
News
Welcome to the August issue of
Dataweek. Peter Howells is still on leave, so I am back for this issue. I hope you enjoy the content and find value in it.
August is Women’s Month in South Africa,
...
Read more...
Procurement is becoming a competitive advantage
RS South Africa
News
As mining, manufacturing and industrial businesses continue to navigate rising costs, supply chain disruption and increasing pressure to improve operational performance, procurement and inventory management have become strategic business priorities rather than simply administrative functions.
Read more...
Powell Electronics signs partnership agreement with IOT Electronics
IOT Electronics
News
Powell Electronics has entered into a partnership agreement with IOT Electronics to strengthen its presence across southern Africa.
Read more...
Omniflex delivers ICCP systems across London
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists
News
Omniflex has supplied impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems for a range of prominent buildings across London, helping to protect reinforced concrete structures from corrosion and extending their service life.
Read more...
New appointments for Würth Electronics South Africa
Würth Electronics South Africa
News
New appointments for Würth Electronics South Africa
Read more...
MTN celebrates 80 Western Cape digital graduates
News
Eighty unemployed young people from across the Western Cape have successfully completed MTN South Africa’s Digital Skills for Digital Jobs (DS4DJ) programme, earning accredited qualifications in Data Analytics, Systems Development and Cybersecurity.
Read more...
GirlCode Hackathon 2026 kicks off across South Africa and Botswana
News
GirlCode, in partnership with Absa Group, Truecaller, MTN, SAP Fioneer, RS South Africa and other ecosystem partners, successfully hosted the first leg of the 2026 GirlCode Hackathon.
Read more...
Rooibos heads to space
News
A South African scientific initiative linking agriculture and space research has officially launched today with the Rooibos in Space programme at Parklands College’s Innovation Centre in Cape Town.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: Local can be international
Technews Publishing
Editor's Choice News
Welcome to the July 2026 issue of
Dataweek. As you can see from this introduction,
Dataweek’s regular editor, Peter Howells, is on extended leave and I am filling the void in his editor’s column – hopefully without being too boring.
Read more...
Landis+Gyr EMEA introduces new company name: EYKON
News
EYKON is the new company name of Landis+Gyr EMEA, formerly part of the Landis+Gyr Group. The company supports electricity, gas, water and thermal utilities in managing increasingly complex networks, improving operational efficiency and enabling more sustainable use of resources.
Read more...
printer friendly version