RET Automation Controls, better known by its South African customers as RET, has been in the sensor business since 1984. The company was founded then by the husband and wife team, Rodney and Eva Topham; their initials creating the acronym RET. The mid 1980s coincided with the widespread implementation of the PLC, and Rodney Topham, who had a broad experience in the use of photoelectric sensors, saw the wider opportunity for the use of sensor technology in the instrumentation and control industry. This foresight stood RET in good stead and the company has to this day not deviated from its focus on sensors and ancillary equipment.
Like many entrepreneurial companies, RET started off as a home-based business, but an increasing number of satisfied clients and principals soon saw it expand into what it is today, an 11-person business with modern spacious premises just off the R24 in Edenvale, first occupied in 1995 with expansion through the purchase of an adjacent building in 1998. These premises provide office accommodation as well as well-equipped training facilities and a unique hands-on 'play-room' where the operating principles of many of the sensors are demonstrated. Rodney was joined by his son Brandon some three years ago and the latter (a qualified chartered accountant) now serves as MD, handling all the day-to-day business, with his father as CEO. The decrease in responsibility for operations has also allowed Rodney to indulge himself in the marketing role, something he has always enjoyed.
The first principal represented by RET was US-based Banner Engineering Corporation (Banner). With his background in photoelectric sensors (Banner was an early entrant to this technology) Rodney seized the opportunity of representing what has become a globally respected sensor company. The relationship has deepened over the years and RET continues to represent them. Although the US company has grown from being represented in just a select few countries to having a presence in more than 60 today, RET has still maintained its record of being in the top 10 annually in terms of turnover for its principal.
Banner itself continues to evolve in terms of its product line. From its original focus on photoelectric and similar sensors it expanded into the area of optical safety curtains (a major contributor to the business of RET in the last few years). The latest drive by the company is towards 'error-proofing' devices whereby through using optical sensing and/or vision systems, defective product can be identified (and removed) at an early stage in the manufacturing process (before further nonrecoverable value addition).
Over time, while remaining focused on sensors, RET has expanded its agencies to provide better support to its customers with complementary products. One of the first of the new agencies (1990) was for the German company Turck that maintains a close relationship with Banner on a global basis. They had been represented in South Africa for a number of years through the company Uniplan whose owner had just passed away. While Banner specialises in sensors based on the use of light (infrared or laser based), Turck's interest lies in inductive and capacitive sensors, both companies producing their own range of ultrasonic devices. Turck is also a specialist in the area of intrinsically safe equipment and has a range of devices that can get signals of any type out of hazardous areas.
An example of the deep level of co-operation between the two (Banner and Turck) is that they together formed the company Interlink BT in the USA. The creation of Interlink was driven by the proliferation of fieldbus standards that the sensors of both companies had to comply with. Rather than doing their own independent R&D for each new fieldbus system the two companies combined their resources and the actual products for use on a specific fieldbus could be manufactured at either a Banner or a Turck plant.
During 1997 RET acquired a third major agency in the form of German company Kübler with its substantial range of both electromechanical and electronic counters. Despite technology advances, Rodney Topham indicated that there is still a huge demand for the older electromechanical technology devices, particularly for use in domestic electricity meters. With the older device a power failure causes no change in the reading, whereas without back-up power or a memory the pure electronic device will revert to zero. Kübler adds further value to the business of RET through its range of linear and rotary encoders.
Although Banner, Turck and Kübler form the core of the RET business portfolio it also represents a number of smaller international companies that supply complementary products. One of these is another German company called Escha, which specialises in connector cables, plugs and junction boxes. While an independent concern, Escha works in close co-operation with Turck, particularly in the fieldbus area. Escha provides all the specialised cables and connectors required to wire up sensors in the plant, and it has an especial focus on highly automated industry sectors including automotive, pharmaceutical as well as food and beverage.
Other companies in the RET stable include Comat (Switzerland) and Jungmichel (Germany). Comat specialises in timers and relays while Jungmichel has a niche focus in terms of equipment for beverage can manufacture, especially pertinent for companies such as Nampak, SA Breweries and Coca-Cola.
RET trains both its own sales engineers and the customers and a significant part of the Edenvale facility has been set apart for training and demonstration of a large number of sensors and applications. Of particular interest is the way that Banner supports the training area and besides comprehensive Power Point presentations it supplies training kits containing various sensors. The presentation takes students through the theory and they then put each lesson into practice using the demo kit. Results obtained in this exercise and answers to questions presented demonstrate whether the students have captured the pertinent detail.
In terms of supply from its overseas principals RET has deliveries every week. At the same time it has a neat and comprehensive warehouse where R3 million of stock covers the most commonly used products in South Africa. If a particular product is not available the delivery is between seven and ten days, and this is attributable to the responsiveness of the principals. If Banner itself does not have a particular sensor in stock in the USA (and it offers more than 15 000 different products!) it guarantees that it will manufacture it from scratch in less than three days. Stockholding at RET is today fully computerised with automatic reordering of drawn items on a weekly basis, this order being consolidated with the weekly shipments from the USA and Europe to reduce freight and clearance costs.
As for its continued success in the local market, RET firmly attributes this to its unwavering focus on sensors and its portfolio of 'best-of-breed' principals. While RET itself services Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State from its Edenvale headquarters, according to Rodney Topham it has been fortunate to appoint the most dedicated and dynamic distributors elsewhere in the country. These distributors are located in Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London and Cape Town and are responsible for servicing the needs of their region. The Durban representative for example covers the whole of the KwaZulu-Natal Province (including Richards Bay, Pietermaritzburg etc). The achievements of RET and the stability of the business has resulted in very low staff turnover, a contributor to increasing success as this results in an even more in-depth knowledge of products and applications.
RET services a broad section of the local industry with particular emphasis on sectors such as packaging, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, automotive and iron and steel. In the mining industry you will also find their products monitoring haulage shafts and conveyor belts. Despite the negative effects of the recent devaluation of the rand, Rodney Topham is bullish about the future of RET, 'a company that realises that service is crucial, and that customers need delivery today!'
Rodney Topham, RET Automation Controls
011 453 2468
| Tel: | +27 11 453 2468 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.turckbanner.co.za |
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