CARE, PRIDE and TRUST steer this ship, says Tina “Kaptein” Angelos, Managing Director at Allied Valve Specialists. This 2023 wrap up is an executive summary to express an attitude of gratitude to the AVS team of specialists who turned a strategy into our reality.
We stood by our values & stuck to our strategy
2023 was a reflection of our core values executed through the lens of the AVS business pillars: Product, Service and Operational Leadership, Environmental Awareness and Leadership Excellence.
The “AVS formula” was collectively concocted back in 2022. This strategic business approach allowed us to go to the heart of the plant and impact the start of sustainable ecosystems in 2023. Like the Boks, we tackled things head on. and gained access to understand steam and chlorine applications from cradle to grave. How did we do it? Selective partnerships and sustainable working relationships with specialists.
We committed to what matters
The AVS strategy embraced sustainability as a core strategic pillar of our business. Entrenching our commitment to this, we compiled an inaugural AVS FY24 Sustainability Report outlining our intentions and initiatives planned for 2024. Our focus areas are to raise internal awareness, improve packaging and foster sustainable ecosystems with our suppliers and customers.
We also partnered with certified carbon neutral printers and in collaboration with Hunt and Mitton, kicked off pilot projects to provide sustainable benefits for the valve ecosystem at one of South Africa’s largest chlorine manufacturer.
We set sustainable goals
AVS participated in South Africa’s 2nd Voluntary National Review, an initiative of the United Nations. Every year, countries are urged to review and disclose how they are tracking against the 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 2024 is South Africa’s turn to hand in a report. As participants in round tables, we attended focused discussions and participated in industry-led strategy and formulation. Our “Kaptein” even made a cameo appearance as a speaker in the session on “Empowering Women in Industry”. Through our participation, we created a bespoke AVS Contribution Workbook that has been documented and branded for inclusion into the President’s Report, ready for lift off to Switzerland!
We operated on another level & made global moves
2023 was full steam ahead as AVS made our biggest move yet into our Cape Town warehouse. Along with organising the entire warehouse layout, the AVS ops team also introduced an optimised process to record and track product serial numbers in real-time.
We also took our core values across the globe to represent AVS as one team at the Hunt and Mitton conference in China – delivering product leadership through ongoing supplier engagement.
We showed up & showed off
In 2023, AVS hosted our first branded stand at the Sasolburg roadshow. This was an interactive opportunity to design a stand that celebrated the highest standard of steam and chlorine valves while representing the human values of care, pride and trust.
From trade shows to stilettos! We put AVS in the spotlight by being pre-selected as finalists in the Standard Bank Top Women Awards (individual & company categories). The awards cover all the major economic sectors, and recognise businesses from SMMEs all the way to the national level – honouring the role women play in advancing our economy and inspiring our people.
We set standards & raised the bar
This year saw the introduction of a real-time feedback platform for our Sales team to share updates on the road. Using the snazzy new code system, our Sales and Ops teams collaborated to save time in ensuring specific items are available in the AVS warehouse at all times.
We also set up daily automated dashboards to give us performance insights, including YTD and monthly GP%. This gives us tangible targets and a clear view of growth and business momentum – including November 2023 being our top performing month of the year!
We welcomed new customers & trusted partners
Our focused strategy led us to the heart of the plant and the start of the eco-system. AVS chose companies that operate across SA provinces to further understand where we can do business in the Food and Beverage (F&B) Sector in South Africa, as well as in other industrial plants that utilise steam and chlorine.
2023 saw us entrench 7 new customer accounts. True to our formula, AVS now engages directly with some of South Africa’s largest: Chlorine manufacturer, Bulk water utilities, electricity supplier in natural gas, stainless steel producers and boiler manufactures.
We trained, tested, integrated & automated
Over the course of the year, the sophisticated dashboards set up by our Analytics specialists has added time-saving value by automating the process – with an improvement of a 30 minute runtime to just one minute. Insights at a glance are sales-accurate and show growth and conversion rates as well as top team performers. Manual quotation templates were consolidated into a single automated document to give the team more customer-focused time.
To date, the AVS team has also run 20+ internal training sessions, which have been strategically aligned to the plants and products we supply. Covering specs, benefits and operational systems like the ARI-ID technology helped the team build capacity and capability.
We are ready for 2024
Last year showed us how far we’ve come and motivates us to get to where we want to be. We choose to see our successes and challenges as lessons to inform and grow our business, and us as humans.
2023 wasn’t easy but it was worth it. Thanks to our Kaptein and the AVS crew who embody care, pride and trust. Every day.