Keegor South Africa honoured with two industry awards

The Financial Director of Keegor SA, Michelle Austin was named Business Woman of the Year at the 2022 Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA) Excellence Awards, held on 17 November 2022, in Johannesburg.

Now in their eighth year, the SEIFSA Business Woman of the Year award is bestowed to a successful woman-owned or led business in the Metal and Engineering (M&E) sector and who has made a significant contribution to the development of the M&E sector through her dedication, conviction, vision, commitment, and leadership.

Michelle, who has strong business acumen and extensive experience in the industry, said she felt very privileged to receive the award. “What we have focused on over the past few years is employee engagement and we realised that this has helped us achieve what we have,” said the finance expert.

The Financial Director of Keegor SA, Michelle Austin was named Business Woman of the Year at the 2022 Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA) Excellence Awards, held on 17 November 2022, in Johannesburg

Keegor embarked on a comprehensive process of implementing training and leadership development programmes to meet its leadership and personal developmental needs. One of the components of these programmes was goal setting.

“I have come to realise that diversity inside and outside of the boardroom brings differing perspectives, opinions, and insights; and makes for better decision-making,” concluded Austin.

With these awards, Michelle recognises the potential for credibility as a result of this third-party endorsement from a platform such as SEIFSA, and provides her team with well-deserved recognition. The hope is that this will cause further engagement in knowing that they are able to take Keegor to new heights.

Workplace Health and Safety Award
Keegor also received the Workplace Health and Safety Award, which was sponsored by Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA). This award acknowledges best practice approaches and achievement in workplace health and safety. The company has displayed a commitment to health and safety, with not one Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) contravention since COO Marno Jacobs was appointed in 2019. The company have had two successful visits from a Department of Labour Inspector.

Jacobs said: “When I started at Keegor I noticed that the leadership team was very engaged with health and safety, and this helped a lot. We know that our biggest asset is our employees, so we invest a lot in training and ensuring they are kept safe, as one injury is too many.”

The company, founded in 1959 as Leonard Light Industries has grown into the Keegor Group of companies.

One of the companies in the group is Keegor Meltech, which markets and distributes smelting crucibles and foundry products. Keegor Meltech services the metal melting and precious metal industry and is the Sub-Saharan distributor of the Morgan MMS range of crucibles and foundry products.

Another company within the group is Keegor Power Electronics, which manufactures induction furnaces and induction heating solutions. Keegor Power Electronics, the induction heating division created from the purchase of LH Power Electronics, serves the industrial, manufacturing and mining markets.

For further details contact Keegor Group on TEL: 011 421 0711 or visit www.keegor.com