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Defy is Sold

Appliance Repairs in Port Elizabeth


Defy is Sold




Defy Appliances South Africa owned by the Franke group has been sold to Arcelik in Turkey.

The Arcelik Group are in turn part of the Koc group which has their finger in;

• Consumer durables (appliances)
• Finance
• Energy
• Automotive

According to Mustafa V Koc, the chairperson of Koc Holding;- "This investment is a significant step taken in the African continent, in line with the growth plans of Koc Holding and Arcelik Group in global markets. I firmly believe that through this acquisition Arcelik will strategically position itself in the African continent, which I believe offers a high growth potential”

The same message was ego by the CE of Defy Ross Campbell Heron saying that Defy will be used to give Koc Holdings a foot-hold into the Africa (sub-Sahara).

This is all great news if you are an investor or you live somewhere in Dark Africa but for us little people live here in South Africa, it might not be such a good thing

The Defy Brand has a reputation for Reliability and Durability – Especially their Defy’s Parts Department in Port Elizabeth

• Defy never made radical changes to working part of their appliances - They only make improvement as technology improves (not changes) which means that replacement parts are available on most of their older model appliances (10 years and beyond).

Some of the issues that concerns me is with a company like the Koc Holdings who has 19000 employees and 11 productions plants around the globe.

1. Defy Factories in South Africa will not be able to compete labor wise with the groups factories in China and Russia. (Where they sometimes work only for food and accommodation) - not that I am say this group does that kind of thing. It is just used to make a point that our labor force still find it difficult to compete internationally.

2. Price wise it might be better for us the man in the streets of South Africa, Buying a new Defy Appliance we might will end up buying a Defy product which is actually made in Romania and the very next year the same product will be manufacture in Turkey - using different parts.

Resulting in what has happen to most other International Brands.
Shops and Wholesalers give you a Year warranty on a any new Appliance purchased but once the year is up they are finish with you. There is no after-sales service and no parts available without experiencing a long waiting time.

• They only import the product not any spare parts because there are so many different models of the same machine made in different factories. It is just not cost effective for them to import each and every countries model. Resulting in that most consumer has to replace the appliance because repair parts are just too expensive.

• Also when you phone the Central Services Center (thinking it is in South Africa)- Located somewhere in India - you can never get back to the same operator that you have spend 30 minutes explain what you need and then you got “cut-off”!

As always I have gone overboard again with this “Thing”, maybe it is all for the greater good of the South African people. Maybe the Arcelik Group are actually interested developing the Defy Brand

Well I am off to fry my eggs on my Defy

Carbon monoxide silent killer

Appliance Repairs in Port Elizabeth
Carbon monoxide kills more than 480 people and sends 20000 people per year to the hospitals in the United States.

A person cannot see of smell CO (Carbon monoxide) but at high levels it can kill someone in minutes. CO is mainly produced in our domestic environment by appliances we use to burn fuels like;

• Gas
• Paraffin
• Oil
• Kerosene
• Wood
• Charcoal
• Fossil fuel (anthracite)

Fire Marshall Massoud Araghi of Ventura County says: “Carbon monoxide is a silent killer.” A new law has gone into effect on the 1 of July requiring homeowner’s to install carbon monoxide detector in their California homes which has a fireplace or fuel burning appliances or an attached garage

As a rule appliances are not hazards to our health, it is only when they are not serviced regularly or it malfunction. A lot more CO gets produced by an idling car (never idle your vehicle in the garage - even if the doors is open).

Early Signs and Symptoms of CO poisoning

• Headaches
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Mental confusion

Immediate action should be taken if more that one person has these symptoms in one household or area.

Here in the Eastern Cape most homes have a indoor “Braai” (barbeques) due to the weather conditions. What people don’t realize most of the time they think their beer or wine was a bit off when they have a headache the day-after-the-night-before, but they never consider or give a second thought to Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

Cheers


PS: Although we don’t have laws or rules in South Africa to install CO detectors, it might be a good idea just to install one in your home anyway. ( especially if you tend to wake up with headaches?)