With 25 years in operation since it was founded in 1986, Projects Concern is one of South Africa’s oldest manufacturing companies. Situated in Johannesburg, the hub of the country’s electronics industry, the company manufactures world class electronic products for a range of sectors.

Sean Flynn, the company’s Managing Director, believes his business is fuelled by the passion of the people working there – an enthusiasm that runs straight from the top. “I still today live, sleep, eat electronics...  I believe this is my passion. That’s something that keeps it going. I’ve never lost that passion,” he says.

A reputable company

Projects Concern has a firmly established reputation for providing superior electronic products with reliable and personal customer service. The company can boast that it is successful without the implementation of marketing or advertising strategies. Instead, new business is primarily brought in from positive reviews passed on by the company’s loyal and satisfied customer base.

Although Projects Concern also carries out work for large companies, its primary focus has always been on manufacturing for smaller businesses. “We’re more of a jobbing shop,” Flynn says. “We like to do runs of 100, 200, 1000, 1500... The companies grow and develop over time; they grow their businesses and we grow with them.”

Projects Concern serves a vast range of sectors; anything from military to mining and from tracking to medical. “We cover every sector of the market,” Flynn says. “We’ve got the skills and the knowledge to cover the entire spectrum.”

People management

Projects Concern places an emphasis on developing its employees to ensure they achieve their full potential. The company often employs young local people with a view to training them up so that they may occupy senior roles within the company.  “We employ everybody on attitude. Rarely do we look at credentials – we say if you’ve got the right attitude, you’re keen to work and you’re eager, we will teach you what you need to know,” Flynn explains.

“Most of our managers in departments have started as guys that have come in the stores to work as packers. They’ve evolved and shown an interest, so we’ve given them the necessary training to get them up to senior level positions, carrying out higher level functions within the company.”

One of the strengths of the business is that responsibilities are distributed among a significant number of employees rather than a few people at the very top. Flynn explains: “Each person has their responsibility. I don’t micro-manage people. I give them a responsibility; they take care of it; and that’s their section. There are crossovers and overlaps but generally people take responsibility and run with it.”

The company’s in-house IPC instructor gives all employees electronics assembling training in accordance with regulations set by the Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits (IPC). As Flynn points out, employees benefit from this training even beyond Projects Concern. “Even if somebody were to leave us and go somewhere else they have got a well-recognised, well-controlled certification,” he says.

Corporate social responsibility

Projects Concern takes its social responsibility very seriously, as evidenced by the fact that it has attained Level 1 value-adding Contributor to BBEEE certification.

Of the company’s 55 permanent employees, a significant number are local South Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“We also contribute a portion of our after-tax profit to social-economic development and enterprise development,” Flynn adds. “Those also go back into the local communities.” This year, the company funded the building of a science lab in a Johannesburg school.

New technology and plans for expansion

At Projects Concern, bringing technology and equipment up to date is a matter constantly attended to.

Flynn regularly visits Productronica in Germany to explore the newest technologies and latest equipment. The business is therefore very much in touch with all the latest innovations.

“Over the years we’ve created a technological environment,” he says. “We’ve got all the latest technology and the right equipment for the right processes.”

This year the primary focus at Projects Concern is on expanding the capacity of the business. The company will add another 1000sqm to its current 2000sqm of manufacturing space.

This expansion will be necessary due to the enormous amount of interest in Projects Concern expressed by international clients who have visited the business. “They’re happy with what we can offer, what we do and how we do it,” Flynn says. “We just need to bring ourselves in line with international standards.” The company is therefore introducing and setting up a world class facility, in addition to bringing in new equipment to compete at an even higher level in the international market. Within six months, the company will be ready to welcome clients beyond South Africa.

When this happens, no doubt Flynn’s passion will fuel more success for the company. “That’s the number one thing,” he says. “You’ve got to have a passion for business and that is driven right from the top.”