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Company History

AUGUST 1990 – Father and son, Rod and Russell Davis, invented the world’s first original Wall Panel Heater and started Econo-Heat in Cape Town, South Africa.

1997 – The Econo-Heat Wall Panel Heater won the ‘Most Innovative Product‘ award for the DESIGN FOR LIVING EXHIBITION – Cape Town’s premier consumer lifestyle exhibition. The product started selling through some of South Africa’s best-known stores.

1990 – 2003 – Production began with an initial capacity of 50 units per day. Over fourteen years the Davis family built Econo-Heat in South Africa into an exciting business with a well recognised and trusted brand. The business moved to three factories over this period.

Pieter Bräsler - CEO

2004 – The business changed hands with Pieter Bräsler as its new CEO. With a greater marketing drive and a focus on extending the company’s product into international markets, the company experienced substantial growth in recent years. The new Econo-Heat full-colour packaging box won the flexographic ‘Box of the Year‘ award in 2005.

The Econo-Heat factory has since 2004 successfully introduced the Principles and Practices of Lean Manufacturing to reduce waste and costs, optimise productivity and meet the growing international demand for its products.

Part of the Econo-Heat team in Cape Town, South Africa

2009 – 2010 – The factory produces 1200 to 1600 units per day and employs 119 people. The Econo-Heat Wall Panel Heater sells in 38 countries worldwide. To further expand its production capacity, Econo-Heat is moving to a new factory in Wetton, Cape Town. This will enable Econo-Heat to ultimately produce up to 5000 units per day or 1.2 million units per year. Econo-Heat was adjudged as a finalist by PricewaterhouseCoopers in the 2010 Exporter of the Year Award organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

2010 – Two new and exciting energy saving retail products are in process of development and will be introduced to market in 2012.

Lean Manufacturing

Econo-Heat implements world class lean manufacturing principles and practices to ensure that it is geared to meet the growing international demand for its products. Some examples of this include:

TAKT TIME can be defined as the maximum time per unit allowed to produce a product in order to meet demand. It is derived from the German word Taktzeit which translates to cycle time. Takt time sets the pace for industrial manufacturing lines. A lean manufacturer produces strictly according to customer demand – no more, no less.

ANDON is a manufacturing term referring to a system to notify management, maintenance, and other workers of a quality or process problem. The centrepiece is a signboard incorporating signal lights to indicate which workstation has the problem. At Econo-Heat this is referred to as the ‘Formula One Team’, a response time mechanism to minimise downtime at work stations.

GENCHI GENBUTSU means “go and see for yourself” and it is an integral part of the Lean Production System. It refers to the fact that any information about a process will be simplified and abstracted from its context when reported. This has often been one of the key reasons why solutions designed away from the process seem inappropriate.

KAIZEN is a Japanese word adopted into English referring to a philosophy or practices focusing on continuous improvement in manufacturing activities, business activities in general, and even life in general, depending on interpretation and usage. One thousand small improvements makes the big improvement.

Absolute Retail Focus

Econo-Heat focuses in particular on marketing and selling through the established retailers. Econo-Heat has built a firm foundation for strong relationships with retail companies and has established a good reputation as a supplier to their outlets.