North’s acquisition of Allied Mesh & Filters is part of an over-arching strategy to encompass its customers’ total needs, over and above its core Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) market, explains Managing Director Craig Garvie. The acquisition officially came into effect on 1 July 2016, following protracted negotiations between the two companies.
“The acquisition is exciting, as it is essentially the same client base we are dealing with, but a completely different market segment. Our focus with Allied Mesh is to offer premium products, and thereby convert these customers to North, which has long been a name that can be trusted and relied upon for quality and cost-effectiveness,” Garvie comments.
Allied Mesh & Filters General Manager Derrick Cochrane explains that, as a rapidly-growing company, it had relied on distributors to get its products to end users. “We are proud to announce our acquisition by North Safety Products Africa. This will allow us to reach a much larger market, both locally and internationally. Combining our sales forces, it also means a far superior service within the 12 North branches locally and four in Africa, along with full service and technical back-up.”
Allied Mesh & Filters manufactures screening and filtration consumables such as woven wire mesh, woven wire screens, wedge wire and perforated plate. Established in 2013, it started out with a small 258 m² factory, which has since expanded to 1 500 m², supplying product into Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and throughout Southern Africa.
The main benefits for both North’s and Allied Mesh’s customers is that they now have a single point of contact for all their mining consumable requirements. “The end user is now being supplied by a single vendor with a complete suite of products, comprising a total solution for their mining needs,” Garvie concludes.