Two-decade milestone for local business is no small feat

Wuhlf Equipment, a South African manufacturer and importer of affordable and reliable heavy-duty equipment, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Founded in 2005 as QualiProd by brothers Johan and Carl Grobler, the company rebranded in 2015, and the Groblers now run the business with CEO Coert Steenberg. They spoke to Magda du Toit about the company's successes over the years and how they're weathering the ongoing challenges facing the agriculture sector.

- Magda du Toit

Situated in Wallmannsthal, north of Pretoria, Wuhlf Equipment has specialised in the import, supply, and manufacturing of heavy-duty equipment used in forestry, mining, construction, and agriculture since 2005. Initially called Quality Products (QualiProd), the company decided to rebrand in 2015, and for the past 10 years, Wuhlf Equipment has become synonymous with quality machinery and excellent after-sales service, providing not only in the equipment needs of customers across the country, but also in supplying parts and spares. During a visit to China in 2004, Johan Grobler, co-founder and director of QualiProd, saw many small high-quality front-end loaders on farms. He realised the application opportunities on South African farms, as well as in the mining and construction industries, and decided to import these machines.

That was the beginning of a dream that over years of innovative thinking and perseverance grew into a well-known business.

REBRANDING

According to Johan, they realised in 2015 that they needed to rebrand the company.

“When we operated as QualiProd, our clients recognised us by the names of the individual machines such as Renoster or Olifant, and not our company name. We decided to rethink our strategy and eventually decided to change the name and settled on Wuhlf. Since then, the brand has become recognisable by both its name and logo — a wolf's head,” he explains.

CEO Coert Steenberg emphasises that although they rebranded, it was only the company name and logo that changed.

“We made an effort to retain our company values, and over the years those values have become an intrinsic part of our brand values. Our slogan, ‘Quality without compromise’, still underlines the way in which we do business, focusing on our output of affordable, high-quality equipment supported by after-sales service. We start each day with a staff meeting, reaffirming our commitments,” he says.