Bay businessmen forge German link

Bob Kernohan BUSINESS EDITOR

A VISIT by a German business delegation paid potentially immediate dividends for a trio of Mandela Bay businessmen yesterday.

Small and medium enterprise owners Henry van Dyke, Tyrone Rondganger and Kamal Naran were among the first group of business people to hold talks with counterparts from the German state – similar to a province – of Saarland .

After 45 minutes of discussion, they left the meeting smiling, having shaken hands on a provisional agreement to become involved in a water disinfectant system they believe has potential for the province and the country as a whole.

The handshake agreement was struck with a Saarland company, Water-Clean, which is looking for joint-venture partners to distribute and, later, possibly manufacture the units locally.

The trade visit was co-ordinated by the PE Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“Our system is easily portable and uses little energy, making it ideal for use in both rural and major centres in South Africa,” chief executive Jorg Heil said.

An engineer with experience in electronics and the medical field, Heil developed the system in 2006 and has now set up an enterprise with several business partners.

“Using a combination basically of salt, water and electronic pulses, the system disinfects water, eradicating harmful bacteria.

“The end product is both drinkable and safe, although to work the water must be clear to start with – it can‘t work efficaciously with muddy or cloudy water.”

Heil said the system could be used for a range of purposes, from hospital and hotel applications to use in industrial, office and housing complexes, or blocks of flats.

A medium-sized system – which can be housed in a metre-square container and easily moved around on wheels – costs ß20000 (R253600).

Van Dyke, Rondganger and Naran see the system as ideal for use in South Africa.

The provisional deal to become a local supplier of the system is looking at importing the units at first, but possibly later manufacturing them with up to 90 to 95 per cent local content.

Group spokesman Van Dyke said the German company would come back to the trio to firm up a plan to send samples of the system and people to provide training to the Bay.

“We‘ll take it from there and will begin holding discussions to get premises, probably in Neave or Korsten,” said Van Dyke.