This company is actually a top 32 across Africa (72% growth vs 2022), but is top 3 in energy and utilities.
This afternoon I had to visit my solar supplier for some lugs we were requiring to connect the batteries. This is what was holding us back from turning on the solar system and to start charging the batteries. My installer had been hunting high and low and could not find these anywhere so I took a drive to go and fetch them.
This company is the Herholdt's Group who for the second year running are in the top 5 fastest growing companies in Africa. Renewable energy is what is growing their company and they only supply the trade and not the public. I guess this was the reason why my installer asked me to help as he was stuck and could not get access to this company. This also makes sense why my prices were so reasonable compared to the market prices because these are trade prices and not marked up retail.
What was great about this visit it allowed me to view the warehouse and see how professional this business was running. There is nothing better than putting a face to a phone call and if I require any other add on's it will be far easier to obtain now. I am a public customer using a friends account which I pay and I am very grateful for the savings.
The contact mentioned they had won the top 5 award for the fastest growing company in Africa 2 years running and expect next year to be even bigger. I knew about the electricity price increases, but what was new information is that there are going to be 2 increases.
The first increase is due for early next year and the second one is due in April. They expect the total increase to be around the 70-80% mark which is absolutely bonkers. This will drive solar sales to new heights never seen before and those who have solar ,but remain on the grid will be even worse off.
They mentioned that nearly 100% of all units sold in the last 3 years were for clients seeking back up power for load shedding, but they remained on the grid. Those properties now have 2 choices being to ether remove what they have installed or go the entire way making sure they leave the grid. Anyone who has a small back up system will not be saving and their monthly electricity bill will be double what they have now. This is before any of the increases that are yet to happen next year. In theory using this logic those properties will be paying between 2.5 and 3 x their current monthly costs. Those properties now need to spend in order to save which will increase this companies turnover and anyone else involved within the solar industry.
It is quite interesting to see how certain industries are fueled by a need and this has from all accounts grown this company from an electrical regional wholesaler into a national giant within a few short years. Timing is everything and staying ahead and reading market trends will keep you out ahead of the competition. Renewable energy is big business and for this company things are only getting warmed up.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
It is very interesting to read this, almost none of the mainstream media speak about African companies.