Altech UEC has made 20 million set-top boxes

2 April 2014 News

February 2014 marked the occasion of the twenty millionth set-top box (STB) to roll off Altech UEC’s production line.

Having started manufacturing STBs in 1993, the company’s average output of close to one million units per year has seen it become Africa’s largest developer and manufacturer in this arena.

Danie du Toit, group managing director of Altech Multimedia (under which Altech UEC resides), sees this as an important milestone in the company’s history. “In the past year we invested approximately R60 million in expanding and upgrading our factory infrastructure to cater for demand for terrestrial set-top boxes and this is beginning to pay off,” he says. “On 25 February, our best day to date, we manufactured 39 660 set-top boxes, that is one set-top box off the production line every 2,2 seconds.”

According to du Toit, the biggest market for Altech UEC at the moment is the rest of Africa thanks to the rollout of digital terrestrial television. “Africa is digitising at an increasing rate, with the sub-Saharan market alone estimated to be in excess of 60 million set-top boxes. With our recent upgrades and our focus on productivity and technology innovation, we have the capability to manufacture seven million set-top boxes per annum,” he states.

Not only did the upgrade to its manufacturing operation lower the cost of production and increase output, it also enabled Altech UEC to create more jobs, in line with the South African government’s job creation objectives.

“The upgrade investments created an additional 120 specialised and sustainable jobs, bringing to more than 700 the number of people employed directly in our manufacturing operations. In addition to this, we have a global design and development team of approximately 130 engineers. As a Level 2 B-BBEE contributor, our investment in technology and production processes is one example of our commitment to creating employment as part of the digital migration process and government’s overall job creation targets,” du Toit concludes.

Further reading:

From the editor's desk: Pricing surge reshapes engineering reality
Technews Publishing News
The recent and continuing surge in memory prices has become more than a supply-chain story confined to global semiconductor markets. We have watched in disbelief as the ASP of memory has risen by over ...

Read more...

---

Siemens democratises EDA software access
News
This collaboration will provide streamlined access to advanced electronic design automation software for European semiconductor innovation.

Read more...

---

Components distribution: A promising trend
News
The European electronic components market returned to solid growth in Q1, gaining 16,9%, with broad, but uneven, momentum across the region.

Read more...

---

New appointment for Links Field team
Links Field Networks News
Links Field Networks is excited to welcome Jarrod Hutton to the company as a technical sales representative, bringing a powerful combination of technical expertise, creativity, and a genuine passion for innovation.

Read more...

---

Solar skills empower Alexandra youth
News
To support developing renewable energy skills, Yellow Door Energy launched YDE Lumen30, a programme that trained 30 young people from Alexandra township in Johannesburg.

Read more...

---

Advancing hydrogen mobility in South Africa
News
The hydrogen refueller was developed using South African engineering expertise and complies with 42 international and local standards.

Read more...

---

RE+ South Africa 2026: From strategy to execution
News
Taking place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 02 to 04 June 2026, this new addition to South Africa’s energy landscape introduces a focused commercial and industrial energy event within a proven exhibition platform.

Read more...

---

Africa Energy Indaba announces 2027 dates
News
Following the continued success and growing global impact of the Africa Energy Indaba, organisers have announced the dates for the 19th edition of the Africa Energy Indaba 2027.

Read more...

---

RS South Africa named master distributor for the Arduino UNO Q
RS South Africa News
RS South Africa announced that it has been named Master Distributor for the Arduino UNO Q SBC platform across South Africa and the broader African region.

Read more...

---

Engineering in a world that cannot assume connectivity
Technews Publishing Editor's Choice News
Across industrial automation, networking, and defence systems, engineers are rediscovering the importance of resilience and autonomy in an increasingly connected world.

Read more...

---