Manufacture of Electric Lamps and Lighting Equipment in South Africa 2020

Manufacture of Electric Lamps and Lighting Equipment

Sales in the electric lamp and lighting equipment industry have been in decline mainly due to lack of economic growth and infrastructure spending and reduced demand from Eskom as a result of its financial problems. Electricity costs have tripled in the past decade and compact fluorescent lamps have in recent years played a key role in energy efficiency campaigns.

Slow Pace of Change

While the rest of the world has made the move to new technology and LED lighting, most South Africans continue to use old fluorescent lamp technology, losing out on the energy saving, environmental and cost saving benefits of LEDs. Factors preventing the uptake of LED include installation and replacement costs and reluctance of consumers to change. However, this does open up replacement opportunities for local companies, as does solar lighting.

Regulatory Issues

There are basic safety and performance regulations for older lighting technologies, compact fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps, but there are no safety or performance standards for LEDs, which reduce energy and maintenance costs compared to compact fluorescent lamps. The industry has appealed to government to regulate and protect consumers from cheap inferior and potentially dangerous products that are imported mostly from Asia.

Report Coverage

This report focuses on the manufacture of electric lamps and lighting equipment in South Africa, including information on the state of the industry and the factors that influence it. There are profiles of 22 companies including electrical and lighting group ARB Holdings, which owns Eurolux and which bought lighting distributor Radiant in 2019. Other profiles include major electrical equipment supplier Actom, Signify (previously Philips) and Beka Schréder, which exports across Africa.