Alstom South Africa Changes Name to ACTOM

Alstsrom South Africa, South Africa’s largest electrical engineering group, has changed its name to ACTOM. The company is the parent company of Alstom Electrical Machines. The name change took place this past September.
Alstom Electrical Machines, a supplier of shredder motors to the U.S. scrap market, changed accordingly to ACTOM Electrical Machines.

The change of name and adoption of a new corporate identity marked the group’s first departure from its past practice since its inception more than a century ago of bearing the name of one or other of its principal international associates.

In the past 14 years, ACTOM Electrical Machines’ Large Motors division has supplied, predominantly to the U.S., more than 120 Unibox shredder motors, ranging from 3000 horse power to 9000 hp.

ACTOM Electrical Machines produced its first 9000 hp (6711 kW) shredder motor for the US shredder market in 2007. It is seen here being given a final check at the company’s plant before being dispatched to the customer.

“The Unibox shredder motor has firmly established itself as the product of choice in the American market. We have enjoyed a very fruitful and successful partnership with Metso Recycling North America, incorporating Mueller Engineering, since our entry into the shredder market,” said Ernie Muller, commercial manager of the Large Motors division.

He said that the ACTOM group’s change of name became necessary due to the direct entry into the South Africa market of the France-based international company Alstom, the local group’s main technology partner.

“Prior to Alstom’s entry, Alstom South Africa was its local representative with respect to all its products and services on offer in the local market. However, in 2008 Alstom set up a wholly-owned local company, Alstom S&E Africa, to look after its interests in power generation,” he explained. 

“This followed the award to Alstom by South Africa’s power utility Eskom of the turbine contracts for the Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power stations, the first of a number of new power generation plants planned for Southern Africa to meet growing demand for power in the region.

“Alstom South Africa then recognized the need to establish an independent identity to distinguish it from Alstom and avoid any possible confusion likely to arise in the market from having the two separate entities trading under the same name.” 

Paul Cuthbert, ACTOM Electrical Machines’ Managing Director, pointed out that the ACTOM group continues to work closely with Alstom in the local market as before. This includes close co-operation between the two groups in the maintenance, upgrade and retrofit of large boilers in power generation and industrial process plants, and local representation of Alstom by ACTOM’s Transport division in rail transport, encompassing signalling systems and rolling stock.

The group has a longstanding policy of establishing manufacturing capabilities of its own wherever feasible, rather than relying on supplying imported products into the local market. “Coupled with this is its ongoing practice of providing employment to local inhabitants and developing expertise within their ranks,” Cuthbert stated. 

“In recent years in particular this policy has been vindicated and has proven advantageous to the group, with Eskom and many other major customers making the award of contracts conditional upon the supplier meeting local content quotas, as well as having the necessary black economic empowerment credentials and providing training to contribute towards uplifting local skills.”