Pedro Gonçalves, sales and marketing director at Grupel, a global designer, producer and supplier of generators, explores the company’s prospects in the African market, which is continuing to rebound in the wake of the pandemic
Which industries do you support in Africa?
Grupel’s path in Africa started a long time ago as we supported the first projects in the telecommunications sector in the PALOP countries. From then, we have spread our presence in Africa and, currently, it represents an important market share for our company’s turnover, making it extremely relevant in our business strategy not only in the telecommunications sector but in more demanding projects, such as power plants, water treatment units, infrastructure complexes, mining and oil and gas sites.
Gensets play a big role in providing power solutions, especially when you consider that there is some instability of the grid in Africa, and even within the scope of energy transition.
How have you found the market environment in the wake of Covid-19?
Right now, we are looking to the future, and with Covid we have also learned a lot. The market is moving, and big projects are starting to resume.
For the last 2 years, we have prepared for the upturn, and invested a lot on our infrastructure. Now, we have a production capacity that can absorb three times the orders we once could, and we have seen an increase of around 20% in our orders volume.
Which countries do you perform most strongly in and are you targeting any for future expansion?
Logically we have, due to our history, strong relations with the PALOP countries, where we have a strong presence, such as Angola, Cabo Verde, etc.
Grupel’s vision for Africa is to act in some strategic countries and sectors. We expect a boost in Senegal, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique and South Africa ̶ an increasing market as it has been facing load shedding for a long time. Algeria and Egypt are expected to grow a lot, as well, but it is still uncertain.
What makes Grupel’s solutions stand out from the rest
of the market?
We operate in more than 70 countries around the world. People recognise Grupel as a brand with high production and quality standards, that works with components from renowned brands, including our own. Additionally, we focus on creating customised solutions adapted to our clients’ needs and providing the appropriate responses for each project, whatever the application and complexity conditions.
What do you hope to get out of the upcoming African Energy Forum?
Africa’s potential growth is tremendous, thus filling it with opportunities for innovation and development. Given our many years of experience and our culture of proximity with our customers, being at Africa Energy Forum 2022 is key since it is a unique opportunity to meet with important players and industry leaders and to explore the opportunities and challenges we may face going forward.
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