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It is through the stories of our lives that we embrace our humanity
This is not a story about a business that had ambitions to change the world. It is not the story of a man who wanted to be a multi-millionaire. It is the story of a father and his supportive wife, for without the other, one could never have succeeded. It was 1997, only three years after the first democratic election in South Africa in South Africa. They decided that the best chances of securing the educational and professional opportunities for their children, which they had not been afforded, would be to take chances and make the sacrifices that have led us here today.
She worked for a large corporation from the age of 17. For 43 years in the same company, she limited her career progression in the name of time and stability that allowed for family life, and to be the support her husband needed. He used all the relationships that he had made over the years, with guts and determination, to grow a business that would not just support the family but give their kids every opportunity possible.
Fast forward to 2023, The business has been alive and providing for the family for over 25 years. The family grew, albeit not through blood, but through commitment and dedication. Rollin Chellan and Anne Visvanathan have been a part of the business since 2003. Their own kids had become known as 'grandchildren' to Gona and Shelagh. As for their actual children. Their daughter graduated from UKZN in 2015 with BComm in Finance and Economics. Their son graduated from UKZN in 2012 with a BSc in Engineering: Mechanical Engineering and went on to work in the power generation and pressure piping industry for 10 years. During his time with Eskom and Babcock Ntuthuko Engineering, he attained a Master of Engineering in Development and Management Engineering (Cum Laude) at North-West University, served at two Eskom power plants, and was part of multiple projects of value in the order of R100M. He became registered as a Pr Eng with ECSA in 2021 and is currently a PhD Candidate.
Gona had always maintained that the kids were never expected to join the business. Nor did the kids expect to be brought into it. That is just not part of our family's belief system. That is why, for years, instead of walking into the business directly after school, the kids went out into the working world to become exposed to the evolutionary possibilities that exist in the world before (if) returning to the fold at all.
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COVID-19 did what it did to the world and to businesses. Through it all, Gona stopped taking a salary so that his family (Rollin and Anne) did not go unpaid, and in return, they stuck it out with him. However, he knew that in the post-COVID tech-driven world of the fourth industrial revolution, the old ways of sales and marketing that grew his business needed to be augmented. This is the hallmark of a great leader. Being able to acknowledge the need for change, especially in one's own methods.
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This is how we arrived at what is OPTIMECH SOLUTIONS today. We brought together the expertise that Neo and Noelda had gained with their more youthful generational worldview and the experience that Gona, Ann and Rollin already possessed to expand the service offering of Optimech. The Engineering products and solutions that have served the business for years are still ever available, but we have added the commodity that COVID should have taught the world is more valuable than any physical product. The power of the THOUGHT.
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Solving problems and developing optimisation strategies WITH you is our product. Combining our experience, thought processes and mindsets to advance your company.
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