A S S O C I AT E D B AT T E RY M A N U FA C T U R E R S
Meeting driver demand with dependability
A S S O C I AT E D
B AT T E R Y
M A N U FA C T U R E R S
ENERGY SOLU
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LUTIONS FOR ALL
Associated Battery Manufacturers is making a concerted effort to improve relationships between battery manufacturers and locals in Kenya, keeping on-top of international trends and industry developments Writer: Phoebe Calver | Project Manager: Vivek Valmiki
ocus and strategy are two of the defining factors behind Associated Battery Manufacturers’ (ABM) success, following a clear roadmap that has set it apart from competitors in the market since the Company’s inception in 1963. ABM was formed as a part of the Chloride Group, a UK-based company that already had vast representation in the battery manufacture market all over the world. More than 50 years later the Company still has ties within the UK, working with Oxford Export Services Ltd; a supplier of raw materials, chemicals and components to the automotive battery industry who has been a proud supply partner of ABM for more than 20 years. In the early 1990s the Company became 100 percent Kenyan-owned, made up of a number of shareholders all working within Kenyan investment holding companies. “From our Company’s original remit, we initially evolved though the introduction of a solar panel factory,” explains Guy Jack, Managing Director of Associated Battery Manufacturers. “Our core business still remains the production of car batteries, however around 20 years ago we became heavily involved in renewable energy and created our Chloride solar Genting HK, Zouk portfolio. Clark Quay, Singapore “Our work in this area has led us to become the regional leader in renewable energy, with our solar panel factory named Solinc.” Alongside ABM’s work in renewable energy, the Company has also created a plastic injection moulding subsidiary named Precision Plastics. It is working hard to portray the positive aspects of working in lead manufacturing, creating its own recycling plant called REAL (Recycling East Africa Limited) and ensuring the products it uses at every stage are completely recyclable.
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“We recognise the importance of building a strong relationship within our local community, particularly to help remove the stigma that surrounds our business,” affirms Jack. “We have an ongoing programme called the Lighting Hearts Initiative which uses solar power to provide electricity to the schools and homes without it currently. Projects like this are incredibly important to us at ABM and we will continue to invest a lot of time in them.”
M A N U F A C T U R E R S
End-to-end service
Over the years the Company has perfected an end-to-end service, utilising its own scrap collection network to gather scrap batteries throughout the market which are taken to its recycling plant. There the lead is recycled as well as the plastic from the battery boxes and cases. The recycled plastic is then made into buckets and crates that can be sold locally, while the lead comes back to ABM to be converted into batteries and placed back in the market.
“ABM and Oxford have been in business for many years. Key to Oxford Export’s success has been the ability to establish strong relationships with their business clients which extend well beyond traditional partnerships. They constantly strive to understand our needs and exceed them in service delivery, product quality and availability.” - Guy Jack, MD, ABM
OXFORD EXPORT SERVICES LTD
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ounded in 1989, Oxford Export Services Ltd is the leading UK supplier of raw materials, chemicals and components to the automotive battery industry. We have represented Daramic, Goonvean Fibres, TBS Engineering and Thai United Plastics for many years. Longstanding relationships with all our manufacturers in Europe, Asia, USA and South America guarantee the very highest standards of service and supply. Oxford customers always benefit from a distinct competitive advantage. We are proud to be a supply partner of Associated Battery Manufacturers for more than 20 years. T +44 (0)1491 615361 E sales@oxfordexport.com
www.oxfordexport.com
AKÜMSAN
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kümsan was established to produce automotive and industrial battery products and accumulator boxes; and covers both Turkey and global markets. The Company is one of the most important players in the sector with high brand awareness that provides services with high capacity and hundreds of environmentally friendly product types; as well as a research & development team meeting market needs with efficiency. The Company continues to invest in order to meet the needs of industry plastic boxes and covers, especially with the widespread use of smartphones in the fields of telecommunications, renewable energy systems and electric industrial transport vehicles.
Perfecting an end-to-end service
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T +90 212 622 44 44 E info@akumsan.com
www.akumsan.com
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Oxford Export Services Ltd
www.oxfordexport.com
Oxford Export Services are a leading UK exporter of battery equipment, spare parts and raw materials to industrial manufacturers worldwide. Address: Couching House, 41 Couching Street, Watlington, Oxon, OX49 5PX. UK Tel: +44 (0)1491 615361 E-mail: sales@oxfordexport.com
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POLYWORLD
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olyworld has two core businesses: the manufacture of battery boxes and lids and contract manufacturing of plastic products for the automotive, consumer electronics and industrial parts industries. The Company’s Maintenance Free (MF) boxes and lids are proven for performance in highly-demanding applications. The Company’s unique venting system prevents leakage and retains electrolyte within the battery and the Company’s Dry Charged series are durable, future-oriented and competitive. The Company’s designs, flexibility and low MOQ requirements enable its customers to launch multiple product variants simultaneously. Continuous Kaizen, consistent quality and competitive prices are the Company’s key growth catalysts. T +603-8724 2933 E info@polyworld.com.my
www.polyworld.com.my “The success of our recycling plant is all a result of our continuous improvement strategies, finding ways to better our Company while also helping the community that we operate in,” adds Jack. “Around 10 years ago we came across the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen, which we quickly introduced into our operations. “It is a philosophy of continuous improvement driven from the bottom up and as a management team we will naturally do the necessary, but we try to keep the improvements driven by our operating teams that work directly with the products.” With a long-term focus on its developments, ABM is never looking for a revolutionary flash as it very rarely happens in this business. However, methodical step-by-step improvements ultimately make for better products, cost saving measures and improved efficiency within all aspects of operations.
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KAE LII
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ae Lii was established in 1991 in Taiwan as a specialised manufacturer of professional batteries. The Company’s machineries are built with user-friendly operating interfaces and are durable, stable, and easy to operate. All machines are customised to work with designated PLC or inspection instruments or can be installed with optional servo motors to achieve capacity versatility depending on customers’ production needs and budgets. The Company delivers standard ABS battery, motorcycle battery and automotive battery casings specifications for its customers to choose from and all products are compliant with both Japanese JIS and European DIN standards.
Continuous improvement from the bottom up
T +886 4 227 53611 F +886 4 227 56557 E kaelii@kaelii.com.tw
www.kaelii.com.tw
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T H E M A S T E R M A K E R O F P P B AT T E R Y C A S I N G & C O M P O N E N T S
Polyworld Malaysia, established in 1989, is the professional manufacturer of battery boxes and lids for Automotive, Solar and Marine batteries. The Company produces JIS, DIN and BCI containers in Conventional and Maintenance Free (MF). Having extensive experience in plastic and battery manufacturing, its team is focused on delivering quality products with very competitive prices and minimum lead time. The Company works closely with battery machine manufacturers to ensure a smooth start for new turnkey battery factories. Polyworld is your BEST choice in battery boxes and lids.
No. 15 & 17, Jalan P6/2, Seksyen 6, Bandar Teknologi Kajang, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, MALAYSIA. Tel: 603-8724 2933 Fax: 603-8724 0933
Email: info@polyworld.com.my Web: www.polyworld.com.my Latitude: 2°57‘34.26“N Longitude: 101°48‘31.26“E
We specialise in battery assembly lines, injection battery casting and injection mold design & manufacture
Kae Lii Machine Mfg. Co., Ltd. was established in 1991, and the Company is recognised as a leading and experienced manufacturer of lead acid battery assembly machines, equipment, injection molds, injection battery casing and tooling in Taiwan. The Company enjoys an excellent reputation since formation in this field and has served over 100 customers in over 20 different countries.
T: +886 4 227 53611 F: +886 4 227 56557 E: kaelii@kaelii.com.tw KAE LII MACHINE MFG. CO., LTD. No.2, Lane 24, Her Lih Street, Tai Ping Dist, Taichung City, 411, TAIWAN
www.kaelii.com.tw
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KEL CHEMICALS LTD
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EL Chemicals is East and Central Africa’s leading manufacturer of phosphate fertilizers and sulphuric acid-based industrial chemicals. Since our Company’s inception in 1977, we have maintained high production standards that exceed the stringent quality criteria set by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), World Health Organisation (WHO) and other countryspecific standardisation bodies. Our range of world-class products include: • Aluminium Sulphate • Sulphuric Acid – Technical Grade • Sulphuric Acid – Battery grade • Kelphos Planting Fertilizer
Continuous improvement from the bottom up
“In order to maximise the productivity of the Kaizen philosophy, we have to hone in on selecting the right people for the job,” continues Jack. “Staff development is incredibly important and one of the main reasons that we have been able to achieve the success we have done up to this point.”
Employee empowerment
One factor in the Company that has never changed is its attitude when it comes to its staff, generally hiring for attitude and going on to train for skill. “We work on the principle that with the right attitude you can train anyone to achieve anything,” Jack describes. “It is important to us to ensure that the people we choose have the right entry level skills, however over the years we have found that we can bend a little on that to ensure that we find the right people to fit into the team.” Alongside the extensive industry training delivered initially and throughout each employee’s time with
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T +254-20-2365199 E info@kelchemicals.com
www.kelchemicals.com
SOVEMA GROUP
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s a long-experienced supplier of equipment for manufacturing both lead-acid and Li-ion batteries all over the world, Sovema Group is proud to be a partner of Associated Battery Manufacturers in the production of their high-quality batteries. Over the past 10 years, the Company has been cooperating with ABM by putting at their disposal equipment, technical skills, and knowhow, and contributing to their sustained growth and success. The Company is continuously working to confirm itself as a solid reference and support for the technological development of ABM’s and all its African customers’ products in the years to come.
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Leading Manufacturer of Chemical and Fertilizer Products ...Quality Products for a Better Tomorrow! Sulfuric Acid Technical Grade Sulfuric acid H2SO4 is a clear, colorless, oily, odorless liquid. It is a strong dibasic acid; fully miscible in water. Sulfuric acid dissolves in water with liberation of heat. Packaging: 47Kgs jerry cans and bulk in tunkers.
Aluminum Sulphate (Aluminum) Alternatively spelled either aluminum or sulphate, is a chemical compound with the formula Al2(SO4)3. It is soluble in water and is mainly used as a flocculating agent in the purification of drinking water and waste water treatment plants, and also in paper manufacturing. Packaging: 50 kg.
KELPHOS Non Acidic Neutral Planting Fertiliser KELPHOS FERTILISER is a Single Super Phosphate (SSP) fertiliser. It is non acidic planting fertiliser used in all crops like maize, wheat, beans, tea, cotton, oil seed, pineapples sugarcane, coffee etc. It is a multi nutrient carrier fertiliser. Packaging: 50Kgs bags.
Proudly associated with (ABM) Associated Battery Manufacturers Thika Garissa Road, Plot No 4953/1205, PO Box 1444-01000, Thika, Kenya T: +254-20-2365199, +254-20-771 759 466 | E: info@kelchemicals.com | www.kelchemicals.com
NO MATTER YOUR BATTERY TECHNOLOGY,
WE’LL BUILD IT AND TEST IT FOR YOU.
NO MATTER YOUR BATTERY TECHNOLOGY, WE’LL BUILD IT AND TEST IT FOR YOU. ENERGY STORAGE TAKES ON MANY FORMS. THE SOVEMA GROUP FITS THEM ALL.
ENERGY STORAGE TAKES ON MANY FORMS. THE SOVEMA GROUP FITS THEM ALL.
ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT FOR BATTERY MANUFACTURING
www.sovemagroup.com
E QUI P M E N T F OR L E A D- A C I D BAT T E R I E S
E QUI P M E N T F OR L I T H I UM BAT T E R I E S
E QUI P M E N T F OR BAT T E R Y F OR M AT I ON
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the Company, there is also a lot of work going on in terms of empowerment and self-development of staff. This philosophy for training is carried out both individually and on a Group-basis; subsequently ensuring that everyone is on the same page for growth and moving in the same direction. “We are incredibly proud of the developments in our workforce and particularly the fact that we are 100 percent Kenyan,” describes Jack. “Kenyan’s ares extremely innovative, driven and motivated, so we have found that with those qualities you don’t really need to look elsewhere. “However, there are times that we need to outsource people to keep up-to-date with our training, so we will often bring in people with the ability to train our employees on international skill-sets.”
Environmental transition
As well as the investment that that Company makes across its workforce,
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it will also spend an average of four to five million dollars a year on capital expenditures and internal improvements. “We had a large outgoing in the last two year’s for internal investments, standing at approximately $12 million,” explains Jack. “This was predominantly due to major upgrades in our technology. Where traditionally we have manufactured dry-charge or service batteries it is now important to move with the times and ensure that we are providing a service that you would find in international markets.” ABM has successfully made the transition across to maintenancefree batteries with thanks to its sizable cash injection, spent not only on the technology itself but also the facility upgrades required to work with that technology. “It is safe to say that our capital expenditure in terms of technology
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Supplier of high-grade primary metals and ferrous/nonferrous alloys
Ferro-Molybdenum
Copper Granules
Copper Phospherous
Tin Ingots
is well taken care of for the next few years, however we also see a big spend coming up in terms of the local environment we operate in,” adds Jack. “There are incredibly stringent environmental laws surrounding the lead industry, and we are constantly striving to ensure that we are meeting European standards as well as the local
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Proud to support Associated Battery Manufacturers
Ferro-Silicon Magnesium
Antimony Ingots
We distribute throughout Africa, priding ourselves on quality, service and reliability. Tel: +27 011 474 3630 Email: info@lilsales.co.za Download catalog: www.lilsales.co.za
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Batteries Support International provides technical consultancy to Associated Battery Manufacturers and to the international battery business Batteries Support International 946 Manchester Road, Over Hulton Bolton BL5 1EQ, United Kingdom
standards.” The Company works secure in the knowledge that whatever passes as legislation in Europe today will inevitably become legislation in African industries shortly after, enabling it to remain ahead of the industry curve. “In the next few years I would imagine that there will be a large expenditure
on environmental upgrades to ensure we are doing just that,” concludes Jack. “We are lucky to work with shareholders who wish to fully integrate themselves into the business on all levels and whose interests are very much in the longterm; and subsequently we are able to continue to expand and develop the business as and when we need to.”
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Kampala Road, Off Enterprise Road P.O Box 48917-00100 Nairobi Kenya Tel: +254 20 2632646-7 batman@abm.co.ke
www.abmeastafrica.com
www.outlookpublishing.com