The Balzers coating plant also allowed Somta to successfully enter the tungsten carbide tool market with coated drills, end mills and special tools, as well as offering recoating capabilities.

“We are still based in the Jet Park area, which is an industrial area near Johannesburg’s OR Tambo Airport. Moving to these new premises was a fantastic opportunity to enhance the customer experience and employee well-being, as well as position Somta for its growth plans in the South African and African markets,” said Warrick Lowther, Somta’s Global Sales Manager.

“The friendly and open environment is conducive to engaging more with the customers and of course the customers engaging with us. We believe that by focusing on these areas, we created a new distribution centre that not only meets but exceeds customer expectations, leading to increased satisfaction, loyalty and business success.”

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Somta also subscribes to the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement, a statement proven by the company’s longevity thus far, and its willingness to diversify, constantly seeking innovative ways to make manufacturing better, both locally and internationally.

Willem Pietersen – New Business Development Manager and Jaques Botha – Sales Manager, both from Cosmo Group

Somta’s national distribution centre in Gauteng moves into a new home Space constraints precipitated a move to a newer and bigger facility for Somta’s national distribution centre in Gauteng at the end of 2023.

Len Jacobs, Sales Manager, Stephen Allport, Strategic Support, Reshma Pitamber, Product Specialist Workshop Equipment and Cutting Tools, Rochelle Nadine Veeran, Buyer, Christine Urtel, Team Leader Tools & Equipment Procurement, all from Bearing Man Group

“More importantly the new premises are easily accessible to our distributors and this allows for and creates an effortless customer experience.”

“The friendly and open environment is conducive to engaging more with the customers and of course the customers engaging with us. We will also host open house events for customers to participate in and learn more about our products, participate in community events and offer special promotions to attract new customers and strengthen our relationships with existing customers.”

Somta acquired Clarkson Tap and Die South Africa (conveniently located next door) in 1982 and Mitco Tools Pietermaritzburg in 1984.

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Immediately after the buyout in 2003, Somta made a substantial investment in a state-of-the-art Balzers PVD Rapid Coating System plant, which was integrated into its manufacturing programme. This enabled the company to offer the innovative range of Balzers BALINIT® high performance coatings on all cutting tools and to compete with the very best high-tech tool producers in the world.

On top of being able to offer all OSG cutting tools in Africa, Somta is also the agent for Korloy, one of the leading indexable insert producers in the world, making Somta the undisputed leader of machining solutions in Africa with all the comprehensive offerings it now has available.

Marius van Aswegen, Somta Korloy Technical Sales Representative, Ryno Robinson, General Manager at Tool Traders and Stanley Rens, CEO at Tool Traders

“We chose the location for its accessibility to the highways close by and the central position to many of the industrial areas in Gauteng. Additionally, being close to the airport for international, African and South African distributorship is also important.”

Tobie Enslin, Technical specialist at Adams Metalworking, Shadrack Leeto, Somta Gauteng Sales Representative, Mark Green, Sales Representative at Adams Metalworking

From small and humble beginnings Somta Tools has grown into the largest cutting tool manufacturer in Africa, specialising in the manufacture and distribution of drills, cutters, reamers, threading tools and toolbits, in both solid carbide and high speed steel, with or without state of the art PVD surface coatings.

“We believe that by focusing on these areas, we created a new distribution centre that not only meets but exceeds customer expectations, leading to increased satisfaction, loyalty and business success.”

“The upgraded facilities have allowed us to improve stock levels and align ourselves to the demanding market conditions. The additional space also allows us to add more products to our portfolio in order to better serve and contribute to the local manufacturing industry.”

During the period of 1963 to 1979 Somta gradually grew in both output and number of employees. Numerous products were added to the range during this period. In 1979 Haggie Ltd, one of the largest steel rope manufacturers in the world, purchased the company. The South African mining sector was their biggest market.

Somta was established in 1954, with a staff complement of only 20 employees. Since then, it has grown exponentially and now provides employment to more than 320 people, with its head office and manufacturing plant based at its original site on Moses Mabhida Road (formerly Edendale Road), Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, and a sales and distribution centre in Gauteng.

One of Somta’s claims to fame is that its former parent company produced the first twist drill made from high speed steel. Prior to 1870, twist drills were made from a flat piece of steel and then physically twisted, hence the name. Thereafter the flutes were produced on milling machines until the grinding method arrived.

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The introduction of friction welding into the manufacturing process, welding the HSS body to an EN9 shank in 1980 saw Somta become the first cutting tool manufacturing company to do this outside of the UK. The acquisition of CNC grinding machines in this period ensured greater consistency in quality and enabled Somta to enter and compete in world markets.

“We have also included a training centre where we can train our staff on existing and new products, which will allow them to deliver exceptional customer service in the new environment. This will give them the confidence to be familiar with the products and be able to offer complete and informed solutions, and provide prompt and knowledgeable assistance to customers on any new processes.”

Growth at Somta in the 1980’s continued, with Haggie as its owner, and accelerated with investment in capital equipment and by acquisition.

Globally, Somta has a strong presence in industries such as aerospace, automotive, construction, medical, DIY and general engineering which has resulted in their tooling being exported to over 70 countries worldwide. This includes the African continent, where Somta is working tirelessly to expand its customer base throughout, with particular attention being paid to the mining industry.

Somta’s national distribution centre in Gauteng stocks over 10 000 standard and application Somta products, offering same day delivery within the Gauteng region, and next day delivery to all other South African provinces.

Despite its 70 year history, Somta Tools is better positioned than ever before to grow and make manufacturing better for its customers.

“Designing the layout of the premises with the customer journey in mind has ensured a more efficient and effective operation from the ordering stage right through to the collection / delivery stage. Clear signage, easy navigation, and a comfortable express checkout area are all part of the greatly enhanced customer experience.”

Somta recognises that a company cannot grow without a strong, skilled and happy team that puts the customer first above all things. With this in mind, the company prioritises hiring and developing great people to do extraordinary things.

From small and humble beginnings in 1954, Somta Tools has grown into the largest cutting tool manufacturer in Africa, offering a full range of cutting tool solutions for any machining application.

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In keeping with OSG’s philosophy of investing in local manufacturing, OSG has invested over 60 million rand in new machinery and technology. This investment means that Somta has upgraded its manufacturing capabilities ensuring up-to-date technology is applied to the manufacturing process of the tools enabling Somta to provide best solutions to the market. In addition OSG work closely with Somta for knowledge transfer and upliftment which is invaluable.

In 1999 Haggie decided to ‘unbundle’ its non-core or non-mining related companies, of which they had quite a few. Brooke Industrial Holdings, a company based in the UK, then purchased Somta. Unfortunately Brooke ran into difficulties in 2003 and went into liquidation. Somta then underwent a management buyout largely funded by the SCMB (Standard Corporate Merchant Bank).

OSG Corporation 2016 was a significant year for Somta, as it was acquired by OSG Corporation, a publicly held company headquartered in Japan. OSG is a world-renowned cutting tool manufacturer best known for its taps and other product offerings such as end mills, drills, and rolling dies. With OSG as the major shareholder, Somta is now able to offer OSG cutting solutions to the African market, whilst OSG subsidiaries worldwide have added Somta’s range of tooling to their portfolio offering.