P&F Products is the company that has successfully represented the German sensor specialist Pepperl+Fuchs (P+F) in South Africa since February 1997. Although the business may have become synonymous with Pepperl+Fuchs the P&F is merely fortuitous as the local company is registered as (P) Process and (F) Factory Products and not Pepperl+Fuchs South Africa, as many have assumed. While P&F Products is the sole representative of P+F in this country it is totally South African owned through the family (father and son) team of Mario and Mark Bracco.
Mario worked for Conlog Industrial, who represented the German company for more than 20 years and before that division of Conlog was closed, he was the manager responsible for the Pepperl+Fuchs product line. When the industrial division closed down Mario successfully negotiated with the German company to secure the right to distribute its products. Originally on his own, Mario was soon joined by his son as co-owner a few months later and since then the local company has grown from strength to strength. Today they have some 12 distributors nationwide, and while some of these date back to Mario's days at Conlog, many are new. Although distributors look after the more distant customer P&F Products itself services the greater Gauteng area out of its Edenvale offices.
Mario is particularly pleased with the fact that they have more than trebled the sales of P+F in South Africa in just over four years. While not wishing to reflect adversely on Conlog's successes over the years he does indicate that this is a result of the lower overhead cost structure and hence a more aggressive pricing policy. His other assertion is that P&F have benefited through focusing on a single product line. Mind you, that line, including the products offered through Pepperl+Fuchs' recent acquisitions of Visolux and Elcon Instruments, now includes more than 8000 products. In fact P+F prides itself in the fact that no other company in the world offers a larger product selection of sensors and interface devices for factory and process automation.
The successful P&F business model has been to keep itself deliberately small (lean and mean) and to use its distributor network, with each distributor carrying its own overhead costs, to assist with sales targets. Another major change from the Conlog days, and in line with today's customer demands, is that the delivery time for a product (if not already in the extensive stock-holding) has been brought down from 4 to 6 weeks to less than 14 days in 90% of cases, utilising direct airfreight from the factory in Germany.
In terms of the P&F strategy in dealing with the South African market, special note must be made of the fact that the company decided not to establish an overhead-intensive service facility. This decision was based on Mario's extensive experience with the reliable Pepperl+Fuchs product line, where failures were extremely rare. Rather than establish a repair facility that would sit idle, P&F have a policy of replacing defective products at no cost within the normal warranty period. The exception to this rule is of course where the customer himself has caused the failure through, for example, incorrect wiring. In the case of any dispute over the cause of failure the product is returned to Mannheim for a post-mortem and the gentleman's agreement that exists between P&F and its clients is that the decision of the technical experts there (P+F problem or customer abuse) is final and binding. Needless to say the need for a service department has not caused any problems during the period the company has been operating and the minimal replacement of defective product has cost P&F (and its clients) a fraction of that of having such a facility.
While P&F may have significant competition in the local automation market, that does not bother Mario Bracco. Besides pricing he believes that the real competitive edge lies in the fact that the Pepperl+Fuchs products are world renowned in terms of their high standards of both quality and reliability. Combine that with local technical support and excellent after sales service and they become the factory engineer's purchase of choice. By the way, Mario and Mark keep abreast of new developments through regular visits to Mannheim where they have both received in-depth technical training.
Pepperl+Fuchs
Walter Pepperl and Ludwig Fuchs formed the company in 1945 in a war-ravaged Germany, their initial focus being the rewinding of power transformers. Their location in Mannheim was close to the heart of that country's chemical industry and the company soon got involved in the development of the first inductive proximity sensor to replace micro-switches. This was in 1958, when in response to the industry demand for 'something with no moving parts' suitable for operation in potentially explosive areas was required. In response to this need the world's first inductive proximity sensor was produced. This sensor gained rapid industry acceptance worldwide and became the backbone of the company's extensive product line.
As indicated previously the product range offered by Pepperl+Fuchs is huge, and besides the sensors themselves they also offer many interface devices, in both IS and nonIS options. Sensors offered include capacitive, inductive, magnetic, photoelectric and ultrasonic. Other products the company offers are rotary encoders, level measurement sensors, AS-interface (ASI), inductive and microwave identification systems, safety curtains, speed monitoring etc.
Pepperl+Fuchs remains a totally privately owned company but in response to the threat of globalisation it has itself embarked on the acquisition trail. Its recent targets have been the purchase of the German company Visolux, and Elcon Instruments of Italy. In a way it has been a merger of competitors but new synergies have also been created. Visolux have an extensive range of photoelectric sensors, proximity sensors and light-based safety curtains while Elcon specialises in another of P+F's core technologies, intrinsic safety equipment in both the motherboard or standalone options. With Elcon Instruments joining the P+F group of companies in January this year there has been a consolidation of the product line. This acquisition has, however, made P+F the biggest supplier of IS interfaces in the world. Meanwhile, locally, P&F have been given the additional responsibility to market these new products.
The products from all the manufacturing facilities not only meet all national (DIN, EN etc.) and international standards (IEC) but Pepperl+Fuchs has had a role in the development of these standards. The company currently has representation on the steering committee for the AS-interface (actuator/sensor interface) systems standard. The factory in Mannheim also operates a quality management system that is certified to ISO 9001. The company operates internationally with production facilities in several other countries including the USA, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy and Singapore and a staff of more than 2400 are employed to look after the best interests of the company's clients. The company motto of 'setting standards in the world of automation' is as true today as when it first started business back in 1945.
The market for P&F is the entire South African manufacturing industry with car manufacturers, petrochemical and the mining industry being major customers. Mario and Mark believe that their strategy of having a sole principal is the right one and they have no intention of trying to become a 'little knowledge' one-stop-shop. Being small and a family business obviously has major benefits for clients and the family adheres closely to the real ethics of quality and service, which implies highly satisfied customers. As for the father and son team this reflects the good old days where we had artisans who were proud of their work and where the skills were passed onto another family member. There is no more difficult teacher than your own father, but Mark has survived and thrived, and it is good to see that a company like P&F is continuing with an age-old tradition.
| Tel: | +27 10 430 0250 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.pepperl-fuchs.co.za |
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