TAKE a global leader in providing innovative engineering thermoplastic solutions across the world and match it with a South African organisation that has an acclaimed track record for importing, manufacturing and distributing quality plastics for a range of applications, and you have the scientific formula for a synergistic partnership.

January 2015 brought an exciting dimension to the business of Ampa Group (Pty) Ltd, with its appointment as the sole distributor for SABIC Innovative Plastics’ Lexan polycarbonate sheet and film products in South Africa. For Ampa Group, the distributorship is a solid endorsement of its long held commitment to innovation and continuous improvement.

 

People power = business power

A key Ampa Group philosophy is rooted in the belief that strategic knowledge and cutting edge skills are the cornerstones on which successful businesses are built. To this end there is relentless focus on hiring the right people for the job and augmenting their capabilities at every level with continuous training and development. 

Lexan is no stranger to the South African market. For the past 32 years its products have been used extensively with great success. In a similar way, Dean Treges and Victoria Majoni are no strangers to Lexan products. As a result, it made perfect sense for the Ampa Group to bring them onboard. In conjunction with their comprehensive experience in dealing with Lexan products, their all-round understanding of the plastics industry will add considerable value to the operations of the Group and its respective customers.

 

The world’s most innovative portfolio

Particularly exciting is SABIC’s Lexan Thermoclear polycarbonate sheet portfolio. Often used for roofing, cladding and office partitioning, this multipurpose sheeting is available in a variety of structures, colours and finishes.

Each lightweight sheet combines ease of installation with excellent thermal insulation alongside UV and fire resistance. A factor that ensures the product’s high desirability amongst architects, builders and roofers is its long-term light transmission capabilities. The availability of the sheeting in an array of colours that includes clear, opal white, solar control, blue, bronze, grey and green makes it ideally suited for residential, greenhouse and commercial roof glazing, building facades and claddings in addition to skylights and walkways.

• Lexan Thermoclear sheets are obtainable with a range of speciality coatings such as Easy Clean which is a world-first, self-cleaning innovation. With UV protection on both sides and a hydrophobic coating on the outer surface, it causes large droplets of water to form which then wash away dirt.
• Thermoclear SunXP sheets are ultra UV resistant and serve to lower radiation, yellowing and loss of light transmission. As an added bonus they come with a 15 year guarantee.
• Thermoclear Dripguard sheets have a specially developed coating on the inner surface that reduces condensation droplets.
• Ampa Group will also be distributing 9030 and WLS sheeting, both of which have become something of a necessity in South African construction today. Combining high impact resistance with excellent optical clarity, the sheeting delivers superior protection against intrusion.
• Marguard sheeting has all the properties of polycarbonate material with an additional proprietary hard surface coating on either one or both sides. As a result it is highly resistant to abrasion and damage caused by weather conditions.

Lexan sheet products that are directly extruded from polycarbonate resin deliver a number of significant advantages over many other glazing materials, especially when it comes to design freedom and thermal insulation. The fact that they are lightweight makes for ease of handling and installing. They also rate exceptionally well in any fire performance test.

Alongside the various types of sheeting, Ampa will also supply a selection of polycarbonate films. SABIC offers leading market warranties and full support from their Head Office in Holland for every conceivable type of project.

 

Two separate organisations with a similar mindset

Like SABIC, Ampa Group enjoys a reputation for being able to adapt swiftly to the ever changing requirements of its customers. Both organisations are irrevocably committed to improving quality of life in the environments in which they operate. Whilst SABIC products touch millions of lives around the world on a daily basis, Ampa replicates this on a smaller scale in sectors that include the printing, packaging, automotive, fabrication, construction and engineering industries; as well as professional disciplines such as architecture, interior and exterior design and quantity surveying.

As SABIC focuses on growing its global presence, the Ampa Group which already has a well- established national distribution network with a head office in Johannesburg and branches in Cape Town, East London and Port Elizabeth, has also set its sights on expanding its existing footprint on the African continent.

At present it has distributorships in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Togo and Benin. However, given the business opportunities it has recognized elsewhere on the continent, the Ampa Group has plans to make its imprint on the rest of Africa. Though SABIC and the Ampa Group are separate and distinct entities, their chemistry gels and the economic alliance they have established has all the criteria for a sustainable, mutually beneficial, long-term relationship.   

www.ampa.co.za