Group Electrical now BSI approved

Encouraged by the British Standards Institution (BSI) to make excellence a habit, this Wadeville-based engineering company is making waves in the metro.

Group Electrical, which was established as a small family business 57 years ago by Willem Verster, is now a force to be reckoned with headed by two powerful women.

Marinda Verster and Sarah Mothibi are setting high standards for themselves and their competitors within the high voltage industry. Their Wadeville-based company was recently certified by British Standards Institution (BSI), and now boasts internationally recognised standards which will award them a new competitive edge.Marinda, and her late husband Marius, bought the company from her father-in-law Willem in 2000, aspiring to take it to new heights.

“I owned a nursery school and an interior design company at the time, my husband was the active partner at Group Electrical.“When he died in 2006 I was faced with the task of either running the company or selling it to continue focusing on my own businesses,” said Marinda.

Marinda took on the tough challenge of heading Group Electrical as an active managing director.Over a year ago she partnered with Sarah and together they’ve proved to be a strong duo challenging the male-dominated industry.

“We are constantly surrounded by men.“Some attempt to intimidate us, while others have learnt that we do not scare quite so easily.“We have also raised the bar when it comes to service, so many find it hard to keep up,” said Marinda.

The two are now proud owners of the prestigious BSI certificates for environmental management and occupational health and safety management systems.“These certificates and flags mean that we have complied with the international standards set by the BSI.Like every other woman will tell you, it is not easy being in an industry where men feel entitled to every opportunity, which is why we had to work hard to get the BSI’s stamp of approval.Based on our management style and processes we are now ahead of many competitors.The BSI certification also means that we have sharpened our environmental management systems and we have reduced waste and energy use.

“We’ve further improved on efficiency to cut the cost of running the business and we’ve demonstrated compliance to expand business opportunities among other points,” said Marinda.

The occupational health and safety management systems certification confirms that the company has installed an effective occupational health and safety management system.

This system is designed to help them protect and enhance their most important assets, which are their staff and, in turn, they will drive the business to excellence.

According to the BSI reports, this new standard can help deliver on benefits, including an increase in organisational resilience through proactive risk prevention, innovation and continual improvement.We know the amount of work that goes into implementing the BSI approved standards.“It requires a lot of sleepless nights and long days.

“It is always an honour to deliver these certificates because I get to see the hunger for excellence in the eyes of the recipients,” said Rowena Kraamwinkel, business development executive for systems certification at BSI.

ENDS