Following a Cosmo supplier-customer day at its Silverton premises in Pretoria, and in advance of a second demonstration day for its industrial clients, African Fusion talks to marketing manager, Petra van den Bergh, about some of the community initiatives that underpin the Cosmo Group’s business outlook.
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On Wednesday February 2, Cosmo Group held a supplier-customer day at its Welding Superstore in Silverton, Pretoria. “The idea is to showcase the products we offer, especially new products being launched. We like to give our suppliers the opportunity to interact with our customers on the day, and our customers the chance to speak to experts in their various fields,” says Petra van den Bergh of Cosmo Group.
“Also, we want to show off our complete range of supplementary products. Many customers know about our welding equipment and consumables offering, but they may not know that we also have the Jonsson Workwear & Dromex offering, for example, along with a full range of PPE,” she points out, adding that Cosmo also distributes a full range of professional/industrial and DIY power tools, along with a comprehensive range of fasteners. Key brands exhibited on February 2 were Pferd, UniArc, Kennedy, Alexander Binzel, Fragram, Trade Professional, Lincoln Electric and Dromex.
Following this success, a second supplier-customer day has been planned for Wednesday May 3, this time with a focus on industrial clients. “From the supplier side, Air Products and Lincoln Electric will be attending, along with the power tools and accessories brand, Vermont Tools, and HiKOKI, the new brand name for Hitachi’s robust industrial range of power tools.
“We are also focusing a little more on demonstrations,” van den Bergh continues. “We are expecting the LINC-CUT® S 1530w plasma cutting system from Lincoln Electric in the next few months. It is an economical, plug and play, CNC air plasma cutting system, ideal for cutting mild and stainless-steel plate of up to 1500 x 3000 mm, with a piercing capacity of up to 25 mm. The system is compact to make best use of floor space, and installation is fast and minimal – a LINC-CUT plasma system can be ready to cut within an hour of arriving on site; installation and training takes two to three days.”
The system comes with a 2-year warranty and includes: a Lincoln Electric FLEXCUT® 125 CE, a water table embedded into the steel frame construction, the plasma torch and all the accessories, the CNC controller with a 20‑inch multi-touch screen, and 36 pre-loaded standard and adjustable shapes from basic rectangles to complex circular flanges. In addition, a laser positioning mode simplifies aligning the cutting sheet and defining the starting point.
“The LINC-CUT® S 1530w System is ideal for use by fabrication shops, sheet metal contractors, custom vehicle manufacturers, as well as those offering prototyping services and education and training,” she adds.
Turning attention to the support side of Cosmo’s offering, van den Bergh says the comprehensive welding range is fully supported by services such as the Cosmo Training Academy. “We strive to serve our whole community, from people wanting to do DIY, to our industrial clients offering local fabrication and manufacturing services. We also support our young people, and not only from the Training Academy. For the past four years we have been offering a unique internship programme for between five and seven young matriculants,” she relates.
Currently interviewing for its fourth group of interns, van den Bergh says that the interns come to Cosmo for six months to get experience of all aspects of the business. “We take them through everything: the supply chain, direct store sales, our accredited workshop, industrial gases – and they do a short course on Basic Welding at our Training Academy. Of the seven interns that started with us in 2019, three of them are still employed here and have been promoted up the ladder,” she tells African Fusion.
“Through this initiative we help young people to gain work experience and it is another way to create a flow of young blood moving through Cosmo and into South African industry,” she adds.
On Saturday May 27, Cosmo Group will again be hosting its 10th Cosmo Run, which typically attracts between 1 000 and 1 500 people from the local community. “We started doing this when Cosmo turned 20 as part of our birthday celebrations, and all the money raised is used for community projects,” van den Bergh informs African Fusion. Runners and walkers have the option of doing five or ten kilometres and all ages are welcome.
“At Cosmo Group we have a strong business ethos. We believe in making a difference in our communities and in our country. We are a local success story, and we are very happy to share that success with suppliers and customers, and with those in the broader community who need a helping hand,” she concludes.
