Successful South African Plater Beating the Odds

Tony Joseph, founder of Team Plating Works, a barrel electroplating company in Germiston, South Africa, hasn’t always been in the plating business. Joseph first studied to be an accountant after leaving the South African army. But he had a change of heart and went into the metal business with his brother, Eric, in 1974. With one zinc tank and one cadmium tank in his backyard, Joseph serviced all his first customers. From there, he has built a reputation of quality and perfection in the industry.

According to Joseph’s grandson, Damian, who is junior manager at the company – maintaining the shop floor and customer relations – every single part that goes out the door is flawless. He, too, takes pride in the perfection the company offers its customers which was instilled in him by his grandfather.

Although zinc plating is most of what the company does, it also has begun to perform zinc-nickel alloy barrel plating for some customers. Damian says his grandfather’s perfectionism is reflected by the chemistry quality of the company’s plating tanks. It is no wonder the shop’s customers are more than pleased with the quality of work the shop produces.

Even with a solid process in place, a good reputation and loyal customers, Team Plating Works is not averse to challenges, especially given its geographic location. The South African economy has been constrained by electricity supply shortages and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic including transport bottlenecks.

To learn the details, Products Finishing talked to Damian Joseph about the 21-employee Team Plating Works’ position in South Africa’s plating market, touching on the shop’s capabilities, business philosophy, customer base, how it is overcoming obstacles, and much more.

PF: Tell me about Team Plating Works.

DJ: Team Plating Works began its journey in 1974 when my grandfather, Tony Joseph, left his life of being an accountant to begin his career as a business owner. The company philosophy is to be reliable, steady and provide quality over all else. We have had our ups and downs, but the central philosophy of sticking to our guns and always striving to deliver reliable service in an unreliable industry has kept us on the right path.

PF: What equipment/capabilities do you offer your customers? What prompted you to begin offering zinc-nickel alloy barrel plating?

DJ: We offer barrel electroplating of small parts in large quantity such as nuts, bolts, screws and fasteners (we also try our best to squeeze larger items into the barrels; however, we have learned our limitations). Our run-of-the-mill metal plating, such as zinc, copper, nickel and brass, keep us afloat while providing our customers with a steady, uninterrupted supply of their finished works.

We specialize in a few processes that are somewhat foreign in our current industry, namely mechanical plating and zinc-nickel alloy plating, that provide us with a niche in the already saturated market. Being a smaller firm, we have managed to hone our skills to the point that plating anything is second nature.

After noticing the heavy trend in South Africa (but more so abroad) to move away from the cadmium plating process, we started this process on a small scale, plating in a 10-kg barrel with the assistance of smart people in the industry. Today, we are running three 25-kg barrels that produce 750 kg of zinc-nickel plated work every day, making us the largest zinc-nickel barrel plater in our country.

PF: What’s your customer base/markets served?

DJ: We serve a variety of customers both in and outside of South Africa. We have been fortunate enough to maintain good relationships with large customers that keep us afloat and have forged new relationships with smaller customers that require a hyper-specialized plating process that yields a greater turnover with smaller quantities. Mainly, Team Plating Works services the companies that supply nuts, bolts and fasteners to their customers. Industries served include agricultural, automotive, maritime, engineering and even the clothing industry, just to name a few.

PF: What challenges in South Africa make business difficult?

DJ: South Africa’s economic situation is complex and volatile. The country is
in a unique situation where a lot has gone wrong over the last three decades. There are many huge SOE (state-owned enterprises) that have been mismanaged to the point of failure, including Eskom, Denel, Transnet and SAA, companies that provide and manage transport, electricity, railway and logistics in our huge country. Moreover, municipalities seem to have fallen into disrepair.

Since we are a company that services a range of industries, everyone in our
country is affected when things like load shedding, strikes and water shedding happen. We were privy enough to buy a new generator that runs our factory, but that does not help us much when we factor in costs of maintenance and diesel.

South Africa is an emerging market, and there are entrepreneurs everywhere. A lot of the population struggle due to being unemployed and under-educated because of the lack of care from the government. This sets the trend of citizens starting their own small shops rather than being employed by big companies that also do not care for them.

PF: So, the chemicals you use for plating are imported from the U.S. Are there any obstacles around receiving shipments on time?

DJ: We use reliable suppliers for our chemicals. Our suppliers have close relationships with their suppliers, which in turn keeps us all on the same page and avoids a lot of logistical issues. Recently, there have not been too many issues with chemical shortages but they do happen from time to time.

PF: What about your business are you most proud of? Would you like to share a story that illustrates your success and/or customer loyalty?

DJ: Personally, I am proud of the quality of work that we produce. A lot of other companies have huge and complex machines, and they still fail to outshine us, even on the most basic metal finishes. I am proud of the fact that almost all our customers found us through word of mouth, meaning that we can see that the work quality is out there in the world and speaking for itself.

I am also proud of my grandfather, my father and my aunt who have managed to keep the company going for 50 years. It has been a long journey in my short time of being here, and a lot has changed. Customer loyalty is something that we have had the pleasure of receiving with almost all our clients, and there are a few outstanding ones that have become like family.

PF: How do you find and keep skilled workers?

DJ: In South Africa, jobs are difficult to come by because of the low performance in schools and the volatility of the economy. Finding people who want to work as general laborers is not too difficult but keeping them around can prove to be. Sometimes we must deal with theft from new employees, fraud, sabotage or even arson. Since our general population does not have a high standard of living, citizens in this country tend to take chances every time an opportunity presents itself. At Team Plating Works, we do our best to incentivize our workers with good benefits, offering wages that are competitive and above the national agreed wage and give our workers a healthy environment to share concerns or any issues they may have.

We have Abel Dlamini who has worked with my grandfather for more than 40 years. He has become one of the top barrel platers in the country and is currently the foreman to a shift of six other long-standing employees.

PF: What trends are you seeing in the plating industry?

DJ: The most pressing current trend is plating metal alloys. This is because of
the far superior corrosion protection offered by these alloys and because the
alloys comply with the ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive).
However, South Africa has a long road ahead of it in the way of industry. This
leaves the question of whether we should stick to old technology and run as we have been, or if we should innovate and push the country forward. This proves difficult because a lot of companies in this country are well behind
international standards. Whether it be environmental or only technological,
our country will catch up to the rest of the world in the next 20-plus years. 

PF: What does the future hold for Team Plating Works?

DJ: We are a business in a weak economy. In that case, we should be happily in business for the next 50 years to come. So, for me, I see the future as quite bright. The age of automation and computerization makes the mundane tasks of everyday factory life seem a bit less intrusive and a lot more manageable. We are constantly reminded to push forward in our country because contrary to what I have been explaining, most people in South Africa just want to get on with it. The future for our company as well as our country may not be a Utopian idea if we can heal old wounds and forge new paths.