A philosophy of service excellence has seen Sheltam (Pty) Ltd become a reliable service provider in the rail, aviation, marine and power generation industries, locally and in the rest of Africa
By Rebecca Waters
Founded in 1987, Sheltam (Pty) Ltd has established itself in the mining, manufacturing and timber sectors locally and in the rest of Africa as a reliable service provider, taking the lead as far as service excellence is concerned.
“When I started the company, our core business was locomotive maintenance and repairs,” says the company’s Founder and Chief Executive Roy Puffett. “We then grew into a lot of other contacts and I ended up buying a lot of locomotives over the years and increasing the areas in which we worked.”
Sheltam has contracted in several African countries and today has become a well established brand in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia and the Seychelles, and is currently pursuing operations further into Africa.
“There are a number of opportunities that are presenting themselves in Africa,” says Puffett. “As Africa opens up and becomes more stable, it allows external investment into those countries.”
Amongst others, Sheltam is currently working on projects in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Investing in employees
Operating in a range of industries, Sheltam has to ensure that its employees are trained to the highest degree in the industries they serve. As well as the Flight Training School, the company has a range of other training programs for its employees, including a training centre for apprentices on both locomotives and aircrafts, and an ABET training facility.
“I think that is part of what drives us,” says Puffett. “Without our people, we wouldn’t be anywhere. It is the quality of people and the type of people who work for us that makes Sheltam what it is.”
This strong, relationship-based philosophy is extended to Sheltam’s customers. “We have been in business since 1987 and some of the customers that we had on day one are still with us,” says Puffett. “It is more like a partnership than a customer-client relationship.”
Part of the reason behind this, is the company’s “transparency” with its customers, he says. “We are very transparent with our customers on costing and I think they appreciate that.”
Challenges
Cost is one of the most important issues facing businesses in the current economic climate; according to Puffett, everybody is a lot more aware of margins.
“Everybody is now looking at the bottom line,” he says. “Production numbers are being revised and looked at constantly.”
The depreciation in the rand in late 2008 also had a significant impact on operations in South Africa, he says.
Developing the business
However, Sheltam has seen worse times before and, again, it looks to weather the financial storm. With major projects still on the cards, above average growth is forecasted for this dynamic company over the next few years. One of the emerging industries for Sheltam is power generation.
“We are looking at, and we have been successful with, our first power generation contract and thus moving more and more into power generation,” says Puffett. “We are installing our first 10MW of power in the north of the country for a diamond mine.
“Power generation and the business that we are in at the moment are very similar. It is the same technology and the same equipment using different applications, so we are changing the focus of a part of our business to include power generation,” he continues.
“Our core focus remains in mining rail operations and mainline rail transport, so it is not going to be the main growth area but it contributes significantly to the bottom line as there are a number of opportunities.”
Development
Sheltam has experienced huge growth since its formation – today, the company owns and operates the largest privately owned fleet of mainline locomotives throughout Southern Africa – and this looks to continue in the years ahead. Puffett expects to see more growth in Sheltam’s rail operations, as well as in the marine, power generation and aviation industries.
“As the railroads in Africa open up the operations, I would like to see the company getting into a more long-haul operation, which we are doing in some countries,” he says. ”However, South Africa is a closed market, there is a monopoly there by the national railways – very similar to what England did and what the United States has done for many years.
“There is more of an open access, which allows private companies to operate under traditional and national networks. Hopefully, that is going to be a reality in the next couple of years and that will give us a tremendous opportunity for growth,” he concludes.
View Digital Corporate Profile of Sheltham in SupplyChain Digital June 2009