ifm South Africa recently celebrated 10 years of doing business in South Africa at a sumptuous dinner held at Avianto, Muldersdrift on the 1st of March. MD Alwyn Skelton thanked ifm Germany for its commitment to ifm South Africa, for its fantastic product innovations, and for its commitment to education in the country through meaningful contributions to schools for the disabled, mental health institutions and art. He said that ifm had entered the South African market at a difficult time in 2008 at the height of the global recession. “We were 31 staff on our first day, we had premises, we had phone lines and computers, but not one direct customer account or even one account with service providers, let alone any credit rating to assist us,” he said. “Our success today is because we have always remained committed to and achieved our milestones. I congratulate all 57 of our current staff who have helped the company achieve its goals.”
MD Alwyn Skelton.
As a global company ifm started in 1969 as a family owned business and will turn 50 years old next year. With more than 6500 staff in 80 countries, the company continues to maintain a family feel. “This feeling of being part of a family is not restricted to employees but includes our customers as well. This is in line with ifm’s philosophy of ‘Close to You’. This has been paramount to our success over the years,” he continued. “Over the years I have seen many customers change the companies that they work for, but I have seldom seen customers change their ifm products. “
Looking to the future, Skelton said that ifm is in the business of instrumentation and automation and believes in ‘changing lives through technology’. “We aim to change our business into an even more productive, efficient and profitable organisation, one that will grow and prosper,” he concluded.
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