About SA Gauge

Through Thick and Thin

As with any business, SA Gauge has had its ups and downs over the years, and relocations to accommodate its growing market share and number of personnel. Since its inception in 1992 as one of only two local manufacturers of branded pressure gauges and thermometers, many milestones have followed.

The company’s first branch was in Germiston, where Chris and his family lived at the time, and when they moved to Durban in December 1995, a second branch was opened there which became its new head office. Initially located at 9 Beechfield Crescent in rented 250 m² premises, the headquarters moved directly across the road for a spell before SA Gauge bought its own property in 2007. There have been no more moves since, and SA Gauge is based at 8 Beechfield Crescent in Springfield Park, Durban to this day. In 2011 the Johannesburg branch also moved from Germiston to a larger, self-owned factory in Croydon, Kempton Park on the East Rand of Johannesburg.

In 2008 the company opened its first SANAS-accredited lab, in Durban, specifically for the pressure gauge side of its business. As the SA Gauge team puts it, “the places we move into always seem so big when we move in but within a few years we manage to outgrow them.” A second lab, this one for its temperature gauge business, was opened in Croydon in February 2019 before moving to Durban in March 2020.

As was the case for almost everyone, COVID-19 was a trying time for the staff as fears of job losses escalated. Fortunately, Chris and Judith always believed in being prepared for a rainy day and were able to pay all their employees in full for the entirety of the lockdown, and no jobs were lost. Very unfortunately, the company suffered the double-whammy of losing two team members in January 2021: Chris and Dinesh Betchan, technical salesperson and SANAS laboratory manager.

Emerging stronger than ever

Now, backed by a complement of more than 50 staff members and have managed to meet sales targets since lockdown, and in some cases far exceeding them, SA Gauge is back in growth mode. It recently completed the construction of an additional 100 m² factory floor space to allow for a new press and lathes, into which it will be moving two sections of its manufacturing operations. A new SANAS lab is also being built and is expected to be up and running in January 2023. At 145 m², it will be a fair bit bigger than the current lab to accommodate more equipment and improve turnaround times.

A major headache the company is dealing with right now is the unstable electricity supply, which necessitated an investment in generators to keep its systems up and running. In future, it plans to investigate the addition of solar power systems to keep critical systems online all the time.

The future, though, looks bright for SA Gauge as it continues to draw from the principles instilled by Chris du Plessis. “Chris was very big on being prepared and trying to make sure that whatever was thrown at us, we could find a way around it or over it. Loyal staff members also make things much easier. Everyone pulls their weight and helps when needed, without management having to ask. If SA Gauge fails, we all fail. We have managed to create a range of products that is of a superior quality and marketed at competitive pricing,” reads a joint message from the team.