Aggreko Expands in South Africa with Opening of Service Centre
in Durban
25 March 2011: Durban, South Africa - Aggreko,
the world leader in the provision of temporary power and temperature control services, opened its second
South Africa service centre in Durban yesterday (Thursday). The new
facility is situated in Riverside Business Park on Prince
Umhlangane Road and will enable Aggreko to meet demand for rental
power and temperature control in the KwaZulu-Natal area.
Aggreko CEO Rupert Soames formally inaugurated the depot with
over 100 guests in attendance, including former South African rugby
union international Pieter Muller.
James Shepherd, Managing Director, Aggreko South & East Africa,
focussed on how important the new depot would be for Aggreko’s
increased activity in the region: “South Africa, and Africa as a
whole, has been an increasingly important region for Aggreko.
Aggreko has made a significant investment in its business in South
Africa over the past few years, which is a sign of our continuing
commitment to the developing economy of the country.”
The service centre will primarily serve the shipping and
manufacturing sectors around Durban, but will
also bring Aggreko's turn-key rental packages to the oil and
gas, mining,
construction and events
industries. A key benefit of such packages is in helping companies
deal with power outages and load shedding, guaranteeing their power
supplies and reducing
the risk of power reduction penalties.
Aggreko has been active in the region for over 15 years, and
operates a continent-wide training programme to ensure projects are
staffed with local employees. Through the company’s continued
investment and social responsibility programs, Aggreko is committed
to creating jobs and bringing benefits to the communities in which
it operates. As a part of this commitment, Aggreko presented
donations totaling R50,000 to three local charities during the
service centre launch. The benefiting charities were: the
Vukani Community Project, the South African Rugby Legends
Association and the National Sea Rescue Institute.
Awareness of the company and its services in South Africa
reached new heights in 2010, as it became the sole provider of power to the 2010 FIFA World
Cup. Martin Foster, Country Manager, South Africa, commented on
the location of the company’s new facility: “The new facility is
ideally located to service the ports and shipping industry in
Durban and Richards Bay. In addition, we are well positioned to
service the numerous industrial areas of the greater Kwa Zulu-Natal
area. We will be continuing to ensure that we employ and train
locally as much as possible, as we are committed to being a part of
South Africa's future growth and development.”