“I was here when Tedelex closed and I was here 13 years ago when Hisense opened, and the company produced the second-largest volume of television sets worldwide in 2023. It is the number 1 TV and refrigeration brand in South Africa.”
So said Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Minister Ebrahim Patel on Friday during a special visit to Hisense in Atlantis, where Hisense South Africa announced it will increase its procurement from local and black-owned businesses across their value chain to more than R1 billion over the next five years.
Hisense has also pledged that as part of this commitment it will work with stakeholders to identify and procure more from suppliers and companies based in and around Atlantis.
This commitment came during a visit by Patel to the Hisense manufacturing facility in Atlantis, at which a new locally-made large screen (100-inch) television was unveiled. Production started this year in May for the new television.
Vivi Liu, General Manager of Hisense, said: “Over the past five years production of fridges has gone up from 300 000 units to 480 000 fridges now produced annually at the factory, an increase of 60%.
The company has scaled-up television production, exceeding the 500 000-unit mark for the first time, and this year it will produce 550 000 units, a growth of 50 000 units in one year.”
Due to increased sales Hisense has also started a new shift, increasing the number of jobs created, and the company currently employed 1 300 workers, about 1 000 of them at its facility in Atlantis, Liu said.
Refrigerators and television sets made in Atlantis for Hisense South Africa have now been exported to 13 other countries across the African continent.
The company has also delivered its first batch of South African-made combi refrigerators to the United Kingdom.
The delivery marks the first time Hisense has exported products made in South Africa to the European market and reaffirms the factory’s ongoing transformation into a global production hub, she concluded.
Patel said: “To grow this programme successfully we need more than just funding; we need to foster greater opportunities for market access in growing sectors. Hisense’s focus is not only the South African market, but on the growth opportunities across the African market and Europe.
“It underscores how an export-led strategy can fuel a sectors expansion, creating opportunities for workers and entrepreneurs who service it.
“The next time the Springboks win the Rugby World Cup the nation can watch the match and celebration on big-screen TVs made in South Africa.”
