JETTING AHEAD – THE WERNER PUMPS SUCCESS STORY

Although Werner Pumps started off as a small family business, focusing on continuous improvement and the local manufacture of all its components and load bodies has enabled the company to grow into a major force within the water recycling and high-pressure jetting sectors.

Founded by German-born Norbert Werner in 1988, Werner Pumps has grown to become a leader in its field, offering a comprehensive range, 2.2 kW Electric skid units to 12-cylinder diesel powered units (mounted either on trailers or trucks).

Over the past few years, since 2009, when Norbert handed over day-to-day operations to his son, Sebastian, the company has enjoyed a period of rapid growth and expansion.

Managing Director Sebastian Werner attributes this to the continuous improvement mindset at the company, which means they are always looking for ways to optimise and expand the business, and find new markets to service. Within his first few years at the helm, Werner Pumps saw a 200% increase in sales and has enjoyed year-on-year growth since, even in the face of COVID-19. It has added the Indlovu Vacuum Unit, Impi Combination / Jetvac Units and Amanzi Recycling Units to its range of truck-mounted solutions.

Werner has injected fresh energy and focus into the business, with impressive results. He realised that local manufacturing was a unique selling point for the company and has focused on ensuring that all components and load bodies are now 100% manufactured in South Africa, contributing to economic growth and creating employment opportunities.

“We do everything we can in-house and have been building these capabilities over the past few years, adding additional space in our workshop, investing in CNC machinery, building a painting spray booth, developing a fleet of service and repair vehicles, upskilling our in-house auto electricians and developing hydraulics and design skills in our team, and even creating our own small aluminium recycling system,” he says. Werner Pumps owns a 6 000m² premises situated in the industrial sites of New Era Springs (50km east of Johannesburg), which houses its workshop, office and stores.

The company was also one of the first in the industry to obtain an ISO9001 Certification, in October 2016. “We constantly research and implement new strategies as part of our ISO9001-2015 standard of organisation,” says Werner. “These help us to analyse the environment and stay on top of business development. We created the first working African-built Amanzi Recycling Unit. We also expanded our offering to include a smaller rapid response bakkie-mounted combination unit, which can service applications where a larger truck mounted unit won’t fit, such as shopping centres, hospitals and mines.”

Werner says one of the cornerstones for Werner Pumps’ success is its focus on customer engagement and service. This begins with understanding customer needs and challenges and going the extra mile to address these. For example, the company carries a comprehensive accessories and spares line with the aim of being a one-stop shop for customers.

Werner Pumps is also the sole accredited agent for HAAS Abwassertechnik in South Africa and offers the full catalogue of HAAS pipe stoppers, testing sets for house connections, rehabilitation packers, lifting bags, leak sealing bags, sealing wedges, leak-sealing bandages and rubber-moulded parts.

In the past few years, Werner Pumps has begun offering flexible financing solutions, and expanding its sights to other countries within the African continent. “We’re working on expanding into the African market, where before, only used units were deemed affordable,” says Werner. “We can now offer South African built units at great competitive prices.”