On 5 March RET Automation Controls celebrated its 25th anniversary. Founded in 1984, the company was the vision of Rodney Topham who identified the expanding need for, and importance of, sensors in the production environment. “This was the time when PLCs were becoming very popular on the factory floor and the need for reliable input data escalated,” says Topham.
The management and staff of RET photographed at the celebration
RET has since not deviated from the sensor market, specialising in products for both factory and process automation.
Since the incorporation, RET has represented Banner Engineering in southern Africa. Banner is a world leader in the design and manufacture of photoelectric, vision and ultrasonic sensors, machine safety products, indicator lights and more recently wireless products. Clients requiring to inspect, measure, indicate or count, rely on Banner’s more than 20 000 products to find the right one for the application.
In 1990 RET became the sole distributor for Turck of Germany. Turck built its business around the inductive proximity switch, a technology it helped to invent. With continuous research and development, Turck has over the years been able to vastly improve the performance and sensing ranges of proximity switches. It also offers an extensive range of equipment for the process industry, including products for flow measurement, temperature measurement and remote I/O. Turck is also active in the area of bus communication and offer products for use on most bus systems.
1997 saw RET enter into an agreement with Kübler of Germany for the marketing and support of its products in South Africa. Kübler specialises in rotary encoders, linear measurement, counters and indicators.
Over the years RET has nurtured a distribution and sales network covering all of South Africa and the neighbouring territories. Its distributors have been hand picked to ensure technical expertise and the ability to recommend the ideal product for the application. On-going training is given to sales engineers, both by RET and its principals to ensure that the salesforce is kept abreast of the latest technologies and application solutions.
“Our mission is to be able to solve the most challenging of sensing applications on the factory floor,” concludes Topham.
RS South Africa shapes future engineering talent RS South Africa
News
RS South Africa is demonstrating that nurturing future engineers goes beyond traditional classrooms or competitions. On STEM Day, the company shone a light on the full spectrum of its educational initiatives.
Read more...UKZN’s SMART lab wins aviation award
News
: The SMART Lab at UKZN was awarded first place in the Aviation Research and Development category at the Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa’s award ceremony for outstanding contributions and achievements in the aviation sector.
Read more...Meta and partners announce completion of 2Africa subsea cable system
News
Meta, in partnership with leading global and regional telecommunications companies, has announced the completion and activation of the core 2Africa subsea cable system. This marks a historic milestone in digital infrastructure, establishing what the world’s longest open-access subsea cable system.
Read more...SEW-EURODRIVE unveils world class facility in Gqeberha
News
In a landmark event in the Eastern Cape attended by key customers and industry leaders, SEW-EURODRIVE officially opened its expanded state-of-the-art facility in Gqeberha, marking a major milestone in its strategy to strengthen regional support and deepen its footprint in the region.
Read more...Africa’s brightest young battery innovators Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric and Enactus, the international NGO dedicated to inspiring students through entrepreneurial action, have announced the winners of the 2025 Energy Transition Battery Innovation Challenge, funded by the Schneider Electric Foundation. It empowers young innovators to design battery solutions addressing the region’s most pressing energy challenges.
Read more...The road to the Indaba
News
The Africa Automation Indaba 2026 is set to become a landmark gathering for Africa’s automation, process control and manufacturing community. SA Instrumentation and Control will be running a dedicated editorial series spotlighting the voices, ideas and debates shaping Africa’s industrial future.
Read more...Crash reconstruction tests advance vehicle safety research
News
The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Scientific Multidisciplinary Advanced Research Technologies (SMART) Lab recently participated in a series of collaborative crash reconstruction tests held at the Toyota Test Track.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version