KSB Pumps now operates as incorporated entity from own premises
With several thousand KSB pumps installed all over Namibia during the past thirty years, this legendary piece of German industrial equipment needs no introduction. At every Namibian mine, at every local authority and at dozens of industrial plants, there are trusted KSB pumps moving slurry, sludge and liquids.
KSB first came to Namibia in the late eighties when Klaus Streit was the manager of Fenner, a company well-known for its light industrial applications and consumables. When Fenner divested, the KSB brand moved, together with its pioneer, to Hydroweld, where the legend continued. But all throughout the period that the German manufacturer supplied its reliable pumps, it operated under the wings of an agency.
That changed completely at the beginning of 2021 when KSB Pumps and Valves South Africa decided to continue its presence in Namibia as an incorporated entity, working from its own premises and running its own workshops. KSB Pumps and Valves Namibia was officially founded in 2020 and started operating as a stand-alone entity from premises in Windhoek’s Northern Industrial Area early in 2021.
DeWet Van Wyk was appointed as the company’s first Managing Director, ably assisted by the KSB legend himself, Klaus Streit as Area Manager.
The KSB Pumps and Valves Namibia team, seated from the left, Johannes Andreas, (Accountant), Francois Jooste (Sales) and Shaun Theron (Supervisor). Standing are, from the left, Klaus Streit (Area Manager), DeWet Van Wyk (Managing Director) and Kenneth Kasita (Sales).
With his German connections, it was no coincidence that Klaus set his heart on KSB pumps some thirty years ago. Even in Germany where industrial competition is very high, KSB is rated as one of the most reliable pump manufacturers worldwide. And with so many different types of pumps for every conceivable requirement, Klaus realised right from the start that KSB will become the equipment of choice as an independent Namibia developed.
During the years when KSB flew as an agency in the Hydroweld stable, Klaus and another legendary Namibian industrialist, Peter Petherbridge, criss-crossed the country from Katima in the north to Oranjemund in the south. Wherever there was the need to move liquid, the formidable duo would get in their bakkie and drove to the site in person regardless of the size of the project.
As this relationship progressed, KSB pumps performed so well wherever they were installed that the brand became a household name, specifically among engineers and project managers. In the Hydroweld stable, KSB came into its own, growing the brand’s reputation with every new installation.
Roughly four years ago, Klaus decided to take KSB independent, running it as a local agency, continuing to build on its formidable foundation. At this point, existing installations and new sales have grown to such an extent that KSB Pumps and Valves South Africa decided its flagship brand needs to trade as a separate Namibian company.
This entailed much preparatory work. First, the right premises had to be found, able not only to house sufficient stock but also doubling as a workshop and repair facility. The ideal site was located in the Northern Industrial Area next to the old Bavaria workshop. When all these elements were put in place, KSB Pumps and Valves Namibia started trading under its new identity but always with the same trusted, reliable equipment.
Managing Director DeWet Van Wyk said “The opening of the doors of the new business and new premises early in January marks a milestone for KSB Pumps and Valves Namibia to continue growing by serving the entire Namibia with the best equipment in industrial pumping.”
KSB Pumps pioneer, Klaus Streit (right) and KSP Pumps and Valves Namibia Managing Director, DeWet Van Wyk. The trusted KSB pump range has made the big shift from an agency to an independent Namibian company, early this year.
