Several ACTOM divisions have recently been restructured to enable the group to better meet the requirements of the various markets it serves, as well as cater to burgeoning new markets and needs.
ACTOM’s newly-established ACTOM Smart Technologies division intends to provide solutions in selected areas and activities shown in the above composite image.
A key part of the restructuring, which took effect on April 1, 2021, is the repositioning of the group to meet the challenges posed by new technological and other developments that are taking place in the electro-mechanical market, in which ACTOM plays a leading role in Southern Africa and beyond.
“One of the main developments which we have taken steps to address is the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is in the process of rapidly changing the face of the principal markets we serve,” said Group CEO Mervyn Naidoo in announcing the changes.
“One of three new divisions that have been created in the restructure, the ACTOM Smart Technologies division, is specifically focussed on enabling the group to embrace 4IR, while its constituent business units will continue to cater to the ongoing existing requirements of their present markets,” Mervyn said.
The ACTOM Smart Technologies division comprises the Protection & Control (P&C) business unit and the Static Power family of business units, consisting of Static Power, Alkaline Batteries and COM 10.
“The creation of the ACTOM Smart Technologies division highlights the key purpose on which the divisional changes are based, which is to achieve synergy to integrate offerings wherever there are opportunities to do so, with the final aim of meeting the requirements of our customers more effectively and to extend our capabilities to enable us to penetrate new markets,” Mervyn added.
“The new division forms the basis of a platform from which to expand ACTOM’s business in the information and communication technology (ICT) space, as the P&C business possesses the elements of electronic engineering and information technology, while the Static Power family of businesses incorporates elements of UPS’s, chargers, batteries and energy management,” Mervyn explained.
“We intend also to add other businesses specialising in ICT onto this platform over a period of time,” he pointed out.
The other new divisions that have been created in the restructure are ACTOM Turbo Machines and Metalplus, which were both formerly business units under the overall management of the Marthinusen & Coutts (M&C) division, but are now divisions in their own right.
The Power Conversion division has been disbanded, resulting in the business units that were formerly under its control – namely the Static Power family of businesses, Electrical Machines and HVAC Systems – being migrated to other divisions. Electrical Machines has been placed under the overall management of the Reid & Mitchell division, while HVAC Systems is now part of the Air Quality Solutions business unit in the John Thompson division.
HVAC Systems is due to partner the other environmental control business units in John Thompson to work together in jointly offering a range of air quality solutions in the power generation and industrial markets. HVAC Systems is also now able to add maintenance services to its portfolio with John Thompson’s direct assistance to add to the manufacturing and contracting work it already provides for industrial HVAC projects.
“A further potential opportunity for new business resulting from bringing HVAC Systems on board at John Thompson is that among the processes involved in HVAC projects is the generation of heat, which needs to be dissipated.
This opens up opportunities for such heat to be converted into energy to generate power, which John Thompson is ideally placed to do,” Mervyn remarked.
Other changes involved in the restructure included:
l The former Medium Voltage & Protection division, which P&C was previously part of, has been renamed the MV Switchgear division.
l Martin Kelly, the former Divisional CEO of Medium Voltage & Protection, has been appointed Interim Divisional CEO of the ACTOM Smart Technologies division.
l Chris Bezuidenhout and Roman Mornau have been appointed Divisional CEO’s of ACTOM Turbo Machines and Metalplus respectively and have also joined the ACTOM Executive Committee.
In an earlier reshuffle within the group ACTOM Energy was consolidated under the Engineering Projects & Contracts (EPC) division, as its business is very much in line with the project contracting that the major business units within EPC undertake, except on a smaller scale.