10 March 2006
	GENERAL INDUSTRIALS Kudos FOR Sekunjalo AGAIN By Stafford Thomas The highly diversified Western Cape-based group beat close rival Jasco on skills development

General industrial companies produced no earth-shattering developments on the black economic empowerment (BEE) front in 2005. Unlike the fast-evolving mining and financial sectors, there were no major deals and action was largely confined to BEE deals involving subsidiaries. Regrettably, some groups are conspicuous by their absence in this year's Top Empowerment Companies survey. Barloworld did not provide detailed information on its empowerment progress despite ranking third in the sector and 52nd overall last year. And of the major electronics groups, Reunert was the only participant. In some respects, some sector members appear to have sold themselves short on their broad-based BEE initiatives as a result of inadequate reporting. Reunert, for instance, scored zero on the skills development measure despite having a comprehensive training scheme spearheaded by the Reunert College and its mentorship programme. Reunert also scored zero for its BEE procurement policies. Yet during 2005, for example, one of its major subsidiaries, cable manufacturer ATC procured more than half of its materials, excluding imported materials and copper, from previously disadvantaged suppliers. But despite these shortcomings the sector again produced the company to be reckoned with, Sekunjalo. For the third year running the highly diversified Western Cape-based group has romped away with the title of the most empowered company in the general industrials sector. More significantly, Sekunjalo is this year ranked as the most empowered company in the TEC survey, with an impressive total score of 76,44%. In the general industrials sector, Sekunjalo's closest rival, electronics and telecom group Jasco also achieved a solid total score of 53,72%. Though Sekunjalo just edged Jasco out in the most important areas of measurement, it was only on skills development, where it scored the maximum 20%, that it really stood way out in front. Jasco scored 4,1% on skills development. A deal with Community Investment Holdings led to Jasco acquiring 100% of telecom equipment distributor Tasslelane for R30m. According to Empowerdex's BEE rating issued in June 2005, this left Jasco with a "legal and effective" black ownership of "at least" 35,17%.