EL electronics firm sees big Pay-TV opportunities

WIRED FOR SUCCESS: Workers assemble circuit boards in the Wilsonia-based Vektronix factory yesterday after the company announced a black empowerment deal. Picture: NIGEL LOUW

BEE partner says it jumped at the chance to join in

By ROUX VAN ZYL

Business Editor

THE new wave of Pay-TV licensees that hit South Africa last month will, apart from expanding the choice of television channels, also create a host of downstream manufacturing opportunities for electronic firms.

This is the view of East London-based electronic contract manufacturer Vektronix and empowerment company Yekani Investment Holdings following their black economic empowerment deal yesterday.

As part of the deal, Yekani has bought 30% of Vektronix which started manufacturing Tedelex televisions in Wilsonia in 1974.

Yesterday Yekani secretary Niël Schoeman said the deal enabled the company to positioned itself in the digital media industry ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

“We knew Icasa was reviewing Pay-TV tenders and took the decision to start searching for companies that were already operating within the industry. We were really happy to find a local partner and we jumped at this opportunity,” he said.

Other foreseeable opportunities in the broadcasting sector would follow the government’s ambitious target of switching TV signals from analogue to digital by 2012. It could give rise to electronic devices that will convert the digital signal back to analogue for analogue TV sets. “To import technology is always the easy way out. But here we can invest in a local manufacturing facility and create new jobs while growing with current trends,” Schoeman said.

Yekani Investment Holdings, founded in 1998, has interests in the African mining industry and digital media.

Yekani is chaired by Professor Sipho Shabalala, former director-general of the Department of State-Owned Enterprises and economic adviser to the premier of KwaZulu–Natal.

In addition to the equity stake, Yekani will appoint two directors to the Vektronix board. Vektronix director Kobie Pienaar agreed that the company was well positioned to capitalise on the country’s Pay-TV revolution.

“Business-wise we were not forced to go the empowerment route for any of our current contracts,” he said.

The company was approached by three empowerment groups of which the media and technology subsidiary of Yekani was successful.

Vektronix managing director Craig Tyzack said the company started in 1974 as SATV with its core business being the manufacture of TV sets.

Today it employs 142 people and has a turnover of R30m with contracts to manufacture Samsung TVs, LCD panels, Multichoice decoders, infant breathing monitors, prisoner tracking devices and pre-paid electric meters.