South African electrical equipment supplier Zest Group has reiterated its commitment to on-site technical support, services and training since becoming part of Brazil-based transformer and electrical equipment manufacturer WEG in 2010.
The WEG group celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and its South African subsidiary has reaffirmed its focus on technical support and training in line with the global group’s vision.
Louis Meiring, group managing director of the Zest Group, says that on-site technical support, services and training are one of the key elements of the company’s strategy.
“The culture within Zest is to assist customers with technical issues in a swift manner in order to reduce operational down time. Our strong service record means that Zest has become synonymous with good service and it is a reputation we work hard to maintain.
“Support is an inherent part of our company culture and it is, therefore, second nature for our service technicians to provide the highest standards of onsite technical support, services and training,” Meiring says. “Our growth strategy is aligned with ensuring that our branch network is equipped with the necessary skills and resources to meet the needs of our customers,” Meiring says.
In South Africa the company has four offices in Johannesburg as well branches in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Richards Bay, Trichardt, Middelburg and Rustenburg. It is also looking to further expand its presence in the rest of Africa through branches or distributor agreements with an office already established in Ghana.
Meiring explains that the technical support from its branches is backed up by the ongoing training of its technicians.
“The majority of our support technicians are trained by WEG in Brazil as well our training facility at the Zest head office in Johannesburg, where we have adapted WEG’s training modules for the local market,” Meiring says. These training modules are approved by the relevant Sector Education Training Authority (Seta), the Engineering Council of South Africa and the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers.
“Our internal training programmes not only ensure strong technical support for our customers but they encourage the personal growth of our staff,” Meiring says. The training courses are also provided to Zest customers, free of charge, in order to contribute to the level of skills development within industry.
“In the past four years an estimated 4 000 people have undergone training at our Johannesburg site and we believe this initiative started several years ago will continue to grow in popularity,” Meiring says. Training is also undertaken at its various branches as well as beyond South Africa’s borders, including Namibia, Zambia, Ghana and Mauritania.
The demand for training in Africa is growing and Zest has been requested to present its training modules in Portuguese for a Mozambican client. It is also adapting its modules for presentation in French so that it may cater for the training needs of French-speaking countries in Africa.
“We have built up a solid training and technical base and have become a significant support resource for industry,” Meiring says.
