Steadily integrating its continuous improvement efforts alongside the transformation of its business, the Zest WEG Group recently achieved Level 1 status in terms of Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) ratings. A subsidiary of the Brazil-based multinational WEG, the Zest WEG Group is over 51,6% black-owned, including a 32,1% stake by black women. It was ranked as Level 2 last year.
Louis Meiring (left) and Juliano Vargas.
“Our real success here has been to ingrain our commitment to South Africa and to transformation in the everyday activities and culture of the business,” says chief executive officer, Louis Meiring. “Our empowerment journey is not an annual tick-box exercise, but rather is driven by every staff member working to build local capacity, people and excellence.”
According to the group’s operations director, Juliano Vargas, “Reaching this pinnacle BBBEE rating has been the culmination of various efforts and is just one indication of the investment that we are making in the country’s economy and society.”
From its position as an ISO 9001-listed business, Zest WEG Group was recently one of the first to upgrade to ISO 9001-2015, making it one of only 112 companies out of 2200 South African firms with ISO 9001 certification to reach this next level. The group has also recently invested heavily in its Heidelberg transformer manufacturing plant, where it operates one of the country’s leading test laboratories for transformers.
“We are also moving strongly into the renewable energy space, and this will support government efforts to develop this sector of the economy – as outlined in its recent Integrated Resource Plan,” concludes Vargas. “Our product expansion includes items like steam turbines, wind turbines and solar panels.”
The focus on continuous improvement has necessarily been accompanied by developing the company’s skills-base in industrial manufacturing and engineering well beyond the legal requirements of BBBEE. Knowledge from WEG’s plants in Brazil is also being shared to allow local operations to become more independent in terms of know-how and expertise.
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