Radio Holland
Finding a time to get Radio Holland South Africa’s Todd Gaine, Managing Director, and Tom Redeker, Deputy Managing Director, in one interview was always going to be tricky. Since Radio Holland and Pertec Pty Ltd merged combined within Radio Holland in 2008, and the pair took these positions effective of January that same year, to say the company has been busy is somewhat of an understatement.
“In a nutshell , Radio Holland is a Dutch-based company established in 1916. In South Africa we have been active for 25 years,” Gaine says.
Founded on a wealth of experience from both sides, this new combined division of Radio Holland has come a long way since the company began in South Africa by selling and maintaining radio communication equipment.
“Throughout the different decades, we moved on in our offerings in sales and in maintenance—not only in communication, but also in whole ship electronics from navigation to automation equipment,” Gaine explains.
Charting the development of the company reveals a great deal about its shifting focuses as new technology, regulation and South African client requirements presented new demands. Ranging from its beginnings in communications work assisting vessels in complying with safety regulations for IMO, to the emergence of broadband and the effect this had on the provision of telecoms equipment and the supply and support of satellite communications, Radio Holland’s journey demonstrates the great success a company can enjoy when strategic partnerships and growth are done just right.
Inside Imtech; Radio Holland’s focus in South Africa
Imtech, the Netherlands-based technical services provider, acquired Radio Holland in2006, the same year that Radio Holland celebrated its 90th birthday. This partnership was a mutually advantageous move, allowing the parent group to cover all manner of maritime market segments including navy vessels, mega yachts and cruise liners, and use Radio Holland as a prestigious sales platform for Imtech products, to name a couple of draws.
“Radio Holland as a division of Imtech has a worldwide international network with about 63 offices,” Gaine says, of the major backing Radio Holland now receives, enabling the company to extend its operational breadth and offering of knowledge on a grand scale.
In South Africa, Radio Holland’s core business avenues are sales and services and Redeker says that the company also has another focus on satellite maritime connectivity.
“Those are the main areas of the operation in South Africa. We’re involved in those activities right up into all of sub-Saharan Africa, mainly from our base in Cape Town which is our head office that handles the South African side, and our office in Durban which handles mainly East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands as well,” Redeker says.
“We’re also quite extensively involved with the south African Navy on supporting the new vessels, the deep-sea submarines and service vessels.”
This is where the acquisition of Pertec comes into play, as Gaine says that both longstanding companies brought highly experienced staff to the table; a vital component for the company.
“Most of the team have a long history in the company. Most importantly, some have got a long history in marine and marine electronics as well,” Gaine agrees.
“I think that forms the basis for our success in South Africa and in Southern Africa. Also, the number of offices and locations we operate from allows us to be closer to our customers.”
In fact, Gaine says that Radio Holland far outweighs its nearest peers and it has “about three times the number of staff serving the market.”
“The result is that in terms of turnover we’re probably about four times bigger than the nearest competitor,” he says.
“There are a few smaller competitors, but the biggest is only about a quarter of the size of Radio Holland.”
Radio Holland’s business choices have placed the company in an enviable position in South Africa from which to maintain and hone the strategic partnerships it values so much today.
The key: strategic partnerships
Redeker says that Radio Holland is entirely committed to providing excellent sales, maintenance and communications for its customers. While this is not particularly surprising, the tenacity of the way the company works to do so stands out.
“Our long-term goal is really to prove to our customers that we are a trusted partner that will be there when they need,” Gaine says.
“We both want to make money, but I think that partnership is the key word there and that’s what we want to have with our customers.”
Covering hostile and unstable geographical regions, oil exploration and many a challenging activity presented by its varied clients, Radio Holland as we know it today is ready and waiting. This is truly a company which clients can depend upon.
http://www.radiohollandgroup.com
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Mixx
FaceBook
Twitter
Email this article
Print
Plain text
