By Larry Claasen
BUTEC Group, a Lebanese based contracting company, is cementing its move into South Africa by rebranding the two local companies it recently acquired.
BUTEC bought Thermaire, a commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) specialist, and Ampair, a facility management and maintenance services provider, from French multinational ENGIE in 2022.
The rebranding, following the takeover of the privately held company headquartered in Beirut and Dubai, sees Thermaire become BUTEC and Ampair become BUTEC Services. The DUCTSHOP brand remains and will continue its focus on high-quality metal and PAL ducting manufacturing and expand to specialised steel products at its Johannesburg facility.
The acquisitions and rebrandings are part of BUTEC’s strategy for expanding its services and footprint across the continent. The deal with ENGIE saw it buy 17 companies based in 15 African countries from the French group.
The acquisitions have expanded BUTEC’s presence to 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East, and it now employs 7 500 people, including 400 in South Africa.
BUTEC’s expansion into Africa has been further underlined by its takeover of the Moroccan businesses of the Société des Eaux de Marseille (SEM), a subsidiary of Veolia Group, in January 2024.
A broader offering
According to BUTEC chairperson Ziad Younes, the deal to buy Thermaire and Ampair not only established his group in South Africa, it also provided a base for expanding its offerings in the country.
In addition to HVAC and facility management, the group will also offer engineering and contracting, electro-mechanical solutions, facility services, and utility services. Younes noted that one of the new services it will offer is running electricity grids on behalf of municipalities.
Though BUTEC has not been in South Africa that long, it is excited by its potential.
“We are inspired by the potential that South Africa and its Southern African neighbours offer and by the talent of the local building industry and allied services leaders,” said BUTEC director, Fady Abou Jaoude.
“As one of Africa’s largest electro-mechanical contractors, facility management and service providers, we are looking forward to creating shared value with key economic role-players so that we can accelerate the region’s growth together, create jobs, and contribute towards the region’s prosperity,” he added.
Committed to South Africa
As part of its commitment to transforming South Africa, BUTEC established an Employee Share Trust for its black female employees and also invested R7-million into youth employment services programmes, creating over 154 job opportunities.
BUTEC is also looking to employ and develop the skills inside the group.
“Our in-house NQF-accredited skills development centre, BUTEC Academy, with its full-time training team based in Johannesburg, offers a range of courses and qualifications, bringing a new cohort of well-trained and qualified artisans to the industry each year,” said Abou Jaoude.
