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1980:
Founding of Infotech (Pty) Ltd: The company was founded in January 1980 and operated as a sub-distributor for Wang products in Pretoria, with a specific focus on clients in the South African Public Sector.
1982:
Founding of Mergon Trust: a community-beneficiary foundation was established when the founder (Francois van Niekerk, BNF Trust) transferred 30% of its shareholding to the independent Mergon Trust. In years to come, this shareholding was gradually increased to reach a majority share in Infotech by the year 2000. The Mergon Trust and BNF Trust are collectively known as the Mertech Group.
1983-1985:
Three years at the top: Infotech sales of Wang wordprocessors and accessories was instrumental in the South African region recording the highest Wang revenue (out of more than 150 participating Distributors) for three consecutive years.
1987:
Diversification into property development: Infotech and its parent Mertech funded the development of the Infotech head office in Pretoria and thus introduced a successful diversification into property development. This event was the birth of the Atterbury Property Group ( www.atterbury.co.za ), a market leader in retail centers, office parks and lifestyle residential environments.
1989:
Diversification into services: Infotech formed the company Technicare (Pty) Ltd, a first-of-its-kind in an era when outsourcing of maintenance and support to third parties was a new concept in South Africa. Technicare became a national presence in supporting products of which the principal supplier was not in a position or inclined to provide further support to the end customer.
1992:
Peak of distributor phase: Infotech was well established as a sought-after distributor, representing a multiple of international brands in South Africa such as BI Inc, Ericsson, Motorola, NCS, Microsoft, Banyan, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard and Intel.
Initiating in-house development: Infotech began its first research and development division, an event which eventually lead to a decision in 2000 to refocus the business from a merchandising operation to a developer of proprietary solutions.
1994:
First international share transaction: IBM bought 25% of the Infotech subsidiary Technicare. The rationale behind the partnership was an improved strategic positioning for both parties in the South African market.
1994:
Founding of the Infotech Foundation: one of the first of its kind, the Infotech Foundation was formed to allow business to benefit the previously disadvantaged community of South Africa. The Infotech Foundation obtained its equity by way of donation from the Mergon Trust. The Foundation’s trust deed specifically states that the majority trustees must be from the Black Community and the beneficiaries must be persons from the previously disadvantaged community of South Africa.
1995:
Consolidated financials: Audited annual revenue for Infotech, Mertech and other companies forming part of the group showed a compound annual growth rate of 37% per year since inception in 1980.
1997:
Black Economic Empowerment: Infotech introduced Pamodzi Investment Holdings as a potential investor to Technicare and Pamodzi subsequently purchased the IBM stake, thus taking a strategic investment position and playing an active role on the Board.
1998:
Realization of capital: Technicare was sold for a sum of R150 million in July 1998. A substantial part of the proceeds was invested to position Infotech for a strategic change to a developer of proprietary technologies and eventual international expansion.
1999:
Founding of Blown Fibre (Pty) Ltd: Infotech Cabling Division was turned into an independent company focused on the sales and distribution of blown fibre technology, using the FibreFlow product as its core product while supplementing the product with a range of services such as design consulting, training and fibre installation subcontracting.
2000:
Celebrating the past and the future: Infotech could look back on 20 years of self-funded business, without name change, without change in majority ownership, having contributed substantially to the well-being of its business partners, clients, personnel and shareholders. In order to be positioned for a further 20 years, Infotech adopted a new strategic intent that would reposition the company as a technology holdings entity with the specific intent of developing leading-edge intellectual property and using this IP to create new business ventures.
2001:
Strategic Acquisition: As part of its drive towards technical excellence, Infotech acquired Quality Engineering Development (Pty) Ltd, a technology consulting and engineering company focused on the field of military aviation. The QED acquisition lent further momentum to Infotech’s budding technical capability and allowed the exchange of world-class technical and management skills to the mutual benefit of Infotech and QED.
2002:
Evidence of the fruits of continued investment: in June 2002, Infotech concluded its first financial year with home-grown products and services accounting for over 50% of group revenues.
2003-2004:
Implementation of Strategic Intent: Infotech formed the first of several joint ventures with major corporate business partners as part of its drive towards commercialising its proprietary solutions. In partnership with Wesbank, the leading vehicle finance institution in South Africa, Infotech reaffirmed its course of combining progressive technology with a market-leading business partner in bringing a unique solution to the market. The joint venture company Mobile Data (Pty) Ltd was formally launched on 1 May 2004 and played a groundbreaking role in establishing Vehicle Telematics in the consumer and fleet management markets in South Africa and globally.
2004:
Black Economic Empowerment: Since 1994, Infotech had been involved with many BEE initiatives at subsidiary level, and the SA community at large had throughout been a key beneficiary of the Mergon Trust and the Infotech Foundation, two key shareholders of Infotech. In line with the increasing focus on empowering Black Business in a more direct manner, a Black Economic Empowerment transaction was concluded with a group of distinguished individuals lead by Messrs Lebo Masekela and William Makwinja of Lechabile Quality Strategies (Pty) Ltd. Mr Masekela joined Infotech as Chief Operating Officer in October 2004.
2005:
Looking forward: Infotech prepares to celebrate its 25th year of existence in what is often regarded as one of the most turbulent sectors of the business landscape. We are fortunate to be able to reflect on a history and business record which makes us both humble and proud. We look forward to the next quarter-of-a-century of conducting business in South Africa, in Africa, and globally, embracing the changing landscape in Africa and the world, while maintaining our uncompromising belief in the values that have brought us this far.
2006:
Realisation of investment: Infotech sells its 50% stake in MobileData (Pty) Ltd to FirstRand Investment Holding (Pty) Limited. The Vehicle Telematics business is also sold to Tracker Network (Pty) Ltd.
2007:
New focus: Infotech enters the energy efficiency market through a joint venture deal to form Enermatics Energy (Pty) Ltd. Enermatics Energy develops and manufactures energy consumption meters and control systems that are used by municipalities and utility companies in Demand Side Management.
