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MechChem Africa
•
January 2017
A
ppointed on September 1, 2016, Gavin
Pelser has been part of BMG since 2005
when his own business, Oscillating Systems
Technology (OST), was acquired by BMG. “I
did my Ts at Wits Technikon, now Johannesburg Uni-
versity, before joiningGECElectricMotors inBenoni,”
he tells
MechChem
.
After rising through the ranks to become general
manager at GEC, Pelser decided to start his own elec-
tricmotor business. “Soonafter, though, Iwent into the
OST business, which involves drives and suspensions
for vibrating equipment. I started to spend a lot of my
time at process plants, mines and materials handling
sites. We developed vibrating screens and feeders,
electromagnetic precision feeders and gearbox feed-
ers for a host of applications – coal mines, theKoeberg
nuclear power plant, coin feeder systems for the
minters and chocolate sprinkling systems for the food
industry,” he says.
The heart of these patented systems is four 90
Shore round suspension rubbers, which have no
memory loss and can be sized from small to massive.
“While the rubbers are designed to be replaced from
time to time, OST suspension systems are remarkably
simple and highly effective,” Pelser points out. Today,
OST is wholly owned by the Invicta Group, BMG’s
parent. It is independently run with Pelser remaining
chairman of its board.
Pelser joined the BMG board of directors in 2008
when he first took charge of BMG Engineering, which
includes the Technical Resources and Field Services
divisions. “Both these areas have enjoyed substantial
growth over the years. BMG now has over 100 field
service technicians operating out of 168 outlets
throughout Africa,” Pelser notes.
FollowingthepromotionofCharlesWalterstoCEO
of InvictaHoldings, BMG’smanagement structurewas
split into two, with Gavin Pelser and Paul McKinley
taking joint responsibility for the separate divisions.
“But during the last Exco, it was decided that one
leader was preferable. Paul now looks after logistics,
procurement, and distribution and I have taken on the
MD role, while retaining responsibility for engineer-
ing. In principle, I take care of the value-adds and all
components come under Paul,” Pelser explains.
Centralisation and African expansion
The past year was “extremely tough” and, for BMG,
characterised by the conclusion of the upgrade of
BMGWorldalongwith thefinalisation and integration
of three strategic acquisitions: Hansen Transmissions
South Africa; Hyflo, including Hyflo SA and Hyflo
Namibia;andSibuyile,a toolshardwareandequipment
supplier that was acquired through Man-Dirk.
“This is all part of our ‘Simplify for Success’ ini-
tiative,” Pelser reveals. “We make acquisitions to
strengthen the company; through the expertise and
knowledge of the people that come with the acquisi-
tion, and the solutions and brands that we can add
to our basket. We then look to see if we should fully
integrate the new entity into BMG or to support in-
dependent operation. Hyflo, for example, like OST,
will continue to operate independently, while Hansen
Transmissions SA has been fully integrated into our
Power Transmission offering,” he explains.
Building at the BMG World site in Johannesburg
was completed inDecember and the Christmas break
was used formoving. “All of our financial staff has now
relocated fromDurban and the BMGWorld facility is
fully operational,” Pelser assures.
“By August, our new JDAwarehousemanagement
system will be installed and operational, consolidat-
ing our stock countrywide. Centralised warehouse
management enables us to keep stock at branch level
to aminimum, maximising our returns andminimising
costs –without extending delivery times. The globally
linked warehouse management systemwill enable us
torespondtodeliveryrequestsfasterthaneverbefore,
with branches able to function on the leanest possible
‘just-in-time’ basis.
“A conservative estimation puts the return on in-
vestment for the BMGWorld expansion and the new
warehousemanagement systemat nomore than four
years, through stock savings and efficiency. We have
MechChemAfrica’s
Peter Middleton talks to new BMG MD Gavin Pelser about his company history,
the consolidation into the expanded BMG World premises in Johannesburg and his strategy for
continued future growth.
Building at the BMG World site in Johannesburg was completed in December 2016
and the Christmas break was used for moving. “The facility is now fully operational,”
Pelser assures.
BMG’s ‘Simplify for Success’ initiative
“Our advantage is
that we can offer
best-fit whole
solutions based on
a basket of different
products and
brands.”