transformation and change

management are not

new concepts

to our group

 

 

As the founder and Chairman of Altron, I am satisfied with the rapid progress that is being made by our group in terms of our economic transformation through our Transformation Vision 2010 programme. This clearly reflects the well-known and valuable contribution we are making to the government’s empowerment strategies at both the operational and holding company level in our group.

In particular, much emphasis has been placed by us on meeting the proposed requirements of the BEE Charter
for the information communications and technology (ICT) sector and we are pleased to be regarded as an industry leader in this endeavour. During the first quarter of 2004, the Altron Transformation

Vision 2010 document was presented and subsequently unanimously approved and adopted by the Altron, Altech, BTG and Powertech boards.

I see this as being a clear reflection of top management’s commitment to transformation and how our group is being governed in terms of its sustainability and CSI programmes at all levels of the organisation.

Transformation and change management are, however, not new concepts to our group. Over the years, we have listened to and heeded the words of the Rev. Leon Sullivan of the US, the late Chris Hani and former president Nelson Mandela and have emulated their concepts, behaviour and beliefs. Our emphasis has, therefore, been an empathy, caring, consideration and respect for all people. In 1965 – our first year of operation – our founding company, Allied Electric consisted of four employees and had a turnover of R150 000.

Today, we employ 11 000 people and our revenues are in excess of R10 billion! Thus, it is largely through a process of transformation that we are all associated with Altron – a group that, during the past four decades, has conceived, designed and manufactured technological and business solutions which have touched the life of virtually every South African.

Our shareholders have experienced above average compound annual returns on their investments every year since our public listing in 1981, Altech having listed in 1974.

Today, Altron is one of the largest, diversified ICT and power electronics groups in the southern hemisphere! We could never have achieved the significant milestones we have, had we not been pro-active in terms of factors that affect our business environment. Let me hasten to add that this sense of foresight and adaptability on the part of Altron may not only be attributed to those who founded the group. It is largely due to the men and women of Altron who have nurtured and developed these founding values that have made us a winning corporation.

Being a Proudly South African company which will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, Altron is a deep-rooted product of this country and the African continent as a whole. Technological continuity over four decades breeds a winning culture and provides the confidence to achieve even greater heights in the years to come. I firmly believe that Vision 2010 will assist us in achieving our objectives. The leadership of this group fully embraces the process of change and transformation with enthusiasm. We are doing so because we recognise the painful experiences of the past by the majority of our citizens, many of whom also happen to be members of the Altron family.

We are doing so because it is the right thing to do. I know that I have the full support of the entire group in this regard. We are embracing transformation because if we do not, we will stagnate and flounder. For a group of our size it becomes singularly important to develop guiding policies that may be applied at every level of our organisation if we want all our people to embrace that policy.

We wish to convince our people that this is not a black versus white issue. If properly implemented, we stand to win as individuals, we will win as a company and we will win as a nation. I firmly believe that for our programmes to be effective, we need to guarantee this win-win notion.

On behalf of the Board and the Office of the Chairman I congratulate the Transformation Committee for its hard work in drawing up this important Vision 2010 document and express my appreciation for its ongoing commitment, dedication and enthusiasm for the practical implementation of its contents.
 

Dr Bill Venter

Chairman