Jasco Electrical Manufacturers has grown to a point that has necessitated a move to larger premises.
Part of the Jasco Group, the company started out over 27 years ago with only 10 employees. Today, it employs over 300 staff members and has expanded to manufacture a variety of products. Due to this growth, the old factory was bursting at its seams, requiring a move to the new premises in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, that includes a combined production factory for the various components and brands that make up the company as it is today. The combined production facility will allow Jasco to expand its 11 production lines to 15, as well as increase its daily output to well over half a million combined pieces.
Says Dave MacDonald, divisional managing director, “Over the last three decades, the company evolved and grew at a steady pace. However, as the business expanded with new product lines, we realised we needed to consolidate our manufacturing facilities to improve efficiencies and lower the cost of operations whilst having the ability to scale for future growth. Starting out small, the growth and expansion has exceeded our expectations and the journey has seen us get involved in many industries including vehicle electronics, components and cabling, as well as electrical plugs and chlorine.”
Jasco Electrical Manufacturers began life in 1984 as Special Cables when contracted by Defy to manufacture electrical cables for its white goods. At the time the company had exactly two cutting machines, a handful of dedicated workers, and the same pride in their work that they have to this day.
The effort seemed to pay off, as in 1985 the factory made its first move to larger premises, a facility that was double the size of the original one. Here the cable business was expanded into manufacturing auto wiring and caravan looms, as well as computer and communication cables. A mere four years later, the company invested in another new factory in Springfield Park. Here the geyser production line was born in 1990, and two years later, turnover reached the million Rand mark. This provided the capital to invest in a moulding machine to produce PVC plugs for domestic manufacturers in 1994.
According to MacDonald, these milestones in the company’s history, although significant, pale in comparison with current production, as the company currently runs 35 moulding machines and generates a million rand turnover every two days.
Today, Jasco’s most profitable products are JustChlor and the Snapper brand. JustChlor is a locally developed salt chlorinator which has had record sales in France and the Indian Ocean countries in the past 15 years. In 2006 Jasco purchased a small company specialising in high-speed progression tools and, more importantly, held a number of patents for ‘hollow pin technology’ in three-pin plugs. According to MacDonald, “this gave us a good grounding for the conversion of the country’s solid pins to the cost effective hollow system, and the Snapper brand followed naturally.”
The new factory is located at 23 Hagar Road in Pinetown and MacDonald believes that “Pinetown, being a central manufacturing point of Durban, provides train and road access for our customers’ delivery and is also conveniently located for the majority of the staff.”
For more information contact Jasco Electrical Manufacturers, +27 (0)31 579 4701.
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