For a company that started life in a humble garden shed in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, CENTURION’s steady rise to global recognition – one might even say fame – is nothing short of astounding. The 1990s and early 2000s saw CENTURION establish a number of satellite branches in various South African provinces including Mpumalanga, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State and, in 2012, the company opened its first international subsidiary in Lagos, Nigeria.
“West Africa has for long been a significant market for gate automation,” says CENTURION communications communicator Charl Mijnhardt. “Naturally, CENTURION motors are a good fit because they are robust and reliable and, since opening the branch in 2012, we’ve been able to provide in-country training and support”.
However, the opening of the Lagos branch was only the beginning of CENTURION’s global conquest. As the world became more security-conscious and people started to demand convenience at every touchpoint, a global paradigm shift occurred that saw gate automation being adopted not as a luxury – a convenient novelty for the wealthy – but as a necessity with far-reaching benefits for everyone. CENTURION’s proven track record of reliability and world-class service helped to establish the brand as an industry-leader not only in its native South Africa, but across the globe.
Today, CENTURION has a presence in over 70 countries worldwide, and this number continues to grow, with Africa and South America representing some of the most enthusiastic adopters of this technology.
Yves Djuma is one of the company’s exports consultants for Francophone Africa, and feels passionately about empowering these territories with the security, convenience and peace of mind offered by gate automation.
“There is a huge market for gate automation in Africa,” says Djuma. “Besides growing security concerns, we are seeing a move towards a more technophilic mind-set in these territories, with people fully embracing the powerful role that technology can play in making their lives easier”.
On the other side of the Atlantic, CENTURION’s Alejandro “Alex” Urizar has been providing sales, training and technical support in Latin America, where gate automation has seen widespread popularities in countries such as Chile, Panama, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Mexico.
Moreover, in 2016, CENTURION became part of the largest access automation group in the world, FAAC S.p.A., enabling both organisations to penetrate new markets and serve an even more diverse customer-base.
