Upwards And Onwards

Invincible Valves MD Pam du Plessis – a driving force behind upskilling and mentoring of women in the sector– has sought out opportunities presented by the pandemic to deliver a booming business.

Armed with a revised strategy, a stronger multi-layered management team and an appetite for calculated risk, the East Rand-based valve manufacturer and reseller, has in the midst of the COVID-19 doom and gloom bucked the trend to tell a really good story.

Despite COVID-19 putting the brakes on its strategy of expanding its global footprint, the valve specialist has looked to new markets, including the water segment, to grow its business.

“We were reticent to enter the water segment, believing it was saturated. However last year we decided that as we already have a complementary product line, we had nothing to lose by forging a presence in the sector and supplying a competitively priced product. This has since proved to be a really good move and has resulted in the supply of valves to numerous small projects.

“But our most notable and largest endeavour to date has been a contract to supply valves on one of many current Umgeni water projects. We are also servicing the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) phase 11,” says Du Plessis.

Phase II of the LHWP is being implemented as two components: a water delivery system to augment the delivery of water to South Africa and a hydropower generation system to increase the current electricity generation capacity in Lesotho. The programme involves the construction of the Polihali Dam and the Transfer Tunnel in the Mokhotlong district and a hydropower scheme.

Winning ways

With the tough operating environment forcing many companies to think out of the box and actively seek out opportunities, Du Plessis says to open the doors for Invincible Valves’ strategy of exponential growth in the coming years, she had to revise the company’s strategy.

“We recognised that as a cash-positive company we had the option to take on strategic risks which could, if successful, unlock huge wins in the long term. We have taken some well-thought-out risks, including the opportunity to purchase the property down the road to grow our footprint and augment our skills set with high-calibre well-experienced people.

“We have since employed a new management team consisting of two senior managers and three junior staff members.”

Furthermore, in taking the high road to rubber-line its products in-house the company has committed to ensuring that the end user benefits from cost-effective products delivered at a fraction of the time.

“We currently have a designated rubber-lining production line on-site that operates daily which has helped in reducing lead times by four to five weeks.”

Invincible Valves plans to unlock further efficiencies by establishing a new rubber-lining plant at the second property acquired late last year, which will effectively “double to triple current capacity” and increase stockholding. The plant is on track for commissioning by year-end.

Meanwhile, lessons learnt over the past 10 years, which include going the extra mile to supply clients with products beyond its core range, has led to Invincible Valves expanding its service offering to that of a one-stop shop.

“Time is money and most clients prefer to deal with a person with whom they have established a strong relationship to meet their requirements. At Invincible Valves we help clients procure as many of the products they require as we possibly can.”

Interestingly, the company’s massive stockholding of some R40-million has been its saviour and its tipping point to prosperity at a time when companies were falling by the wayside as a result of the pandemic. This helped the valve supplier service its core client base during the hard lockdowns.

Given that the company is a supplier to South Africa’s key industries – mining and petrochemicals – it was able to secure an essential services certificate at the onset of the pandemic, which allowed the business to remain operational during the initially hard lockdown last year.

“Access to product has ensured that clients were well supported during this time and that vital economic activity could continue,” says Du Plessis.

Supporting local

Although the valve specialist’s cross-border strategy has been put on hold for the moment, discussions are ongoing with Du Plessis taking the time to forge “watertight’ relationships.

Post-COVID, the company will look to focus on expanding its global footprint.

“Although we are pitched as a global company, we are not represented globally. However, we do have a strong presence on the African continent and agents at various key points, including in Ghana where our agent supports the mines locally and in the surrounding resource-rich countries with product.

“We fully support our agents across the continent and ensure that they are well informed about our product lines, have sufficient stockholding and aid them at relevant mining events, and where necessary, we help them to establish relationships with the mining clients. Essentially, we invest vast amounts of time and money to help them succeed and be able to provide our client base with excellent service.”

Multi-skilling

As an avenger of women’s rights, Du Plessis continues to be instrumental in creating a culture of mentoring women of all ages.

Further to this, the valves manufacturer has used the time of the hard lockdowns to upskill and multi-skill its staff, which has greatly benefited both the company and its employees. Some employees have used their newly acquired knowledge to springboard into new positions, including its receptionist, who has taken up a position in the administration department after advancing her skills set.

“We took the opportunity to drive our training agenda and aside from our in-house training, we encouraged our employees to take up online courses to improve their knowledge of our product lines. The training opportunities have provided our staff with many growth opportunities. In fact, our multi-skilled employees were able to slot into various positions on the factory floor when colleagues were infected with COVID-19, which ensured a smooth continuation of business operations. Business continued seamlessly and clients were well serviced.”