Saftronics for nearly 60 Years – Saftronics was founded in 1966. Bonne Posma, the entrepreneurial founder of the company, noticed a gap in the South African power electronics market. Although the market was vigorous, and growing, there was not a single local company competing for the business; everything bought and sold in this sector was imported. This, he realised, presented a business opportunity. Trusting his instincts, Posma registered a company. For a name, he combined the letters, ‘SA’ (for South Africa) with a contraction of the word, ‘electronics’ to form a new word, ‘Saftronics.’ That was the beginning of the first local power electronics company in South Africa. From this, Saftronics grew into the specialised group of companies it is today; still serving the needs of a vibrant industry. In just over a decade, Saftronics grew big and profitable enough to attract the interest of one of South Africa’s large building construction groups, Murray and Roberts. M&R made Posma an offer. He accepted. M&R merged Saftronics with Stone Platt Electrical, a company in their own stable, to form a larger and more powerful entity, Amalgamated Power. This repositioning did not last. Within months, M&R switched back to the more familiar, and by then trusted name, Saftronics. Six years later, Saftronics changed hands again, this time attracting the interest of the Stratcon Group of companies. Stratcon acquired Saftronics to complement Stratford Engineering, a company that manufactured mechanical power transmission equipment. For the next 13 years Saftronics flourished. Then, in 1999, a consortium of three investors bought the business, reversing the company into an ‘off the shelf’ entity acquired for this purpose. Aligning itself with the vision created by founder, Bonne Posma, nearly half a century earlier, Saftronics continues to lead local developments in power electronics; not only in South Africa, but increasingly in Africa.