NEW Age Engineering Solutions has defied the odds in an industry traditionally dominated by white players while significantly tackling Mzansi's high unemployment rate.
The company, founded by a Gauteng couple now based in Mpumalanga, Joseph and Susan Zinyana, celebrated its 20 years of service on Friday, 17 November.
The company started selling welding consumables and later got work contracts from several places.
It's now servicing some companies in the petrochemical and energy generation industries.
It operates in seven towns around Mzansi and employs more than 800 people, mostly young people.
Jack Madzivhandila, the Legal and industrial relations manager at the company, told Daily Sun that it has not been an easy journey.
"There are very few black companies that are doing what we are doing. In any instance, the challenge is that you become a threat to your competitors, and they will do anything to want to put you down," he said.
Madzivhandila said they had to work hard to get work from big private companies, adding that it was also difficult to source income as the government has not assisted them with any funding.
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"The only government parastal that we have done work with is Eskom. In that sense we have only worked with Eskom but other than that there's no assistance in any form from the government," he said.
Madzivhandila said as the company celebrates its 20th anniversary, it wants to help build other small companies to stand on their own and generate a turnover of more than R50 million per annum.
"We want to help build other companies from nothing. We also intend to bring in more female directors train more artisans and increase the number of females," he said.
Precious Skosana (25) joined the company as an intern in 2020.
She is now working as an assistant site manager at the Secunda site.
"It has been very empowering, a very great experience. We wish the company more business growth and prosperity. It's an organisation that has grown rapidly, and I wish it all of the best moving forward," she said.
Meanwhile, another employee, Betty Ntuli-Netshtumi (53), who started as a general worker and now works as a site agent and a buyer, said she has gained more experience in the industry.
She said she had to endure a lot, especially from her male colleagues who undermined her capabilities.
"Some men were negative towards me but now everything is fine, and we're working as a team. I wish the company can grow in leaps and bounds and move to other African countries to develop more young people," she said.
