HISENSE

Hisense South Africa general manager Youbo Li believes opening a mega manufacturing plant in Atlantis, north of Cape Town, was one of the company’s best decisions yet.

“We could not have asked for a better location,” says Li. “We’ve experienced great success here. Cape Town is well-positioned to access the rest of Africa, our biggest market.”

Founded in 1969 in Qingdao, China, Hisense first entered the South African market in 1996. The company is a world-leading multinational that provides innovative, competitive and best-in-class consumer electronics and appliances around the globe. With a workforce of over 75 000 worldwide, Hisense continues to pursue growth in the multimedia, household appliance, mobile communications, and IT industries in over 130 countries.

In June 2013, a year after purchasing the old Tedelex factory in Atlantis, the company opened a R350 million, state of the art consumer electronics and home appliance manufacturing facility, which is capable of producing 400 000 refrigerators and television sets per annum.

The company employs just over 600 people, 98% of whom are from the Atlantis community. Li says Hisense South Africa is proud to call Cape Town home. “We are grateful for the support from the City of Cape Town,” he says. “The policies are very clear and the City provided us with clear guidelines. Infrastructure here is great. With Cape Town being a port city, we can easily export to the rest of the continent.”

Li says since opening the factory, the company’s market share has significantly improved. “We’ve had phenomenal growth and success in Cape Town. Hisense is a good example for other companies looking to invest in the city. They are welcome to get an opinion from us.”

The City’s major contribution to boosting investment and job creation continues to be the Atlantis Investment Incentive Scheme, which has now been in operation since 1 July 2013. These incentives include both financial incentives like the electricity tariff subsidy and the building plan scrutiny and land use application fee exemptions, and non-financial incentives like building plan fast-tracking and biodiversity offsets.

Since the establishment of the incentives, several new companies have opened their doors, creating thousands of new jobs.

Hisense has production facilities in China, South Africa, Algeria, Egypt as well as Mexico, and is one of the largest television manufacturers in the world, with over 10 million televisions produced each year. The company has been the recipient of several recognitions and awards in the name of innovation, technology, design, and quality management.